Charge to Mobile is a way to buy digital content with your mobile. Everything from apps, games, music and videos to films and ebooks. It's fast, easy and safe. If you're on Pay Monthly the cost goes on your monthly bill, and if you're a Pay As You Go customer, the costs comes out of your mobile credit. The amount you can spend depends on how long you've been a customer, how much you normally spend and if you pay your bill on time. If you're on Pay As You Go, you can spend up to the limit of your credit.
As a service, it's free to use, you only pay for what you buy from the seller, although you may have to pay to download the things you buy. For example, if you buy some music and want to save it on your phone, and you're not on WiFi, you'll use some of your data allowance.
If you're a Pay As You Go or Pay Monthly customer, you already have Charge to Mobile so you don't have to do anything. If you're a business customer, Charge to Mobile isn't available to you yet. But you might still be able to pay by text - check with the seller. Although Charge to Mobile is only available to UK customers, you can still use it while you're in another country. The only thing we might charge extra for is data used while browsing and downloading. Check out our guide before you travel.
There are two ways to use Charge to Mobile:
On a mobile phone
Choose what you want to buy. You'll get a payment screen describing what you're buying
Confirm what you want
Check the verification page
On a laptop or tablet (or if you're using WiFi on your phone)
Choose what you want to buy. You'll get a payment screen describing what you're buying
Type in your mobile number. The seller will send a security PIN to your phone or show you the PIN on the screen. Type that in
Check the verification page. That's it
Not all phones are set up in the same way, so you may need to type in a PIN sent to you in a free text, like you do with a laptop or tablet.
Safety
We only work with sellers we trust. We check every service we use to make sure it meets industry standards. However, your purchases are subject to each individual retailer's terms and conditions.
We'll only share your number with our partners so we can process your payment. And they'll only share it with approved sellers if they get your permission – to send you promotional offers, for example. Or, if they need to send things you've bought straight to your phone.
Buying through your mobile is simple and quick. If you don’t recognise a charge, it could be that you’ve bought something whilst browsing on your phone. Phone-paid services are heavily regulated, and we constantly review providers to make sure they’re doing enough to let customers know before they buy something. Before a charge is added to your bill, the companies in question will display an initial payment page including the charge cost and subscription details, if applicable, as well as a link to the terms and conditions. To continue to the next page, you’ll need to click on a button that says Subscribe or Buy now.
Since May 2019, we’ve introduced an extra layer of protection for our customers before you progress to the second payment page. You’ll need to enter a PIN that’s shown on screen or respond to a text before being able to continue.
On the second payment page you need to click on a further button to confirm the charge to your mobile. The purchase is then confirmed.
This is known as a two-step verification process and by clicking on both buttons, the charge is added to your mobile bill.
