[July 01, 2014]

Fortumo & Telenor Launch Direct Carrier Billing in Pakistan

The mobile payments company Fortumo and mobile operator Telenor Pakistan (News - Alert) are today launching direct carrier billing in Pakistan. More than 35 million subscribers of Telenor Pakistan are now able to make easy online payments by charging purchases to their phone bill. Fortumo will also start powering in-app purchasing for Telenor App Store.

"Right now merchants are missing out on a great deal of revenue from emerging markets because very few users have credit cards which are needed to make payments in Google (News - Alert) Play. Meanwhile, carrier billing can be used by anyone with a mobile phone. Together with Telenor, which is one of the most innovative mobile operators in the region, we are providing end-users with a means to pay for high-quality content while adding previously unavailable revenue to developers," said Gerri Kodres, SVP of Business Development & Carrier Relations at Fortumo.

"An enormous part of Telenor Pakistan's subscriber base comprises of a young population which represents a strong potential to reach apps, games and web services developers' user base. Through the partnership with Fortumo, developers can start accepting purchases from these users through direct carrier billing - the most widely available payment method in emerging markets," said Muhammd Farooq Shaikh, Director Digital Services, Telenor Pakistan. "The facility will play a big role in promoting online commerce through convenience and accessibility," he added.

Less than 1.5 million people in Pakistan own credit cards while there over 130 million mobile phone users in the country. Therefore, mobile operator billing increases merchants' payment covrage in the country almost 90 times. Smartphone ownership in Pakistan is estimated to grow by 50% this year and is currently around 15%. Smartphone adoption will further be accelerated with the launch of 3G services by Telenor Pakistan and other operators in the country.

Telenor has also implemented Fortumo in-app purchasing in its Telenor App Store which features games from top developers like Gameloft, GLU Mobile and Creative Mobile. Developers who want to earn additional revenue from Telenor App Store can sign up at http://fortumo.com/telenorpakistan.

In addition to Telenor App Store, Fortumo's Android (News - Alert) SDK can be used in dozens of other Android marketplaces with just one integration.

As announced in May 2013, Fortumo has signed global framework agreement with Telenor Group, covering 12 countries in Europe & Asia.

Direct carrier billing lets users make payments over a data connection by confirming payments with one click on their phone. Since the mobile operator has all the information necessary to process the payment, this removes the need to send any text messages during the payment process. In markets where Fortumo provides direct carrier billing, payment conversion for first-time payments is close to 40% and higher for repeat purchases.

Fortumo offers 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.

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 (News - Alert) and Windows 8 apps. Fortumo supports payments in 81 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 (News - Alert) and Greycroft Partners.

About Telenor Pakistan

Telenor Pakistan is a provider of high quality telecommunication services in Pakistan since 2005. It has 35 million subscribers, over 2800 employees and a nationwide network covering more than 8,000 cities. It holds a majority share in Tameer Micro Finance Bank Limited. Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to operations in Asia. For more information www.telenor.com.pk

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