Smart Communications, Inc. and Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), the mobile subsidiaries of Philippine digital services leader PLDT, have launched carrier billing on the Windows Phone Store app store. More than 70 million customers of Smart and DMPI’s Sun can now conveniently charge purchases of apps and games from the Windows Phone Store to their phone bill through a 1–click payment.
The integration of the two carriers to Windows Phone Store was done by Fortumo, the mobile payments company that provides direct carrier billing services in over 90 countries to digital and virtual content merchants. Smart & Fortumo have been working together to enable direct carrier billing for merchants since 2014.
“We are thrilled to partner once again with Fortumo to bring carrier billing to our subscribers, this time to allow users to purchase apps and other virtual content on the Windows Phone Store. This will bring much-needed convenience to Windows Phone users since they can easily charge purchases on their postpaid accounts, or have them deducted from their prepaid credits. This is part of our initiative to bring the best and the latest digital services to our consumers so they can experience the ’Smart Life’,” said Mellissa Limcaoco, innovations and product development group head at Smart.
According to data from World Bank, less than 3 million Filipinos have access to credit cards while the country is estimated to reach 40 million smartphone owners this year. Therefore in emerging markets like the Philippines, direct carrier billing increases the coverage of users who have access to payments tenfold.
Over the past years, Fortumo has been heavily expanding its presence in Asia, having opened an office in Singapore in October 2014, an addition to existing offices in Beijing, Delhi and Mumbai. Recently the company announced partnerships with Thai carrier Dtac and with Huawei, a globally leading smartphone manufacturer. In total, Fortumo mobile payments are available to end-users in 15 markets across Asia.
Besides the Windows Phone Store, Fortumo’s platform is powering leading platforms and digital content providers in Asia, including Gaana, UCWeb, Box TV, Ditto TV, Mobogenie, Boyaa, Octro, Games2Win and Huawei. To enable global carrier billing for these merchants, Fortumo has partnerships with more than 350 mobile operators across the world, including mobile operator groups such as Telefónica, Telenor, Singtel, Turkcell and Kyivstar, as well as leading mobile operators in India and China.
Fortumo’s direct carrier billing platform allows users to make payments over a data connection by confirming purchases with one click on their phone. Payments are processed without any additional information required from the mobile user which provides a significant conversion improvement compared to any other online payment method such as credit cards.
