England-based Bango mobile payment platform is the third party that facilitates the carrier billing integration between Indosat and Google Play. This collaboration isn’t new, considering that Bango is also the facilitator of carrier billing implementation of Indosat with BlackBerry World and Windows Phone Store. Indosat becomes the first telco in Indonesia to implement the carrier billing system, both for its prepaid and postpaid customers.
In fact, carrier billing is the most appropriate payment system to be applied in the country, given the fact that the number of Android users grows vastly while only 6% of population possess credit cards.
Roy Anderson, Bango’s CEO, commented, “This is a fundamental yet interesting announcement for Bango. We activate the carrier billing system in the largest smartphone market in Southeast Asia, for the users of most popular app store in Indonesia. This way, we can reach millions in one step – expand our access to the most convenient mobile payment experience on earth. This partnership between Bango and Indosat is a long-term one which demonstrates our capability of enabling the leading operator to reach various app stores.”
Many appreciate this step taken by Indosat. Andy Zain, Mountain SEA Ventures’ Managing Partner, even stated, “We give the best welcome to this innovation by Indosat. Before, consumers often felt worried to tell about information regarding their credit card. Currently, the usage of balance makes online transaction become easier and safetier. This is also supported by the vast growing digital content.”
Further, IWIC 2014 Winner and local developer Firman Azhari said, “The carrier billing system at Indosat is a positve innovation which may upgrade people’s lifestyle in using smartphone technology. Previously, I found it difficult to do online transaction at Google Play Store. Hopefully, the people, especially developers, will have easier access to utilize the Google Play Store in the future.”
