SPELLFLIX launches carrier billing with Fortumo in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD (PRESS RELEASE )

The mobile payments company Fortumo and the streaming platform SPELLFLIX are today announcing the launch of a carrier billing partnership in Pakistan. SPELLFLIX is the only movie streaming service in Pakistan offering pay-per-view latest blockbuster Hollywood movies. Consumers can now watch movies, music and TV shows by charging payments to their mobile phone bill. Pakistan is the first market where SPELLFLIX has launched carrier billing, where more than 64 million subscribers of Telenor and Zong can now access the digital content without the need for a credit card.

“SPELLFLIX strives to provide its customers with the best digital entertainment experience out there by offering latest and blockbuster Hollywood films which no other streaming service offers in the country. One part of this is localizing payment methods so the biggest amount of people can pay for access to our movies with a payment method that is familiar to them. We chose to integrate carrier billing through Fortumo thanks to their long-term experience in the region and excellent coverage of mobile operators,” said CEO, Spell Movies LLC, Saqib Rathore.

“The growth of streaming services in Western markets is slowing down while the mobile population growth in countries like Pakistan is accelerating. Digital merchants who want to sustain growth need to focus on these markets, but user monetization is essentially impossible when using traditional, bank-based payment methods. We are very happy to work with SPELLFLIX in providing their subscribers a local payment method that is accessible to everyone,” said Gerri Kodres, Chief Business Office at Fortumo.

In Pakistan, only 0.1% of people own a credit card while smartphone penetration is already above 30%. This means more than 44 million smartphone owners can access online content but are unable to pay for it through traditional payment channels. Carrier billing solves this problem by allowing any mobile phone user to charge payments to their mobile account, regardless of whether they are a prepaid SIM card user or have a contract with their mobile operator.

Additional information on the mobile ecosystem of Pakistan can be found from Fortumo’s Asia market report.

To collect payments from users without bank cards, SPELLFLIX integrated Fortumo’s Cross-Platform Mobile Payments onto their streaming platform. This allows SPELLFLIX to reach users across Pakistan through Zong and Telenor with one integration. At the same time, Fortumo manages the full compliance (local legislation) and provides a platform-adaptive solution which increases payment conversion and revenue.

In addition to SPELLFLIX, Fortumo is a carrier billing provider to other streaming companies (Spotify, HOOQ, Sony, Gaana, ErosNow), app stores (Google Play) and gaming companies (EA Mobile, Gameloft, Kinguin, Rovio). To enable carrier billing for these merchants, Fortumo has partnered with more than 350 mobile operators across the world.