Member News

Square1 Communications Ltd, a leading fixed line and mobile solutions provider to both enterprises and media companies, will see the launch of its new mobile SMS / MMS chat platform known as MESSAGE²

After the news that one of the UK’s largest SMS aggregators was to cease supporting its PSMS chat platform, Square1 brought forward the launch of MESSAGE² to assist several companies that had been given notice that their current service was to end within an agreed period of time.

Square1 are working closely with these companies and the aggregator to ensure a seamless transition in all aspects of service from maintaining billing continuity, user experience and the provision of a platform that gives the clients the flexibility and service required now and in the future.

Mark Birkett, Sales Director commented: “We moved the launch of our MESSAGE² platform forward by several months to fit in with the urgent needs of these companies, I have been very impressed with the flexibility and hard work that the team at SQ1 have put in to meet the difficult deadline. Not only have we managed to meet the launch dates on time but we have also added many new features into our offering that have been requested and needed by many of those already operating in the text chat sector.

Leading mobile billing and messaging provider txtNation announces its acquisition of mobile entertainment outfit 24GMedia.

24GMedia, with headquarters in the UK and South Africa, designs, integrates and maintains consumer-focussed mobile payment apps for top-fight brands such as Pizza Hut and leading operators in online gambling. It specialises in solutions for selling digital and physical goods in a safe, secure and simple manner.

The direct relations and first tier operator connectivity assets of 24GMedia immediately expands txtNation’s existing global platform and is another step in the company’s drive towards bolstering its direct relations with MNOs in its home market.

txtNation’s platform, which recently celebrated its first decade, provides billing access to over 80 mobile operators around the world through a single API and a further 200 for messaging. The acquisition gives txtNation further access to 24GMedia’s strong relationships with MNOs in the UK and beyond to increase value and scalability for its clients.

This deal solidifies work undertaken over the last several months between the two companies, who share a vision for empowering businesses with frictionless mobile billing and messaging solutions that are consumer friendly and highly adaptive.

Commenting on the deal, 24GMedia founder Matt Barbieri says “our combined resources and mobile expertise provides merchants with a unique opportunity to integrate the latest mobile billing technologies with consumer services ahead of competitors. Clients will now have access to a full range of mobile services through a single API lowering development costs and go-live lead times.”

txtNation CEO, Michael Whelan, was upbeat about the synergies between the two companies: “txtNation’s proven track record in the industry as a leading aggregator on a global scale and with consistent year-on-year growth, together with 24GMedia’s expertise for cutting edge solutions like Payforit and other first-to-market mobile payment services makes this deal very exciting for us. The acquisition gives us improved quality and reach for our clients looking to service the UK and South Africa across Direct Billing and Premium SMS. Clients of txtNation will benefit from improved Payforit rates and connectivity options.”

Key personnel from 24GMedia will remain with txtNation to work on evolving its flagship mobile billing and messaging platform.

ImpulsePay, the UK’s leading Payforit provider, is using C3’s Fusion IVR to develop interactive consumer assistance as the company undergoes a period of expansion, with new merchants coming on board and Payforit transactions increasing month-on-month.

The company, pioneers of the Payforit mechanism, was already using a competitor’s IVR solution but that didn’t provide the granularity of control, or the flexibility, that ImpulsePay required as a dynamic and growing business.

“Fusion IVR offers us significant functionality, at the same time as being incredibly easy to use” says Adam Williams, Chief Operating Officer at ImpulsePay.

“This means we can quickly launch advanced voice services and change them at the click of a button. That level of flexibility is important to us as we continue to grow the business.”

With Payforit gaining real momentum, ImpulsePay has been working on new developments, such as enhanced single-click payment, which has helped merchants significantly increase their mobile revenues. The company has also been busy expanding its customer services team to ensure quality of support remains high as the business continues to grow.

“We are always working hard to make sure ImpulsePay provides the best Payforit offering available.” says Adam. “An increase in overall capacity, as well as heavy investment in our server infrastructure, means we’re able to provide the most robust Payforit solution on the market.”

ImpulsePay is deploying Fusion IVR as a hosted service, initially to develop intelligent scripts for its customer service lines.

Frictionless mobile payment in fast-growing Indonesian market endorses Bango’s leadership in Direct Operator Billing.

Bango has launched direct operator billing for Microsoft’s Windows Phone Store with the Mobile Network Operator ( MNO ) Indosat in Indonesia. This enables Windows Phone users to easily purchase digital content without the use of premium SMS messages or the limitations of credit cards. Instead, users enjoy one-click operator billing, charging the cost to their phone bill, without the need to register personal details.

