Patent ID: 8589290

Claim:
A method, comprising: storing, in a data storage facility of an interchange telecommunication carrier, information for each of a plurality of phone numbers; receiving, in the interchange, a request identifying a phone number, a payment amount and a payee; in response to the request, determining whether the phone number received in the request matches a phone number in the data storage facility having telecommunication carrier information; if the phone number does not have telecommunication carrier information in the data storage facility, transmitting from the common format processor a pinging message in accordance with the phone number; receiving, at the interchange, a response to the pinging message; identifying from the response, by the interchange, telecommunication carrier information of the phone number; if the phone number does have telecommunication carrier information in the data storage facility then skipping the transmission of the pinging message; preparing at least one charging message based on the payment amount to be transmitted via a telecommunication carrier of a mobile phone at the phone number identified in the response or the data storage facility; and transmitting, from the interchange, the at least one charging message to the mobile phone using the telecommunication carrier information, wherein the telecommunication carrier of the mobile phone is to collect funds from a user of the mobile phone according to at least the payment amount and to provide the at least a portion of the funds to the interchange, wherein the interchange is to pay the at least a portion of amount to the payee in accordance with the request.