SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile payments company Fortumo announced today a direct carrier billing partnership with Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), the largest mobile operator in the Philippines that will allow its subscribers to pay for games conveniently through their phone.
Fortumo, who provides billing for top global game developers such as Rovio, Electronic Arts and Gameloft, will make its games portfolio also available for Smart’s game store, GameX (www.gamex.ph).
“The Philippines is a market which is very well suited for this kind of operator billing payment. Through the deal with Fortumo, our subscribers will enjoy the ease of paying for many global games and apps through their phones. This will also benefit further the game developer’s community. Fortumo is also working together with Smart to educate local app and game developers about opportunities to open their apps for the overseas markets,” said Orlando B. Vea, Smart chief wireless advisor.
The Philippines has an extremely low penetration of credit cards, so only very few people can make payments online. Compared to the 104 million mobile phones in circulation, there are less than 3 million credit cards in circulation - this means enabling operator billing for digital content increases the potential number of users who can enjoy mobile game purchases 30 times.
While already 39% of phones in use in the Philippines are smartphones, a majority of people still use feature phones. Fortumo has built a special payment flow for web payments which support payments on low-capability feature phones.
Fortumo’s direct carrier billing solution - in which a user does not need to send any text messages to complete the payment - is now available to more than 2.5 billion end-users globally.
For mobile developers, Fortumo offers a pioneering self-service setup with no monthly fees or minimum volume commitments, allowing any developer, regardless of size and location to sign up for an account and get started with mobile payments at http://fortumo.com.
Smart currently offers a wide portfolio of mobile games through its mobile portal and is also active in supporting the game developer community in the Philippines through its developer network program Smart DevNet.
About Fortumo
Fortumo allows any merchant to set up payment processing for web and mobile services, games or apps. Users with a mobile phone are then able to make one-click payments using Fortumo without the need for a credit card - payments are charged to their mobile operator bill instead. Fortumo payments are cross-platform and work in PC applications, web services and HTML5, Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps. Fortumo supports payments in 80 countries through 300 mobile operators, including a number of exclusive direct carrier billing partnerships. Founded in 2007, Fortumo has offices in Estonia, San Francisco, Beijing and Delhi and is backed by Intel Capital and Greycroft Partners.
About Smart Communications
Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is the Philippines' leading wireless services provider with 56.6 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-September 2013. Smart has built a reputation for innovation, having introduced world-first wireless offerings such as Smart Money, Smart Load, Smart Padala, and the Netphone. Smart offers 3G, HSPA+, and LTE services while its satellite service Smart Link provides communications to the global maritime industry. Smart Broadband, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, offers a wireless broadband service, Smart Broadband, with 1.8 million subscribers as of end-September 2013. Smart is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Philippines' leading telecommunications carrier, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. For more information, visit http://www.smart.com.ph.
