Axiata Group has signed a partnership with mobile payments provider Fortumo for direct carrier billing. The direct carrier billing partnership covers 8 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, Singapore and Pakistan.
The first markets that were launched thanks to the partnership are Indonesia (XL Axiata) and Malaysia (Celcom), covering 43 million mobile subscribers.
In Indonesia, only 5 million people have a credit card while there are already more than 65 million smartphone owners. App stores and digital content merchants who implement direct carrier billing are thus able to reach 10 times more paying users in the country than with bank-based payment methods.
As part of the agreement, Fortumo will integrate Axiata Group’s direct carrier billing API into its billing infrastructure which will in turn enable merchants to seamlessly launch payments in all markets where Axiata operates. This approach allows Axiata to quickly onboard leading digital content merchants while Fortumo takes care of the merchant on-boarding, support and business operations activities.
Gerri Kodres, Chief Busines Officer, Fotumo
Axiata and Fortumo have a strong overlap of strategic interests in Asia. Fortumo’s platform is used by leading merchants in digital entertainment who are looking to expand their payment coverage in Asia.
