Bango, a mobile payments and analytics company, works with carriers (and other companies) as a middle-man to help set up payment systems and has now started offering Google Play billing as well. Carrier billing for items on Google Play is something that many carriers around the world are looking to get involved with. It's not always practical (or profitable) at the start to get it set up, however. Effectively outsourcing the payment processing and setup to another company makes sense for many companies out there trying to get into this game.
The first carrier on board with Bango for their mobile payments is Telstra in Australia. Given some of the big names that Bango currently does business with, we could see more carriers rolling out Google Play carrier billing with them soon. You can check out the full press release after the break.
Bango launches billing on Google Play
Cambridge and New York, December 10th, 2012. Bango plc (AIM: BGO), the mobile payments and analytics company, announces that its first integration on Google Play™ is now live. The first mobile network operator (MNO) to be connected is Telstra, the leading MNO in Australia. Telstra subscribers using Google Play can now purchase digital content without resort to sending SMS messages or the limitations of credit cards. Users now enjoy frictionless operator billing powered by Bango, paying on their phone bill, without the need to register personal details.
On 21 May 2012, Bango announced that various MNOs had approached Bango to use the Bango payment platform to connect their billing systems to the Google Play store. This is the first such partnership to have gone live, reflecting the strong culture of innovation at Telstra. The Board believes it is too early to accurately forecast the level of business which will be generated through the partnership.
Bango expects to deliver further operator connections into Google Play in the coming year, as Android™ continues to forge ahead in the connected device market.
More than an application store, Google Play is all the stuff you love in one place, delivering music, books, movies and apps straight to hundreds of millions of users around the world. Operator billing is emerging as an ideal billing method for such a wide-range of digital categories. The proliferation of content rich devices running Android, coupled with the simplest online payment method available, is the basis for a truly transformative global business.
Bango is one of the world's leading mobile payments and analytics companies. App stores, publishers and content providers use Bango to collect payment from mobile device users for online content and services. Bango’s pervasive presence across app stores and the mobile web creates a platform effect for its partners, leading to more identified mobile users and maximizing the number of single-click payments. The result is a one click payment experience and significantly higher rates of collection. This is the experience that Telstra subscribers on Google Play will now enjoy.
Telstra’s Director of Consumer Applications and Services, Freddie Jansen Van Nieuwenhuizen, said the new service would make it easier for Australians to acquire the latest games and content for their mobile devices.
“Aussies love their mobile apps. Telstra research shows that on average we download 36 apps each year and one in five of those are paid for. With more than 700,000 games, apps, books, movies and magazines now available on Google Play, including a wide selection of paid titles, many of our customers have told us they would like a simpler way to buy.
Bango CEO Ray Anderson added: “Android is winning the battle for smartphone market share. As user numbers soar, we will see an increasing flow of developer talent and compelling content channelled through Google Play. We’re expecting that operator billing from Bango will boost conversion rates and developer monetization. It’s a new weapon in Google’s armoury”.
Bango has become the payments platform of choice for many of the world’s leading app stores. In addition to this first Google Play integration, Bango’s existing app store connections include Facebook, Blackberry App World, Opera Mobile Store and others. Bango has also announced an agreement to provide payment services to Amazon and has become a technology partner for MasterCard's PayPass mobile wallet.
About Bango
In the era of mobile technology, collecting payments has emerged as a central and complex challenge. Bango (AIM: BGO) powers payment and analytics on the mobile web, providing users with a massively smooth payment experience.
Bango’s pervasive presence across the web creates a platform effect for partners, identifying hundreds of millions of users and maximising the number of single click payments. Customers who plug into Bango include Facebook, Blackberry App World, Windows Phone Store, Amazon and major mobile brands including CNN, Cartoon Network and EA Mobile. Visit: bango.com
