Fonix

Alchimie’sTVPlayer switches on direct carrier billing with Fonix

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix, the mobile payments and messaging specialist, announced its partnership with Alchimie’s UK based OTT service, TVPlayer today.

TVPlayer offers a monthly premium subscription service with access to live television channel streams, catchup and on demand. As part of this partnership Fonix has introduced carrier billing specifically for premium TVPlayer subscribers who join through social media channels.

Fonix’s carrier billing solution is being used on the service to seamlessly charge the monthly subscription straight to the consumers’ mobile phone bill, without the need to enter credit card details.

Stephen George, Commercial Director, Fonix, said: “We are very happy to help TVPlayer grow and monetise their user base. Providing consumers with a carrier billing payment experience to access content is proving to be an essential part of the payment mix for OTT providers, which is why Fonix and TVPlayer are such natural partners.”

Kieran Knight, Commercial Director, TVPlayer, added: “The Fonix service provides an additional fast and easy payment option enabling our viewers to purchase a subscription with just a couple of taps, and allowing TVPlayer’s premium customers to watch their TV shows, on demand, and offline, without interruption from ads.”

The Big Night In Appeal raised more than £10.3m via mobile donations

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix has announced today that more than £10.3m has been processed in mobile donations for The Big Night In Appeal.

The three-hour show took place on 23rd April and saw BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief join forces for the first time. The £10.3m processed through text donations helped contribute to the £27.3m raised on the night of the Appeal. Funds raised will be split equally between BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief and will go on to support vital local charities and projects in the UK who are providing essential help to those most in need.

The show promoted text-to-donate, allowing donors to donate via text at a range of price points: £5, £10, £20 and £30. Three competitions were also promoted on the night including the David Walliams prize draw, Little Mix prize draw and a chance to win a Morgan car. The Morgan prize draw was the top competition for the night and was sourced by Fonix.

Donations for the competitions were charged to the entrants mobile phone bill. Using Fonix’s delayed donation technology entrants had the choice to opt-out without being charged within 60 minutes of entering.

Clare Charles, Director of Media and Charity at Fonix, said: “It’s been such an honor to work with Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need for this great cause. It’s also amazing to see the impact of running competitions – the money donated was rather astonishing!”

Kerry Howard, Head of Operations Appeal for BBC Children in Need, said: We’re so thankful to Fonix for enabling mobile donations so quickly and to the generous public whose donations will go on to make such a difference. A huge amount of money has been raised to help projects around the country that are doing vital work to support people throughout the pandemic.”

Jules Thorne, Campaign Co-director at Comic Relief, said: “Thanks to Fonix’s support and the enormous generosity of the public, both our charities will now make sure that this desperately needed funding supports vulnerable people, as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Fonix to power mobile donations for The Big Night In Appeal

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

23 April 2020, London – Fonix has announced that it will be providing the mobile payment mechanic for tonight’s Big Night In Appeal on BBC One.

Two of the BBC’s biggest charitable partners, Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need are coming together for the first time, for a night of live entertainment. The Big Night In will raise funds to help support vulnerable people across the UK who may be significantly affected by the current Covid-19 crisis.

Fonix will be working with Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need to provide a text-to-donate platform, enabling donors to send a text message to donate either £5, £10, £20 or £30 which will be charged to their mobile phone bills.

Clare Charles, Director for Media and Charity at Fonix, comments: “We’re so very proud to be working with Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need during these troubled times. We’re looking forward to seeing the results and the difference that it makes to people all across the UK.”

Jules Thorne, Campaign Co-director at Comic Relief, said:“The Big Night In is an amazing way for us as charities to join forces and show how much of an impact we can make on the lives of those who need our support. Fonix’s experience within the charity sector has been invaluable to helping us get up and running quickly with mobile donations for the campaign.”

Kerry Howard, Head of Operations Appeal for BBC Children in Need, said:“It’s in unprecedented times like these that it’s more important than ever to collaborate and look to support this situation in the best way we can; coming together with Comic Relief will help us achieve just that. Through the power of TV, mobile technology and the public’s generosity, it’s going to be a brilliant night for a great cause.”

The Big Night In will air tonight on BBC One on at 7pm.

Member Spotlight: Meet Fonix

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

We are on a mission to help our members and their businesses. One the ways we are doing this is to give them an opportunity to tell us more about their business and the services they offer, and promote them however we can. Supporting our members is supporting business, and future growth across the industry.

Our first spotlight interview is with Fonix, who is a mobile payments and messaging services provider. Please feel free to reach out to them if you are interested in what they do and want to learn more.

Read the full interview: Fonix Spotlight Member Feature April 2020

Fonix and Global lead the way with RCS for Valentine’s Day campaign

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Fonix has partnered with Global, the Media & Entertainment Group and Google in promoting Zing Flowers, a Global owned company, using Rich Communication Services (RCS).

The RCS marketing campaign launched just before Valentine’s Day across Global’s Capital FM and Radio X opted-in database of listeners to promote the purchase of flowers for loved ones.

RCS allows businesses to implement branded, two-way rich communications. The technology delivers interactive elements such as carousels, suggested response buttons, video and high-resolution images on mobile phones.

RCS is now fully enabled in the UK and with momentum continuously building and customer demand increasing, RCS is well on its way to becoming the primary next-gen messaging tool for today’s B2C messaging.

Joel Stern, Commercial Enterprise Director at Global said: “We always strive to lead the way and with a proud record of mobile innovation, we’re very excited about the opportunity RCS represents. As compatible handsets grow, so will the number of consumers we can reach and this could completely transform the way we communicate with our listeners.”

Stephen George, Commercial Director at Fonix added: “We’re thrilled to be working with Global – it’s been great to showcase the exciting work that we’ve been doing behind the scenes to drive RCS forwards.

“If everyone comes together and gets moving: mobile operators and RCS Messaging hubs (e.g., Google, Samsung, etc.), the industry, brands, and enterprises have a real promising opportunity ahead.”