Bango announces that its first integration on Google Play™ is now live. The first mobile network operator (MNO) to be connected is Telstra, the leading MNO in Australia. Telstra subscribers using Google Play can now purchase digital content without resort to sending SMS messages or the limitations of credit cards. Users now enjoy frictionless operator billing powered by Bango, paying on their phone bill, without the need to register personal details.
On 21 May 2012, Bango announced that various MNOs had approached Bango to use the Bango Payment Platform to connect their billing systems to the Google Play store. The Board believes it is too early to accurately forecast the level of business which will be generated through the partnership.
Bango expects to deliver further operator connections into Google Play in the coming year, as Android™ continues to forge ahead in the connected device market.
More than an application store, Google Play is all the stuff you love in one place, delivering music, books, movies and apps straight to hundreds of millions of users around the world. Operator billing is emerging as an ideal billing method for such a wide-range of digital categories. The proliferation of content rich devices running Android, coupled with the simplest online payment method available, is the basis for a truly transformative global business.
Bango is one of the world’s leading mobile payments and analytics companies. App stores, publishers and content providers use Bango to collect payment from mobile device users for online content and services. Bango’s pervasive presence across app stores and the mobile web creates a platform effect for its partners, leading to more identified mobile users and maximizing the number of single-click payments. The result is a one-click payment experience and significantly higher rates of collection. This is the experience that Telstra subscribers on Google Play will now enjoy.
Telstra’s Director of Consumer Applications and Services, Freddie Jansen Van Nieuwenhuizen, said the new service would make it easier for Australians to acquire the latest games and content for their mobile devices. “Aussies love their mobile apps. Telstra research shows that on average we download 36 apps each year and one in five of those are paid for. With more than 700,000 games, apps, books, movies and magazines now available on Google Play, including a wide selection of paid titles, many of our customers have told us they would like a simpler way to buy”.
Bango CEO Ray Anderson added: “Android is winning the battle for smartphone market share. As user numbers soar, we will see an increasing flow of developer talent and compelling content channelled through Google Play. We’re expecting that operator billing from Bango will boost conversion rates and developer monetization. It’s a new weapon in Google’s armoury”.
Bango has become the payments platform of choice for many of the world’s leading app stores. In addition to this first Google Play integration, Bango’s existing app store connections include Facebook, BlackBerry App World, Opera Mobile Store and others. Bango has also announced an agreement to provide payment services to Amazon and has become a technology partner for MasterCard’s PayPass mobile wallet.