Member News

AIME Member, Empello (www.empello.com) releases wide ranging survey of mobile value added services and demonstrates a high degree of adherence to industry codes of practice designed to protect mobile consumers.

Empello Ltd, was recruited by a large UK Mobile Network Operator, another AIME Member, to research thousands of services that are available to consumers of that mobile network and establish if the services fell into one of four categories of consumer protection. These same services are in the main, also available on all other UK mobile networks and therefore available to the full UK population. The services are run by parties connected to the mobile networks and use premium SMS to charge for their services or charge direct to the consumers mobile bill. These facilities fit under the  broad category name of “Charge to Mobile”. Services are wide ranging and available for consumers to purchase such as videos, phone personalisation, TV voting, competitions, chat and date facilities, games, apps and more. The beauty of Charge to Mobile is that the payment method is frictionless, needing only the mobile number and is available to anyone with a mobile account or prepaid balance. Because of the low friction, the Codes of Practice for the industry using the payment method are strict and prescriptive to ensure consumers are fully aware of the pricing and other relevant information of the service before making a decision to purchase.

Empello surveyed 2,500 mobile services and used a three point assessment system for the services;

94% of the services assessed, were either fully compliant with all the relevant Codes of Practice, had minor issues that could be corrected within 48 hours (such as a missing contact number) or had some observations that could help to improve the service. None of the 94% were designed to cause any consumer harm.

Of the remaining 6%, these services were categorised as potentially damaging to consumers and were immediately removed from UK Mobile Networks.

AIMEs Managing Director Rory Maguire stated: “Due to the wide range of potential services available to mobile consumers and their availability to all ages, Charge to Mobile services have to comply with very stringent Codes of Practice issued by Mobile Networks and the Regulator, PhonepayPlus. The Codes are far more robust than other forms of payments offered by online merchants and app stores. In the fast moving and fragmented world of the mobile internet, it is very easy for something minor to go wrong when promoting services and good monitoring practices deployed by mobile networks show that these minor issues can be spotted and resolved without fuss. Good monitoring also detects the small handful of services with serious issues and with the removal from the networks gives a clear commercial message that they will not be tolerated.

AIME members work tirelessly to adhere all relevant Codes of Practice. “

Empello News Bulletin can be accessed here

SLA Mobile has been named as one of Ireland’s ‘Best Managed’ companies in the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme for the fourth year in a row. The company was recognised at a gala awards dinner in Dublin on 7 March 2014. An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, TD, congratulated the award winners in a keynote speech at the event.

The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme, in association with Barclays Bank Ireland, recognises indigenous Irish companies across the island of Ireland which are operating at the highest levels of business performance.   Companies that have been recognised as a Best Managed Company for four years running are awarded with a special gold standard accolade.

Commenting on the award, Nic Stirk, CEO, SLA Mobile said, “We are delighted to have achieved the gold standard award this year.  We have had four consecutive years of success at the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards and this is down to the fantastic team at SLA Mobile.  We strive to compete at a global level in the mobile communications industry and this award reinforces the great success we have experienced over the last few years.”

Former CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Frank Ryan, chaired the independent judging panel that took a holistic approach to measuring company performance, looking at strategy, capability, commitment, and management performance, in addition to financials.

Commenting, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, TD, said, “It is great to see so many indigenous Irish companies achieving this best in class standard and a good sign we can achieve the aim of becoming the best small country in the world for business. Companies like the award-winners are the job creators who are crucial to our economic recovery. The Government wants to build on the 61,000 new jobs created last year and, through the Action Plan for Jobs, will continue a relentless focus on creating jobs in the domestic economy.”

Brendan Jennings, Managing Partner, Deloitte and judging panel member echoed the Taoiseach’s comments saying: “As the Irish economy continues to strengthen the outlook for the winning companies is extremely positive. They have all demonstrated an exceptional ability to innovate and grow and are now excellently positioned to benefit as the outlook for Ireland Inc continues to improve.”

The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme is open to companies from all 32 counties on the island of Ireland.

Andrew Hastings, CEO of Barclays Bank Ireland, added, “As a lead sponsor, we have witnessed first-hand how some of Ireland’s best managed companies are excelling. Having mentored and supported each of them throughout the process, we have been particularly impressed by their ability to adapt and display best practice management across a wide range of key business areas. It is clear that the companies recognised today have succeeded in applying this winning formula and I believe they are setting a great example for all businesses across Ireland.”

