Successful CMOs achieve growth by leveraging technology. Join us for GrowthBeat Summit on June 1-2 in Boston, where we'll discuss how to merge creativity with technology to drive growth. Space is limited. Request your personal invitation here!
Mobile payments platform Boku is launching its carrier-billing technology on Google Play, letting anyone buy games and apps without the need for a bank card to complete the purchase. The technology is rolling out slowly and will only be available in Saudi Arabia at first, however.
Boku has inked a deal with Middle East mobile network Zain, which claims nine million customers across Saudi Arabia, and is working closely with MT2, one of the biggest billing platforms in the Middle East. Though the initial launch is small in scope, today’s move represents the first of several partnerships the company has in the pipeline as it looks to enable carrier-billing through Google Play in many more markets.
Though carrier billing is a fairly common offering in Google Play around the world, this is the first time Boku has entered the fray, and as one of the world’s largest carrier billing-providers, this is a notable move.
Founded out of San Francisco in 2009, Boku has signed deals with many of the major mobile carriers around the world, letting consumers pay for content using nothing more than their mobile phone number. So, if someone wants to buy movies or music through their smart TV, for example, they enter their phone number and the charge appears on their phone bill. For merchants, Boku also provides the software to process these payments.
While carrier-billing is convenient for many people as it lets them centralize all their payments and also negates the need to memorize bank card numbers and codes, it makes particular sense in countries where credit cards and banking in general have low traction. In Saudi Arabia, only 17 percent of consumers have a credit card while less than 50 percent have a bank account, according to Boku, citing data from The World Bank.
How it works
During the Google Play checkout process, users will see two options for making payments — credit/debit card and mobile billing. When enabling mobile billing, users enter their phone number and then wait for a verification SMS to arrive on their phone to complete the setup.
It’s worth noting here that this will work for non-contract “pre-paid” customers too. The cost of any item is simply deducted from a consumer’s available credit. This effectively opens up m-commerce payments on Google Play to millions of people for the first time, people who hitherto have settled for free Android games and apps.
Boku has already taken its carrier billing technology to many of the big guns from the tech world, including Spotify, Facebook, and Sony. And back in February, Boku launched phone-on-file carrier billing, letting merchants store a phone number on file to expedite future transactions — similar to what the likes of Amazon, Google, and Amazon already do with credit card payments.
With $70 million in funding under its belt, Boku claims it has managed to reach more than four billion end-users across 70 countries. With Google Play integration now in tow, Boku’s expansive reach can only grow.
“Boku is well positioned to extend this partnership to other carriers across the globe,” said Boku CEO Jon Prideaux. “The opportunities for carriers are truly limitless when a company with Boku’s global footprint integrates with one of the world’s most popular app stores.”
VentureBeat’s VB Insight team is studying marketing analytics... Chime in here, and we’ll share the results.