Fortumo has launched a voucher management platform for the sale of digital goods. The platform also supports running marketing campaigns, enabling the vouchers to be used for cross-platform license management for other accounts and user acquisition.
Monitise reports FY 2015 revenue declined 6% to £89.7m. The loss was £41.8m, was at the lower end of the Company’s guidance range of a £40-50m loss. Elizabeth Buse has stepped down as CEO and from the Board. Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer Lee Cameron has been appointed CEO.
UK-based SafeCharge launched a PokerStars-branded prepaid MasterCard that allows poker players in the UK to withdraw and deposit direct to their bank account. StarsCard is issued by IDT Financial Services Limited.
UK-based Monitise reported an adjusted loss after tax of £38.5 million for the second half of 2014, compared to a loss of £16.4 million for the first half. The Company is currently considering strategic alternatives.
Yaap Shopping, the Spanish mobile commerce service launched by the alliance of CaixaBank, Santander and Telefónica is being powered by Monitise. The alliance, initiated in Spain, has a mission is to create new and open digital services with a global outlook. Yaap Shopping is a virtual mobile commerce service in which thousands of retailers in Spain can generate revenue through digital interaction with consumers.
With Telefonica O2 UK and its over 23 million customers, again one of the largest European mobile network operators has placed its confidence in net mobile AG’s (net-m) expertise in the area of mobile payment services. net-m’s unique payment architecture enables the flexible and cost-effective integration of existing pay-interfaces of mobile network operators with Google’s Play Store, one of the leading app stores worldwide.
Monitise made a series of updates to its executive leadership team and Board of Directors.Former Visa Inc. payments executive Elizabeth Buse has been appointed co-Chief Executive of Monitise Group, effective immediately. Elizabeth also joins the Company’s Board of Directors.Elizabeth, an American national who was a member of the Monitise Board from July 2010 to October 2012, will head Monitise’s day-to-day operations, overseeing technology, product, sales and marketing while Alastair focuses on key relationships with partners and industry stakeholders, corporate development and major shareholders. Strategy will continue to be set by the executive leadership team in conjunction with the Board. Monitise’s growing ecosystem of partners and clients includes more than 350 banks, payment services companies such as Visa Inc., Visa Europe and MasterCard as well as Vocalink, FIS and IBM. In the mobile space, Monitise’s customers include Telefónica, Samsung, PCCW Mobile, Turkcell and BlackBerry. In the retail ecosystem they include brands such as Blackhawk Network Holdings with its network of more than 500 content providers operating in the US and 18 other countries, eBay, Turkey’s Bilyoner and Biletix, Venda, B&Q, Carphone Warehouse and Premier Inn. Elizabeth’s appointment comes after she stepped down from her role running international operations at Visa Inc. in March 2014 as Executive Vice President of Solutions. She joined Visa Inc. in 1998 and during her time there held roles including Group President of Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Global Head of Product, Executive Vice President of Product Development and Management and Executive Vice President of Emerging Markets & Technologies.
Abu Dhabi-based First Gulf Bank has partnered with UK-based Monitise to launch new mobile banking services to consumers in the Middle East. First Gulf Bank has been a pioneer in digital banking and is convinced the future lies in mobile. Roughly 28 million consumers benefit from Montise’s patented technology to ‘bank anywhere’, ‘pay anyone’ and ‘buy anything’, accounting for $71 billion of payments, purchases and transfers annually among 3.4 billion mobile transactions.
Oberthur Technologies announced massive deliveries of OT’s MultiSIM for O2 in Germany. OT developed the MultiSIM form factor and adjusted it according to Telefónica Germany requirements. From now on, O2customers do not need to worry anymore, as their new SIM card will fit into any mobile phone. If they want to change from one form factor to another, they do not need to ask their operator for a new SIM card, but can just deplug their MultiSIM. The introduction of OT’s MultiSIM by Telefónica Germany is in line with the issuing of SIM-Plugs instead of ID-sized card bodies which allows the recycling of plastics and marks another step toward environmental sustainability.
MasterCard announced today that, over a one year period ending December 2013, it has grown its contactless footprint in Europe by expanding the number of countries where contactless cards are accepted: contactless is now available in 63 countries worldwide, and in 34 countries in Europe including 7 new countries in 2013: Azerbaijan, Finland, Ireland, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and the Netherlands. MasterCard® and Maestro® contactless cards or devices have been issued by more than 220 financial institutions in Europe and can be used at almost 2 million merchant locations worldwide, representing more than a 180% year-on-year increase.
MasterCard today announced the intention to enter into a commercial agreement with Monitise plc to accelerate the development and deployment of mobile wallets and digital payment solutions by financial institutions worldwide. MasterCard also intends to make a minority investment in Monitise. The combination of MasterCard and Monitise’s complementary expertise in developing mobile platforms for commerce and banking is anticipated to result in additional innovative and secure solutions.
At Mobile World Congress last week MasterCard announced a collaboration between Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica Deutschland, Vodafone and TREVICA (a MasterCard owned company) to create a new mobile platform and accelerate the development of mobile payments in Germany. The three mobile operators represent 80% of mobile customers in Germany, which means that banks and financial institutions can hugely accelerate their ability to provide mass- market mobile payment services to consumers. Instead of connecting to individual mobile operators, issuing banks can now connect to TREVICA and have access to a number of mobile operators with one single integration to the TREVICA platform.