E-commerce giant eBay has purchased mobile payments start-up Zong ^[1] for a price tag of $240 million in cash. The company will use Zong’s pioneering mobile transactions technology to boost endeavors at Paypal, which is entering the fast-growing arena of mobile payments ^[2].

The technique Zong has perfected provides a compelling way for consumers to purchase goods, both physical and technological, with their mobile phones. When a user wants to purchase an item, they simply type in their cell phone number, and the charge will be tacked on the bill at the end of the month. The company, founded in 2008, is positioned to give PayPal more options to cope with the forthcoming mobile market.

The end result is the purchasing technique of the future: consumers can pay for goods anytime, anywhere, in both first-world and developing countries. The acquisition is expected to close at the end of the third quarter of 2011, the Zong team is calling the move it’s “acceleration moment.”

Read more at TechCrunch ^[3].