Passengers on board CrossCountry Trains will be the first to benefit from the new version of the Payforit mobile payment system, Payforit 4.

ImpulsePay has enabled Payforit 4, launched recently by the UK’s mobile operators, for CrossCountry Trains to enable passengers to buy onboard wi-fi access using their mobile phones, using ImpulsePay’s Payforit 4 service to charge the wi-fi access to their mobile phone bill.

CrossCountry Trains is currently rolling the service out to its 57 Voyager and 5 High Speed trains, serving cities. such as Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, Bristol, Southampton and Plymouth.

“CrossCountry is in the process of deploying wi-fi services on board our long distance train fleet, and we want to make accessing the service as simple as possible for our customers,” says CrossCountry Trains fleet project manager, Richard Edwards. “Adding a mobile payments solution is a key factor enabling us to achieve that goal. We chose ImpulsePay because they have previous experience of working in the rail industry and (because of) their focus on providing innovative solutions, such as Payforit 4.”

Payforit 4 is the latest version of Payforit, the mobile payments solution backed by all the UK network operators. It allows businesses to use direct operator billing to charge consumers’ mobile phones, eliminating the need for premium rate messages. Payforit 4 offers greater functionality and a number of improved features for merchants, which means easier purchasing for consumers.

As the first company to use Payforit 4 from ImpulsePay, CrossCountry Trains will be able to offer its customers one-click billing – allowing registered users to make subsequent purchases with just one click.

The new version of Payforit will also allow CrossCountry Trains to embed the payment process within their own pages (either web or mobile), instead of sending the user to a separate payment page. This helps to increase conversion rates, as the consumer has the comfort, security and recognition of the merchant’s branding. Payforit 4 will also help CrossCountry Trains to reduce checkout abandonment.

Backed by all UK mobile phone operators, ImpulsePay’s Payforit 4 service carries out the billing over the internet, rather than using text messages. No sensitive information leaves the security of the mobile operators’ billing systems, as the process only requires the consumer’s mobile number.