March 24, 2011 03:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time The mpass system driven by O2, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom allows merchants to accept payments for virtual, digital and physical goods.
SAN FRANCISCO & MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Telefónica O2 Germany, a leading provider of broadband and mobile services, and BOKU Inc., the global leader in online mobile payments, today announced a direct carrier billing relationship. O2 customers can now use BOKU’s payment platform to purchase virtual and digital goods ranging from .09 Euros to 30.00 Euros. O2 customers pay for goods by entering their mobile number and charging directly to their mobile phone carrier bill.
“Understanding customer needs and merchant requirements in regards to our payment products is essential for continuing our success story in the mobile payment area. A close collaboration with BOKU ensures we position ourselves closely to the key players in the market”
O2 is part of Telefónica, a leading global provider of broadband and mobile services, and the second largest carrier group in the world. O2’s mpass system allows direct carrier billing for the purchase of virtual, digital and physical goods.
This new partnership integrates the BOKU mobile payments platform into O2 Germany’s operator billing interface, enabling the following advanced features:
- Support for one-off and subscription payments in Germany
- Full pricing granularity from .09 Euros to 30.00 Euros
- Authorization and Capture APIs with refund support
- In-App Billing support
- Web Billing support
The Boku service offers consumers a quicker and easier way to pay online when compared with existing credit card solutions.
“This agreement opens up the opportunity for BOKU merchants to offer payment for physical goods as well as virtual and digital goods,” said James Patmore, Managing Director, BOKU in EMEA. “Our partnership with O2 confirms our vision of evolving online mobile payments into a range of new vertical markets.”
“Understanding customer needs and merchant requirements in regards to our payment products is essential for continuing our success story in the mobile payment area. A close collaboration with BOKU ensures we position ourselves closely to the key players in the market,” said Michiel van Eldik, Managing Director Wholesale and Partner Management, Telefónica O2 Germany.
“We want to provide our customers with a safe, reliable, and convenient payment solution to pay for goods, be they virtual or physical,” continued O2’s van Eldik. “BOKU’s mobile payments platform has the right blend of technology and finance-grade infrastructure to mesh well with O2 customer needs.”
BOKU’s bank-grade mobile payment service is available to online merchants and publishers on a global scale. The BOKU service enables merchants and publishers to drive incremental revenue by offering carrier billing as a payment option to their customers. BOKU is connected to 230 mobile operators in more than 65 countries, and provides access to more than 2.5 billion potential customers who can pay by mobile.
About BOKU:
BOKU is the standard for online payments using your mobile phone, making it easy to purchase goods and charge to your mobile operator bill. BOKU brings bank-grade payments technology and mobile users together on the web, creating a trusted, accessible market for consumers, publishers and carriers alike. Based in San Francisco with offices in Europe and Asia, BOKU reaches over 2.5 billion consumers worldwide. With localization in 28 different languages, BOKU operates in 64 different countries, across 230 different carriers globally. Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists fund BOKU including Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures, DAG Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. For more information visit: www.boku.com
BOKU and Pay by Mobile are registered trademarks or trademarks of BOKU, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. BOKU reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
About mpass:
mpass is the mobile internet payment system provided by the German telecommunication companies Telekom Germany, Vodafone Germany and O2 Germany. Since 2008, more than 20 million potential mobile customers with a bank account in Germany are preregistered for this comfortable and secure payment method. The service is not only available to customers of Telekom, Vodafone and O2, but to all mobile users who are customers of German mobile telecommunication providers. With mpass, Telekom, Vodafone and O2 have expanded their innovative technology and services range by the additional mobile payment portfolio. Detailed information is also available at www.mpass.de
About Telefónica O2:
Telefónica O2 Germany GmbH & Co. OHG belongs to Telefónica Europe and is part of the Spanish telecommunication group Telefónica S.A. The Company offers its German private and business customers postpaid and prepaid mobile telecom products as well as innovative mobile data services based on the GPRS and UMTS technologies. In addition, the integrated communications provider also offers DSL fixed network telephony and high-speed internet. Telefónica Europe has about 55 million mobile and fixed network customers in Great Britain, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany.
