iQIYI launches direct carrier billing with Fortumo
Reach
21 October 2020
Boku Inc.
("Boku" or the "Company")
iQIYI International launches direct carrier billing with Fortumo
Boku Inc (AIM: BOKU), a leading global mobile payment and mobile identity company, is pleased to announce that its recently acquired subsidiary, Fortumo, together with the video streaming service iQIYI International are today announcing the launch of a carrier billing partnership. Consumers can now subscribe to iQIYI International by charging the purchases to their mobile phone bill or prepaid SIM card. The first country where carrier billing has become available is Malaysia, with the Philippines to be launched next.
iQIYI International launched carrier billing through Fortumo's Hosted Direct Carrier Billing ("DCB") product. Hosted DCB connects iQIYI International with the local mobile operator's carrier billing platforms, while Fortumo manages the checkout flows and localisation. This allowed iQIYI International to launch carrier billing with minimal development effort, and carrier billing can be launched in additional countries without any technical changes required.
iQIYI International's subscription-based business model is further supported by end-to-end user lifecycle management thanks to Fortumo's Subscription Engine. The Subscription Engine takes care of subscription activations, renewals and terminations on behalf of iQIYI, while also supporting easy launches of marketing promotions (such as discounts and free trials), built-in grace periods and failed payment retry mechanisms.
In South-East Asia, less than 20% of people own a credit card while the majority of consumers have a smartphone. This makes it challenging for digital merchants to collect payments in the region: while most people have access to online content, most people are unable to pay for premium services. Carrier billing resolves this issue by allowing any mobile phone owner to charge online payments to their phone bill instead. Additional data on the mobile ecosystem of the region can be found from Fortumo's Asia market report accessible at: https://fortumo.com/blog/carrier-billing-in-asia-market-report-by-fortumo/ .
Andrea Boetti, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Fortumo commented , "Carrier billing is the simplest and widely available payment method for collecting payments on mobile devices, which makes it ideal for mobile-first digital content providers for user acquisition and conversion. iQIYI International is a leading company in the video streaming industry and we are excited to enable a simpler way to access high-quality content for their customers."
Enquiries:
Boku, Inc. +44 (0)20 3934 6630
Jon Prideaux, Chief Executive Officer
Keith Butcher, Chief Financial Officer
IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR & IR) +44 (0)20 3934 6630
Tim Metcalfe / Graham Herring / Florence Chandler
About Boku
Boku Inc. (AIM: BOKU) is a leading global provider of mobile payment and mobile identity solutions. Boku's technology platform, which is linked to more than 200 mobile wallets and network operators worldwide, verifies user identity, executes payments, and provisions new services, simplifying daily mobile interactions between consumers and digital organizations.
Boku's technology platform is used in over 59 countries with over 815 million verified transactions in 2019, contributing $5 billion to the digital economy. Businesses that currently employ Boku's platform to simplify sign-up, acquire new paying users and prevent fraud include global leaders such as Amazon, Apple, Experian, Facebook, FIS, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Paypal, Sony, and Spotify.
Fortumo, acquired by Boku on 1 July 2020, is a digital enablement platform for app stores and digital service providers for user acquisition, monetization and retention. The company, founded in 2007, connects service providers with more than 280 mobile operators across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. Service providers use Fortumo's platform to manage the end-to-end customer lifecycle of mobile users on these networks through the company's bundling, carrier billing and messaging solutions. Fortumo's platform is used by thousands of leading digital merchants
Boku Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in various locations globally including in the US, Estonia, Beijing, Delhi, Hanoi, Jakarta, Madrid, Mumbai, Munich, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo.
To learn more about Boku Inc., please visit: https://www.boku.com
About iQIYI International
Headquartered in Singapore, iQIYI International is an on-demand video streaming providing beloved pan-Asian entertainment to international viewers. Offering both ad-supported and VIP subscription services, iQIYI International delivers premium drama series, movies, variety shows, and anime; with local languages and subtitles; powered by cutting-edge technology. iQIYI International also makes its technology available to other entertainment services through SaaS partnerships. iQIYI International can be enjoyed on any device via iQ.com and the app. iQIYI International is owned by iQIYI, Inc. (Nasdaq: IQ).
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