Mobile-payments provider Zong Inc. has entered the Philippines market through partnership agreements with mobile carriers Globe Telecom Ltd. and Smart Communications Ltd., the U.S.-based company announced Nov. 17.
Under the agreements, Zong may provide its direct carrier-billing service to users of the carriers’ services in the Philippines.
Zong’s service enables users to purchase virtual and digital goods in such environments as Zynga and Playfish games on Facebook, at digital merchant websites, and through mobile applications. Users initiate their payments by using their mobile-phone numbers. Through its direct relationships with carriers, Zong automatically adds the charge to the user’s mobile-phone bills or deducts the amount from their prepaid credits.
With its new carrier partnerships in the Philippines, Zong gains access to 46.6 million Smart and 23.3 million Globe customers.
Zong has a global potential reach of nearly 3 billion mobile customers through its network of 220 carriers that includes AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and O2.
The provider processes more than 60% of its payment volume through its direct carrier partnerships, the company noted in the statement.
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