The Best Managed Companies Awards Programme was created to recognise the overall success of a company, including management strength, ability to innovate, strategic initiatives and financial performance – all the elements that contribute to a Best Managed company. The ’Best Managed’ designation is an important marketing tool for the winning companies – but, perhaps most importantly, the award provides a reason to celebrate the efforts of the entire company.

Mobile billing and messaging company and AIME Sponsor Member, txtNation has launched an improved customer flow for mobile billing in Sweden, enabling ‘Single Click’ with WyWallet, in a push to optimise their payment experience for the mobile web.

The necessity for improved flows has come about from client feedback following txtNation’s work in the iGaming, Dating and PPV / VoD industries.

Recent studies have found that over 50% of the Swedish population access the internet on their mobile handsets, with the figure expected to jump to over 60% in 2015. The population of the country is around 9.5 million, with a mobile penetration rate of 149%, meaning there is still a lot of growth in mobile internet use likely to happen in the next few years.

The improved ‘Single Click’ mobile billing option allows for an optimum payment experience when used on mobile web (or WAP).

Flow ‘Single Click’ for Mobile Web in Sweden:

1. Customer makes first mobile operator payment online, for example through PIN (OTP)
2. Next time the customer gets the option to enable ‘Single-click’ payments
3. One-click purchase is being made by the consumer choosing a product and pressing “buy”

‘Single Click’ ability can be made available following the first transaction.

txtNation has already launched ‘Single Click’ payment flows in several markets and is set to offer the service in more countries over the following months.

SLA Mobile, a global mobile solutions company has unveiled a contemporary new look and feel that will be showcased at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The new look, together with a strong focus on how mobile operators can leverage the API Economy, has been created to reflect the current corporate strategy of the 10 year old company.  The company has adopted “SLA” as its global brand name supported by a new logo and brand driver “Mobile Solutions by your side.”

Nic Stirk, CEO of SLA said, “After an outstanding performance over the past couple of years it was the right time for a significant investment in the brand.  The new look and feel for the company builds on the success we have had to date by attracting new global and influential mobile operators to leverage the API Economy and monetise their network and data assets.”

In line with this year’s Mobile World Congress, SLA will demonstrate how they can help mobile operators and merchants capture their audience and unlock network and data assets to the API Economy.  Through a managed service approach the company provides a white labelled solution which gives mobile operators the capability to bring innovative third party services to their customers.

“Through our Managed API Exposure solution we help our clients deliver new services and applications that increase customer engagement and drive new revenues.” Says Nic.  “We do the heavy lifting and take control of the entire project providing 24/7 management and support.”

SLA’s managed service solution will expose a range of APIs from billing to profile and location which is set to transform the mobile experience for merchants and consumers alike. Direct Operator Billing is an example of just one of the services that the company offers to clients.

“With Direct Operator Billing, operators have the opportunity to engage with their customers, increase revenue and access previously hard to reach demographics in new and emerging markets.” Says Nic. “However operators have many network and data assets that can be monetised and Direct Operator Billing is the stepping stone to greater things in terms of increasing consumer loyalty and competitiveness.”

To find out more, the company will be showcasing their new look and API services at the Mobile World Congress – visit stand 7C40.  Also visit the new website for further information at www.sla-mobile.com

Following the success of direct carrier billing implementations with Windows Phone Store in Spain and Germany, Telefónica’s Global Payment System is now live allowing O2 customers in the UK to use ‘Charge to Mobile’ when making a digital purchase through the Microsoft Windows Phone Store.

Whether buying digital services from a website, mobile site or within an application, Charge to Mobile enables the customer to simply pay via their mobile phone bill or prepaid credit.

Charge to Mobile is automatically available to all O2 consumer customers, with no requirement to register for the service.

Enabling Charge to Mobile has proven to increase revenue for the Windows Phone developer community as the customer experience encourages propensity to spend. It has also been well received by customers who value the speed and simplicity of the transaction.

According to data from a Kantar Worldpanel ComTech report* for the three months leading up to August this year, Windows Phone-based devices accounted for close to 12% of smartphone sales in Telefónica’s European territories including the UK, Germany and Spain.

In addition, Windows Phone developers earn three times more revenue per active user on average in markets where Charge to Mobile is offered (and six times more revenue on average in emerging markets where credit card usage is more limited).

David Plumb, Digital UK Director at Telefónica said: “Charge to Mobile supports our digital strategy and we’re delighted to add Microsoft to our growing portfolio of technology companies who offer it. The service allows us to put digital at the heart of the customer experience.”

Charge to Mobile for the Microsoft Windows Phone Store is now live across a number of Telefónica’s operating businesses. The new higher pay-out rates also enable merchants to offer consumers a wider range of services payable to their mobile.