Bango Completes Full House in Canada with Latest App Store Launch

Mobile payments leader Bango (AIM: BGO) announces that its platform is now powering Direct Operator Billing (DOB) for Google Play across the three main Canadian operators. Subscribers to the Bell, Rogers and Telus networks - which account for over 95% of all Canadian smartphone users - can now pay for content and services in Google’s app store directly through their pre and postpaid mobile accounts.

Bango already provides the DOB capability for BlackBerry World and Windows Phone Store across Canada and in 75 more operator markets globally. In five years, Bango has grown operator billing from a secondary payment mechanism - limited to niche mobile content services - to today’s mainstream payment product that is essential for the world’s leading app stores.

"Bango has become the utility provider of operator-billed payments used by the big app stores”, said Anil Malhotra, Chief Marketing Officer at Bango. "The Bango Platform provides app store quality billing at scale, by using the deepest integrations with the operator’s billing systems and special technology that identifies and bills customers in just one click. These assets provide the high quality customer payment experience that Bango’s app store partners require”.

While credit card ownership is widespread in Canada, many app store customers prefer the simplicity and security of paying on their phone bill. Direct Operator Billing is the only "out of the box” payment method that can be used immediately, without the need to register personal details. As smartphones spread across the big game-playing and music-listening consumer segments, this convenient and pervasive billing method is essential to give all customers the ability to fully enjoy the app store experience.

"With an average conversion rate of over 95%, the performance of Direct Operator Billing in Canada is world class”, said Malhotra. "The relationships Bango has in Canada are consistent with a global trend in operator billing, where the latest, most advanced Direct Operator Billing services are only being made available through selected, strategic mobile payments specialists like Bango”.