Today, we’re happy to announce that we’ve teamed up with Globe GCASH, a leading mobile operator in the Philippines, to create a model for mobile payments of virtual, and eventually, physical goods. Through this great partnership, both companies will extend their reach to a larger international community that we think will benefit from being able to seamlessly effect mobile commerce around the world.
Here is the press release we issued today:
GLOBE GCASH and BOKU Partner To Create The Blueprint For International Mobile Payments
BOKU enables Globe mobile subscribers to purchase virtual goods from merchants around the world via the GCASH mobile wallet
February 16, 2010 – MANILA, PHILIPPINES AND SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Globe Telecom, a leading mobile operator in the Philippines through its wholly owned mobile commerce subsidiary G-Xchange Inc (GXI), is partnering with BOKU, Inc., a global leader in mobile payments, to expand acceptance of the Globe GCASH service internationally, the companies announced today. The deal opens the BOKU mobile payment platform and growing international merchant community to Globe’s GCASH subscribers.
By partnering with BOKU, GCASH extends its reach outside the Philippines to a global community of more than 1,000 BOKU merchant partners and a mobile payments community that covers over 190 carriers worldwide, allowing its users to purchase virtual goods from any merchant in the BOKU global merchant network.
“The Philippines is one of the richest markets in the world for mobile payments.” said Rizza Maniego-Eala, President of G- Exchange, Inc. “Since its inception in 2004, GCASH has been the most widely used mobile payment method for online purchases in the Philippines. BOKU’s focus on mobile payments, specialized team, large merchant base, and tier-one investors makes them the perfect partner in providing GCASH subscribers with a rich new experience in mobile commerce, that opens up the opportunity to explore and purchase virtual goods from the vast international market.”
“This partnership is a perfect meeting of two companies’ visions for the way to pay in the future” said Mark Britto, CEO of BOKU. “This is a great model for mobile payments, enabling carriers to reach global merchants through BOKU’s network, expanding capabilities for online and physical purchases, while driving increased carrier revenues and reducing subscriber churn.”
BOKU launched in June 2009 and has seen tremendous growth in the last year. Over this brief period the company has developed direct mobile payments service relationships with over 1,000 game and application developers, including almost all of the top applications for virtual goods and currencies purchased on Facebook. BOKU’s mobile payment service, Paymo, is enabled across 190 carriers worldwide in over 60 countries, and reaches a potential 1.8 billion customers.
Useful Links:
GCASH Website: http://www.globe.com.ph/gcash
BOKU Website: http://www.BOKU.com
Paymo Website: http://www.paymo.com
Watch a demo of BOKU in action: http://bit.ly/2CEUoE
BOKU blog: http://blog.BOKU.com/
Media Kit: http://www.BOKU.com/press/media/
About GXI and GCASH
G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI) is a pillar in m-commerce and a fully-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, which is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines. GXI pioneered the revolutionary model in cardless and cashless mobile commerce service called GCASH which was launched in the Philippines in October 2004. GCASH is an internationally-acclaimed micro payment service which transforms a mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfers at the speed and cost of a text message. Since GCASH launch, GXI has established a wide network of local and international partners that includes government agencies, utility companies, cooperatives, insurance companies, remittance companies, universities, and commercial establishments which have agreed to accept GCASH as a means of payment for products and services.
About BOKU
BOKU is creating the standard for online payments using your mobile phone, making it easy to pay for digital goods and social experiences across the web. With a strong focus on reliability and security, BOKU’s goal is to bring bank-grade payments technology and mobile users together on the web, creating a trusted, viable and accessible market for consumers, publishers and carriers alike. Based in San Francisco with offices in Europe, Asia and Latin America, BOKU reaches over 1.8 billion consumers worldwide, and is funded by leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. For more information, please visit BOKU.com.
BOKU, Paymo and Pay by Mobile are registered trademarks or trademarks of BOKU, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. BOKU reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.
Media Contact in the US:
David Speiser
Stage Two Consulting
david@stagetwo.com
650.515.6635
Globe & GXi Media Contact:
Yoly Crisanto
Head of Corporate Communications Division, Globe Telecom
+63 2 7302627
yccrisanto@globetel.com.ph
Richie Sison
GXI - Head of Marketing
+63 917 818 9111
jasison@globetel.com.ph
Last week Kara Swisher from the Wall Street Journal came to visit our humble offices here in San Francisco. She recorded a video checking out the premises, and then an interview with a couple of the BOKU founders, Mark Britto, the CEO, and Ron Hirson, the SVP of Marketing & BD. Her article published on Monday, 7/26.
