Boku Earns E-Money License in Europe (Jan. 14, 2013)
Jan. 14, 2013
San Francisco-based mobile direct carrier biller Boku has received an e-money license for its European payments platform. Boku said the approval from the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority will enable the company to expand its platform in Europe.
Currently operating in more than 65 countries, Boku has direct billing deals with about 250 carriers covering approximately 3.2 million customers, according to the firm. In August of 2012, Boku inked a deal with Australian telecom provider Optus and Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry mobile device, to enable Optus subscribers to use direct billing for purchases made via mobile devices on Facebook and BlackBerry App World.
Direct carrier billing is growing steadily more popular, with the volume of such payments nearly quadrupling over the past three years, according to a client study by mobile billing provider mopay Inc. Much of that growth, the report found, was comprised of repeat users, with gaming and online dating two of the hottest market sectors for the billing option.
