Two Birmingham University graduates have devised an electronic mobile pre-payment system allowing students to buy tickets for gigs and events by text message.
Txt2buy.com was set up by Simon Rabin and Daniel Rosenberg late last year and is currently being used in Manchester and Leeds.
The 23-year-olds became friends through FZY and spent a year researching the feasibility of their plans.
Simon said: “We originally approached the networks with the intention of billing purchases to students’ phone bills and were more or less ignored by them all.
“So we decided to pursue a model where you tag your credit/debit card to your phone number and bill it accordingly, which has proved especially popular with students who are on pay as you go.”
After registering their details on the company’s website, a student sends a text message to 60300 with the name of the event for which they want tickets.
Txt2buy responds asking them to confirm a security number and the transaction is then processed. An e-ticket with a unique code is sent by text message and email to the student.
When they arrive at the venue for their night out, they present the unique code at the door to gain entry to the event.
The system allows tickets to be bought anywhere at any time and works with all mobile phones on all UK networks.
Daniel added: “This bridges the gap between event promoters and the student market, allowing advance payments in the simplest way possible. Every student has a mobile phone and every student knows how to text.
“Our goal is to revolutionise the payment industry.”
The young entrepreneurs are now in talks to expand Txt2buy to other UK cities.