Digi and Fortumo have launched direct carrier billing in Malaysia.
The partnership will allow 12 million subscribers of Digi – part of Telenor - to make online payments by charging purchases to their mobile phone bill. Fortumo’s direct carrier billing platform is used by leading app stores (Google Play & Windows Phone Store), digital content providers (Sony, HOOQ, Gaana, Magzter), game developers (EA Mobile and Gameloft), smartphone manufacturers (Huawei, Xiaomi) and thousands of other merchants.
“Carrier billing has evolved a lot and has now become the preferred emerging markets’ choice for many digital merchant categories, including music and video streaming, digital media, gaming and social,” said Gerri Kodres, Chief Business Officer at Fortumo.
The technology fills a significant gap in the online payments ecosystem in Malaysia due to an inadequate banking and credit card infrastructure. While 34% of people in the country already have a smartphone, only 20% have access to a credit card. This means a large part of the population has online access but is unable to pay for premium content.
Carrier billing resolves this issue by enabling any phone owner to make online payments. According to Fortumo’s internal data, the average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) in Malaysia is $5.4 and roughly half of all online purchases are done on mobile devices.
