March 31, 2011 01:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Zong Payment Index Shows Strong Growth in Mobile Payments Worldwide
MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zong today released the first installment of a new monthly report, the Zong Payment Index (ZPI), which tracks the spending patterns of Zong’s global user base and is broken down by its top 40 markets. The ZPI reflects three factors: (1) consumer willingness to use their mobile phone to buy digital goods online; (2) consumer ability to use their mobile phone to make purchases as determined by mobile operator policies (e.g., spending limits) and (3) the cost of mobile payments as determined by mobile operators’ fees which sometimes result in consumer surcharges.
“We are releasing the information publicly so that the industry can also gain from the value of these insights and extrapolate the results to other areas of mobile payments.”
The index is anchored by metrics from January 2010 and measures average monthly spend per user in comparison to that baseline.
“The ZPI helps us understand how our customers are using Zong and how we can improve the experience for them. We are dissecting how the different factors such as merchant availability and operator policies have a huge and direct effect on consumer behavior,” said David Marcus, CEO of Zong. “We are releasing the information publicly so that the industry can also gain from the value of these insights and extrapolate the results to other areas of mobile payments.”
The first installment of the ZPI introduces data and analysis up to February 2011. A summary of key findings include:
#1. The global aggregate index shows that the average monthly spend per Zong user is up 37% in the last 12 months. This growth is attributed to an increase in available Zong merchant locations, lower transaction fees, and the introduction of higher spending limits set by mobile operators.
#2. Total spend per Zong customer increased more than 50% in the last 12 months in Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany and The Netherlands. Growth in user spend is primarily a result of operators changing spending limits and allowing customers to spend more per transaction when using Zong.
#3. In the US, the monthly spend per user decreased 8% from January 2011 to February 2011. This was primarily driven by a top tier carrier temporarily decreasing the monthly spending limit from $100 to $25. The limit has since increased back to $100, allowing for an expected growth in monthly spend per Zong customer.
The full report is now available at http://www.zong.com/about/zong-payment-index. Each monthly report will be found and archived here.
About Zong
Zong is the leading mobile payments platform for sellers of digital goods and services. Its frictionless payment experience converts shoppers into buyers at rates up to 10 times greater than traditional payment methods. Zong leverages direct connections with mobile network operators around the world to provide a secure payment solution with unrivaled connectivity and service quality. Zong is the mobile payment provider for Facebook Credits and is also accepted at over a thousand digital merchant sites. Reaching 3.2 billion mobile users, Zong provides localized payment capabilities in over 40 countries in 21 languages. Zong is based in Menlo Park with offices in Paris, Geneva, and Dusseldorf, and is backed by Matrix Partners, Advent Venture Partners and Newbury Ventures. For more information, please visit www.zong.com.
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