US mobile payments startup Boku has entered a series of partnerships with a group of merchants and publishers active in the virtual goods space, including Aeria Games, fatfoogoo, Gambit, Hi5, Jambool, Meez, Offerpal, Playfish, Slide, Sometrics, Super Rewards, TrialPay and WeeWorld.

As a result of the agreements, these companies will use the Boku mobile phone-based online payment service to sell digital goods and services to their global customers. The Boku payment technology allows users to click on the "Pay by Mobile" button on the merchant’s checkout page and instead of entering their credit card number or turning to an online payment service, they have to input their phone number as well as their mobile provider. Once the purchase is made, the system sends an SMS asking for confirmation, to which the customer must reply by texting “Y” (for “yes”). The transaction is thus completed and the charge will be included in the monthly bill. The service works on a PC and also via mobile web and no registration is required.

Boku has also revealed plans to start processing payments from Finland, Indonesia, Slovenia, and Taiwan, thus bringing the company’s global reach to 55 countries.