Telenor, Fortumo expand carrier billing partnership to Myanmar

The mobile operator Telenor Myanmar and the mobile payments company Fortumo have launched direct carrier billing in Myanmar.

Over 14 million Telenor subscribers in the country can now make payments for digital purchases by conveniently charging payments to their phone bill.

“Myanmar is one of the fastest growing mobile countries in Asia and the availability of low-cost smartphones means more people in Myanmar are consuming digital services via mobile phones than ever before. Fortumo is the leading carrier billing provider for emerging markets and we are further cementing that position by working together with Telenor in enabling digital payments for its subscribers in Myanmar,” said Martin Koppel, CEO & Co-Founder of Fortumo.

Smartphone sales in Myanmar increased by 26% last year while bank card ownership remains below 2%.This means that while a majority of people are already consuming digital content, most of them lack the capability to pay for premium services. Carrier billing resolves this issue by making online payments available to any mobile phone owner. In recent news from the region, Fortumo announced the launch of carrier billing on Google Play with the Vietnamese mobile operator Vinaphone.

Telenor Group and Fortumo have been working together since 2013 and Myanmar is the fifth market where the two companies have established a partnership: payments have previously been made available also in Pakistan, Thailand, Hungary and Bulgaria.

Fortumo’s direct carrier billing platform is used by leading digital merchants including Google Play, Spotify, iflix, Sony, HOOQ, Gaana, Electronic Arts, Gameloft and Kinguin. Beside Telenor, Fortumo works with more than 350 mobile operators to enable payments for these merchants.