Zamano, the Dublin-listed mobile services company, has agreed a deal with Three to allow the company's technology be used as a conduit by e-commerce providers to bill Three's customers directly via their mobile phone bill.

Zamano told the stock exchange it has gained approval from Three to become an "approved direct carrier billing partner". It already has a similar agreement with Vodafone, and Zamano said it is seeking to be connected to the 18 per cent of the market that subscribes to Meteor.

“Zamano is in the process of developing the required platform infrastructure to allow merchants to sell goods directly by processing payments via direct carrier billing to Vodafone Ireland and Three customers,” the company said.

Ross Conlon, Zamano's chief executive, said gaining direct connections to mobile operator's billing systems billing systems is "a key objective" for the group.