August 24, 2011 06:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SFR and Bouygues Telecom deal expands direct carrier billing coverage in France to 32 million additional customers with higher payouts for BOKU™ merchants
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BOKU, the global leader in online mobile payments, announced today that it has launched direct carrier billing with French carriers Bouygues Telecom and SFR, a subsidiary of Vivendi, adding to existing direct billing with Orange France. The partnership offers over an additional 32 million French customers the ability to pay for digital goods and services using only their existing wireless service account, with the charge appearing on their carrier bill. With this agreement, nearly all mobile users in France will benefit from BOKU direct carrier billing.
“User feedback and increased revenue clearly indicate how much people love the convenience of BOKU to pay via their mobile number. This new partnership will extend that convenience to many more loyal gamers in France.”
Bouygues Telecom and SFR are launching a new service enabling consumers to purchase goods online and use BOKU to pay with their mobile phone number. That service, Internet + Mobile allows a fully integrated 2-click purchase process that results in higher payouts and gives online merchants access to a full range of price points of up to 10 Euros.
"France accounts for more than 50 Million mobile subscribers and has one of the most advanced online markets in the world,” said Mark Britto, CEO of BOKU. “France is already one of BOKU’s top ten markets, and these new connections will undoubtedly keep them in that category and growing fast.”
Virtually all mobile customers in France can now pay for online content and virtual goods from participating merchants using the BOKU mobile payments service. A direct connection between the French carriers and BOKU provides value-added service to online consumers and merchants, including a secure payment mechanism that is convenient and easy to use, and that provides an alternative payment method for consumers, particularly those with limited access to credit or debit cards.
MovieStarPlanet is one merchant already taking advantage of the direct carrier billing relationship with SFR and Bouygues Telecom. “Purchasing Starcoins is now even easier with this partnership powering a safe, secure and convenient direct carrier billing option,” said MovieStarPlanet’s CEO Claus Lykke Jensen. "User feedback and increased revenue clearly indicate how much people love the convenience of BOKU to pay via their mobile number. This new partnership will extend that convenience to many more loyal gamers in France."
About BOKU:
BOKU is the global leader in online payments, allowing consumers to purchase goods and services with their wireless number, and charge to their mobile operator bill. BOKU brings bank-grade payments technology and mobile users together on the web, creating a trusted, accessible market for consumers, merchants and carriers alike. Based in San Francisco with offices in Europe and Asia, BOKU reaches over 3 billion consumers worldwide. With localization and support in 32 different languages, BOKU operates in 65 different countries, across 230 different carriers globally. Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists fund BOKU including Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
The company has invested more than 84 man-years in development of the BOKU Payment Platform™, with experienced developers from state-of-the-art companies like Apple, Amazon, AT&T, Bank Of America, First USA, Google, Paypal, Visa and Yahoo!. Additionally, BOKU processes transactions in 40+ currencies, collection in 10+ currencies and offers VAT/TAX management across 65 different countries while maintaining a 24x7 on-call response team for platform issues and customer support. For more information visit:www.boku.com.
BOKU, 1-Tap 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 SFR:
SFR is the second biggest telecommunications operator in France, with a turnover of €12.6 billion in 2010. As a global operator, it satisfies the requirements of domestic and professional customers, businesses and operators worldwide, covering mobile and fixed telecommunications, Internet and television services. SFR deploys its own mobile and fixed infrastructure, backed by expert IP (Internet Protocol) teams that live up to the ambitious demands placed on them: to be a transparent and responsible market player whose mission is to keep abreast of the needs of each individual and corporate customer, bringing them the best that digital technology can offer.
As of March 31, 2011, SFR had more than 21 million mobile customers, including some 16 million subscribers and 4.9 million high-speed home Internet subscribers. SFR is a fully-owned subsidiary of Vivendi and has around 10,000 employees.
Useful Links:
BOKU website: http://www.BOKU.com
Media Kit: http://www.BOKU.com/press/media
MovieStarPlanet Website: www.moviestarplanet.com
Bouygues Telecom website: http://www.bouygues.com
SFR Website: http://www.sfr.fr
Vivendi Website: http://www.vivendi.com
