The mobile payments company Fortumo and China Mobile Pakistan (Zong) announced a direct carrier billing partnership in the country. Digital content merchants and app stores using Fortumo's carrier billing platform can now collect payments from 26 million Zong customers in Pakistan.
The partnership will allow users to make payments over a data connection by confirming purchases on their mobile devices. 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.
Fortumo is also working together with another operator in the country, Telenor Pakistan to provide the same service. According to data from World Bank, Pakistan has a credit card penetration of less than 1% (less than 1 million credit cards across 182 million inhabitants) which makes carrier billing a facility for many mobile users for making purchases online. Meanwhile, smartphone penetration rose rapidly in the country, reaching 56 million Pakistanis following the launch of 3G services by both Operators back in 2014.
