The Redwood City, Calif., mobile phone payment company Obopay Inc. has received financial backing from the venture capital company Wolfensohn & Co. LLC.
Obopay announced the investment last week but did not disclose the amount.
The vendor's most recent previous investment round, which raised $7 million, was completed in September. Qualcomm Inc. was the lead investor in that round. It was joined by Redpoint Ventures, Onset Ventures, and Richmond Management. Those three firms also invested in a $10 million round that ended in March.
Obopay said it would use the funding from Wolfensohn to market its mobile payment service, a rival to such services as eBay Inc.'s PayPal Mobile.
The Obopay software lets people use a mobile phone to transfer money to and from a prepaid account. Users also can make payments with text messages if their phones do not support the software.
To date only customers of Cingular Wireless LLC and Amp'd Mobile can use the software. (Amp'd's service runs on the Verizon Wireless network, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC. However, Verizon Wireless customers cannot download the software.)
Obopay users can spend money they receive using a MasterCard International-branded debit card. It costs 10 cents to send or request money through the service, and Obopay shares part of the revenue with carriers that allow their customers to download its software.
