Interactive TOLA - MOBILE CARRIER BILLING
Looking overseas to unlock revenues
Tola CEO, Shane Leahy, looks at the opportunities mobile carrier billing grants to operators in markets such as Africa, while also ticking all the same boxes in Europe
Shane Leahy, CEO, Tola Mobile
Shane Leahy, 2012 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award finalist, is the CEO of Tola and has 16 years’ experience within the telecommunications industry with Stentor, Nevada, Energis and the Oxygen8 Group. Prior to this he was a professional rugby player with Munster.
Te GSMA’s latest ‘Mobile Economy’ report highlights that at the end of 2016, 65 per cent of the world’s population had a mobile subscription, with this total set to reach five billion by mid-2017.
By 2020, it is anticipated that almost 860 million new subscribers will be added, taking the global penetration rate to 73 per cent. Te near ubiquity of these devices is continuing to change the way we communicate, connect and consume goods and services. Over 2 billion mobile phone or tablet users are expected to make some form of mobile commerce transaction by the end of 2017.
This new ability to create financial interactions with an unbanked population brings great opportunity for businesses operating outside Africa to extend their customer base. This opportunity is particularly relevant for online gaming, gambling and sports betting operators.
P70 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM
From a financial services perspective, the mobile phone plays a particularly important role in developing countries, such as those in Africa. 66 per cent of the continent’s inhabitants do not have access to a formal bank account. However, despite limited access to traditional banking infrastructure, over one billion of these people have access to a mobile, which has played a key role in financial inclusion. M-Pesa is the leading mobile money service, allowing customers to securely send, receive and store money via a basic mobile phone, and in some markets, using a smartphone app.
GAME ON Tis new ability to create financial interactions
with an unbanked population brings great opportunity for businesses operating outside Africa to extend their customer base. Tis opportunity is particularly relevant for online
gaming, gambling and sports betting operators. Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya especially are experiencing a massive outbreak of online betting. Te estimates are that by the year 2018, the online betting market in these three countries will reach US$37bn.
Te market potential is there for all to see, though when thinking about entry into and growth in this area, many operators still have concerns around fraud protection and ease of implementation.
UPPING THE ANTE Clearly, payment providers have a major role to
play in enabling the secure transition into this market. First and foremost, merchants and businesses must be ready to offer a payment mechanism that does not hinge on the end user having a bank account, ruling out a reliance on credit or debit card payments. Te mobile phone is the key – integration between businesses and mobile wallet subscribers allows the seamless transfer of funds, allowing gaming and gambling operators to simplify mobile payments in line with technology uptake and consumer expectation.
Using the mobile phone in this way simplifies
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