China’s Union Mobile Pay service’s transaction sales volume exceeded 30 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion or 3.1 billion euros) in 2009, a spokesperson for the mobile payment service provider tells PaymentsSource.
It is the first time the service has disclosed transaction-sales data. The service’s number of registered users soared to 140 million at the end of 2009, up from 10 million at the end of 2006, the spokesperson says
Founded in 2004, Union Mobile Pay is a joint venture between China Mobile Ltd., China’s largest mobile operator, and China UnionPay, the country’s only interbank funds-transfer network. It enables consumers to make payments for a variety of services using mobile handsets.
Participants make payments by sending text messages to a predetermined number, and the sales are charged directly to their mobile accounts.
Union Mobile Pay operates through a network of 18 banks, and it had entered into partnerships with some 500 businesses that accept mobile-phone payments at the end of last year, the spokesperson says. Examples include companies providing mobile and credit card bill payments, and online ticket-sales, he adds.
“The bank and (business) partner network gives us a solid base to tap the entire strength” of China Mobile’s 554 million users, the spokesperson says.
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