The introduction of operator billing super-charges mobile commerce. Where Bango has introduced operator billing to developed markets with high credit card penetration, the sales of digital goods has routinely increased by 300% to 400%. Where it’s introduced to emerging markets Bango has seen increases in the range of 1000%. Recognizing this transformative effect, Microsoft has overseen a gradual expansion of operator billing in the Windows Phone Store. Microsoft research reveals that operator billing, when offered, is preferred by 75% of Windows Phone users who have access to it and drives more than double the number of paid downloads compared to credit card billing. In markets such as Indonesia, Bango data shows that over 90% of customers use operator billing, for many, it is the only way to pay online.

Microsoft has partnered with Bango for the launch of operator billing in Indonesia due to the depth and quality of Bango’s existing operator connections across a range of app stores and operators. Bango powers mobile payment for a number of the world’s leading app stores. Existing app store connections include Blackberry App World, Facebook, Opera Mobile Store and operator-led connections into Google Play. Bango has also announced an agreement to provide payment services to Amazon and Mozilla’s soon to launch FireFox Marketplace. Bango recently announced it had reached 100 mobile operator connections globally, and a reach of more than one billion mobile subscribers.

Bango’s launch in Indonesia is part of a broader strategy to focus on fast-growing emerging markets, where the operational challenges are greater and Bango can demonstrate its technology leadership. Earlier this year Bango strengthened its balance sheet with new investment to underwrite its growth in these emerging markets.

Commenting on the announcement, Bango CEO Ray Anderson said: “Bango is experiencing huge interest from the operator community in markets where other payment methods are scarce, with operators in Indonesia and India particularly engaged. Today’s launch is exciting as it marks our first integration with Windows Phone Store and further progress in Indonesia, a country with the largest smartphone market across all of South East Asia.”

“Mobile operator billing gives consumers a convenient payment option with significantly higher conversion rates than credit cards, greatly benefiting Windows Phone 8 customers and developers,” said Todd Brix, general manager, Windows Phone Store, Microsoft Corp. “We’re happy to see companies like Bango and Indosat working together to expand monetization opportunities for developers and provide seamless purchasing experiences for Windows Phone users.”

President Director & CEO of Indosat, Alexander Rusli said “we are happy to be partnering with Bango to make operator billing in Indonesia attractive for app stores and content providers. This partnership between Indosat and Bango is the first of its kind in Indonesia. This shows our commitment to providing the best value and experience for Indosat customers. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Bango, extending the reach of frictionless payment to all.”

Indosat is a leading MNO in Indonesia, with around 50 million mobile subscribers. The Indonesian smartphone market is seeing rapid growth, with the research firm GfK reporting a 37% increase in the year to March 2013, and overall volume sales of 15.8 million units. Even with such growth, smartphone penetration has only reached around one third of consumers, pointing to strong growth for several years to come.

Bango continues to work with Microsoft to expand operator billing in the Windows Phone Store and expects to announce further progress in the coming months.

Boku, Inc., the global leader in online mobile payments, today announced a partnership with PlayJam the premier global platform for games on TV. The partnership brings carrier billing to smart televisions and other consumer electronics around the world, including devices from Samsung, Panasonic, LGE, Vizio, Western Digital, Google TV and VESTEL.

This agreement allows more than 90 Million consumers to use their mobile phone number to purchase games, upgrades and other services on PlayJam’s global marketplace. PlayJam’s network represents over 45% of all games played on Smart TVs in over 100 territories worldwide and serves over 150 TV apps on a wide variety of CE manufacturer devices. Users can checkout simply by entering in their mobile phone number with the charges appearing on their carrier bill.

“We’re committed to bringing a seamless gaming and payments experience to all of our customers, regardless of market or device, and mobile payments through Boku will play a critical role in that commitment.” said Charles Tigges, Chief Commercial Officer for PlayJam. “In some instances, a customer in the United States might use Boku to checkout on an LGE TV with one of our game publishers. In Germany, a Samsung TV owner might purchase a new game directly from PlayJam using Boku. Regardless of device, market or game title, the reduced friction available through carrier billing offers a great experience for the consumer, and that’s a benefit to everyone.”

PlayJam-enabled devices offer customers access to the Boku® mobile payments platform in more than a dozen different markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Poland and others. The PlayJam platform SDK offers game developers an easy way to enhance and monetize their games across all Smart TV brands with features like mobile game controller application, pre-roll advertising, in-app payments, pre-paid card, save state, leaderboards, tournaments, social integration, gamer profile and more.

“Mobile payments has grown steadily in the past half decade, moving from online purchase of virtual goods into numerous different vertical markets,” said James Patmore, Managing Director EMEA for Boku. “Through our partnership with PlayJam, Boku is helping to further advance the mobile payments market, bringing the convenience and security of carrier billing directly to smart TVs in consumers’ homes around the world.”