Carrier Billing Hits High Street With Boku

Boku is rolling out a new carrier billing solution that allows O2, EE and Vodafone customers to pay for physical goods using their mobile phone number for the first time.

The e-money solution differs to what is readily available due to the fact that it is a fully regulated payment product and goes beyond the limits that were originally set out under the EU’s somewhat outdated Payment Services Directive [PSD].

“Up to now buying stuff and charging it to your phone bill has been restricted, limited to digital goods and operating in a regulatory framework designed years ago to handle ringtone downloads,” said Jon Prideaux, CEO of Boku. “We are now entering a new era for carrier billing. Boku has re-invented carrier billing as a mainstream payment method.”

Boku’s new solution lets mobile phone owners use to buy all sorts of products across every ecommerce sector compared to before when purchases were limited to just digital products.

“As an authorised e-money issuer, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Boku enables consumers to make purchases quickly and simply. Merchants who allow their customers to charge things to their phone bill sell more. Mobile Network Operators can offer an improved experience to their subscribers, with Boku bearing responsibility for the entire compliance envelope,” Prideaux added.

Boku is a world leader in the carrier-billing sector with a trusted platform that has seen over 250 of the world’s largest mobile operators sign up to offer payments and it already reaches some four billion consumers across the world.

In addition to this it has a solid list of global merchant partners that includes Facebook, Sony and EA with a wide range of leading Silicon Valley venture capitalists leading investment into the company.

Image Credit: Flickr (James Burrage)