UK-based mobile payments company Boku has rolled out M1ST (Mobile First) payments network, which is said to be the world’s largest mobile payments network.
The M1ST Payments Network features more than 330 mobile payment methods, including mobile wallets, direct carrier billing, and real-time payments, through a single integration.
In 2020, the platform was used by 5.7 billion mobile payment accounts, across 90 countries, contributing more than $8bn to the digital economy, said the company.
Boku stated that the M1ST has been designed to enable merchants to accept mobile payments rapidly, at a reduced cost, eliminating the difficulty of mobile payment acceptance.
Boku CEO Jon Prideaux said: “We’ve seen a fundamental shift of consumer purchasing power from west to east, from established to emerging markets, and from credit cards to mobile payments.
“Today, we’re launching the M1ST Network to enable global merchants to acquire, monetise, and retain mobile-first consumers.”
According to the World Bank, 45% of consumers worldwide use mobile wallets, while only 18% of people use credit cards for payments.
Majority of the middle class in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East are avoiding credit cards by moving to mobile payment services such as GoPay, Paga, PicPay and UPI.
However, mobile payment acceptance for global merchants is complicated, particularly due to the extreme fragmentation of mobile payment methods.
Bolu said that its M1ST will address these challenges by enabling merchants to easily accept mobile payments, globally, and at scale.
It eliminates the complexity of technical, legal and contractual considerations, and supports digitally native payments with zero-tap subscriptions and one-tap checkout transactions.
Furthermore, the platform is capable of accepting regulated payments in nearly 50 countries, through payment licenses and local entities.
Prideaux added: “For merchants to capitalise on the massive potential of mobile-first consumers, they need to accept the payment methods they have and prefer, which are increasingly behind glass screens, not rectangular pieces of plastic.
“We’ve spent the past decade delivering new customers to our merchants through mobile payments. Now that mobile payments have overtaken credit cards globally, merchant acceptance has moved from a competitive advantage to a strategic imperative.”
Incorporated in 2008, Boku is based in London, UK, with offices in Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam and the US.
