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Amazon.com Inc. yesterday launched Mobile Payments Service, a product that enables sellers to accept payment for purchases made from mobile devices using their own mobile Web sites or applications, according to the Seattle-based company. With the service, customers can use payment and shipping information saved in their Amazon.com accounts to complete mobile purchases. The service is built on the Amazon Payments infrastructure, which also enables businesses to accept consumer purchases on their Web sites. "The end customer will have a payment experience on the mobile device similar to the experience on the online Web sites," states an Amazon spokesperson. Merchants that use Amazon's Flexible Payment Service, which facilitates the transfer of funds between two parties, already are set up to use Mobile Payments Service, according to the spokesperson. To use the service, consumers who use a participating merchant's Web site set up for mobile access or its mobile application select the Amazon payments option to initiate the purchase. "The user is then taken to a mobile-optimized page where he or she enters their Amazon payment credentials and password," says the spokesperson. "Once the payment is authorized, the customer is redirected to the merchant site for downloading content or for payment confirmation." Amazon secures funds for the transaction from the customer's account using whichever method the consumer has registered for payment, such as a credit card, checking account (direct debit) or Amazon stored-value account. The merchant, which receives funds as soon as the transaction settles, can transfer the funds from its Amazon payments account to its bank account. Amazon charges sellers per-transaction fees that vary depending on the payment method a consumer uses and the transaction amount, says the spokesperson. For transactions greater than $10, Amazon charges 1.5% of the sale plus 1 cent for Amazon Payments balance transfers, 2% plus 5 cents for direct debits and 2.9% plus 30 cents for credit card payments. For transactions less than $10, Amazon charges 1.5% plus 1 cent for Amazon Payments balance transfers, 2% plus 5 cents for direct debits and 5% plus 5 cents for credit card payments. Handmark Inc., a creator and distributor of mobile applications and services, announced yesterday it is among the first companies to launch the Mobile Payments Service in its mobile-content stores.