Globe Telecom, the Philippines' largest wireless carrier, has formed a partnership for carrier billing with Fortumo, enabling its mobile phone customers to bill digital purchases to their monthly wireless statement.
The addition of Globe to Fortumo's existing partnerships with other local wireless carriers means the carrier billing company now covers 100% of the mobile subscriber base in the Philippines, Fortumo said in a June 7 press release.
Fortumo expects to see significant growth in carrier billing in the Philippines, where more than 40% of consumers have a smartphone, but only about 3% have access to a credit card. If present trends continue, more than 70% of Filipinos will own a smartphone within two years, Fortumo said in the release.
Estonia-based Fortumo, which supports carrier billing with more than 350 mobile operators in 90 countries, enables purchases for some of the world's largest digital media companies, including major app stores, music and video streaming services, game developers and social networks, Gerri Kodres, Fortumo's chief business officer, said in the release.
Fortumo also recently added payment processing for financial services companies, enabling them to extend a carrier billing option to consumers for topping up virtual credit cards and mobile wallets. "We expect the first initiatives in this segment to take off during 2016," Kodres said.
Three years ago, Fortumo took on in-app payments processing for
