US carrier billing company Boku has announced theacquisition of one of its leading competitors, Mopay which will see Boku becomea dominant player not only in the US but also in Europe and around the world.By acquiring Mopay (the financial terms were not disclosed), Boku willinstantly gain access to Mopay’s network to hundreds of new online merchantsand consumers worldwide.
Commenting on the announcement, Jon Prideaux, CEO of Bokusaid, “By coming together we’ve created a company that can realise the visionof charging purchases to your phone bill as a truly global payment method atscale. Together, Boku and mopay serve some of the largest digital merchants inthe world and we have a tremendous pipeline in the works.”
The news of the acquisition follows a week after Bokuannounced a partnership deal with the three leading mobile network operators inthe UK after becoming a fully e-money licensed mobile payment provider.
While the majority of the payments industry has focusedtheir attention on mobile payments at the point-of-sale or mobile onlineinitiated payments but without the required infrastructure in some parts of theworld or consumer preference to not share sensitive data means that mobilecarrier billing is the most practical alternative. Whether mobile carrierbilling remains important over the long run is to be seen but the acquisitionof Mopay ensures that Boku will become a global player and at the forefront ofthe segment
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director of International Advisory Service for Mercator Advisory Group
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