Mopay Inc. has announced plans to expand its global presence. Under the initiative, the Germany-based mobile-payments company hopes to enable U.S. consumers to purchase virtual goods and other digital content using their mobile-phone accounts, the company notes in a recent press release. It also hopes to create a new revenue channel to U.S. gaming and social-network providers.
Mopay currently serves global online-gaming brands such as Germany-based Bigpoint GmbH, Gameforge AG, Travian Games GmbH and InnoGames GmbH, and Finland-based Sulake Corp. It is targeting U.S. online-gaming sites and social-networking platforms that have international appeal, Reiss says. Mopay was unable to comment on which sites it is targeting.
Overall, the U.S. market is primed for growth in the mobile-payments market, Kolja Reiss, managing director of Mopay in North America, tells PaymentsSource, basing his beliefs on the experiences of other providers and on an increase in demand from U.S. consumers unable to make mobile payments on European gaming and social networking sites.
For consumers, Mopay provides an alternative to PayPal or credit card payments and does not require them to set up an account, Reiss explains. Instead of putting in a credit card account number, consumers who choose to pay through Mopay only need their mobile phone number. Customers actually pay for the goods when they pay their next mobile phone bill.
Mopay plans to extend sales of its service to U.S. consumers searching for a mobile-payments player that has global coverage, the company states in the release. Companies that add Mopay as a payment plan will profit from higher revenue by garnering more business through consumers who don’t own a credit card, Reiss contends.
Reiss believes the product has a strong chance to succeed in the U.S. because of the growing mobile-payments market. “In fact, in a couple of years, maybe even months, mobile payments for virtual goods between 10 cents and $10 will mature and become widely accepted,” he adds.
However, Nick Holland, senior analyst at Aite Group LLC, a Boston-based independent research and advisory firm, tells PaymentsSource that, while mobile-based payments potentially could thrive in the U.S., most American consumers are not going to pay for low-priced items through their mobile-phone bills. Moreover, there is no guarantee of loyalty because the market is so fickle, he says.
“Once the novelty factor of one site wears off, consumers will most likely move on to the next thing,” Holland adds. “Because of this, too many similar mobile-payment providers go in and out of the market.”
Mopay’s new American headquarters is based in Palo Alto, Calif.
