A debit card is handy for paying a bill, but at Bianchini’s Market in the Ladera shopping center, a cell phone is just as good.

The grocery store has adopted the iBreva phone-based payment system, whereby customers who register at the Palo Alto-based company’s Web site at ibreva.com can have payments deducted from their checking accounts by waving their phones in front of a device at the checkout counter.

There is no charge for the transaction, said Kevin Bianchini, owner of Bianchini’s Markets.

The iBreva system includes a text-messaging capability allowing the store to send messages to customers’ phones. In an initial trial, Bianchini’s is sending a thank-you message after each purchase, said store owner Kevin Bianchini.

Menlo’s VKB changes name to Lumio

VKB Inc., a Menlo Park company that sells optical interface and projection technology, recently changed its name to Lumio to “better reflect the vision and scope of the company,” a spokesman said.

Founded in 2000, Lumio launched its first product, a virtual keyboard, in early 2005. The company has research and development facilities in Israel.

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