Boku, Inc.
San Francisco, California , U.S. | |
Areas served | Worldwide |
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Key people |
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Website | www |
Boku, Inc. is a
In 2020, Boku processed over one billion billable transactions and processed over $7 billion in payments volume.
History
Boku was founded in 2009 by Mark Britto, Erich Ringewald and Ron Hirson[2] using the combined assets of Mobillcash Ltd. and Paymo, Inc. Boku raised a $13 million Series A investment from Khosla Ventures, Index Ventures and Benchmark.[3]
A year later, in 2010 Boku raised an additional US$25 million Series C investment, led by DAG Ventures.[4]
In 2012, Boku raised another US$35 million, Series C investment led by NEA and existing venture capital investors.[5]
In 2016, Boku again raised an additional US$13.75 million led by a consortium of UK investors along with GMO Payment Gateway.[6][7]
In total, Boku has raised more than $91M in venture capital funding from
On November 20, 2017, Boku listed its shares on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) through an £125 million initial public offering.[8]
Expansion
In 2012, Boku launched mobile wallet payments with GCash in the Philippines.[9]
In 2013, Boku announced the acquisition of Qubecell, India's largest aggregator in carrier billing to grow India as its engineering and technology hub.[10]
In 2014, Boku launched mobile payments for the Sony PlayStation Store, and acquired German-based carrier billing provider Mopay.[11][12]
Boku acquired Mobileview, giving the company access to all four major mobile operators in Italy.[13][14] In 2017 Boku exceeded $1B in annual payment volume for the first time.[15]
In 2018, Boku acquired Danal to add mobile authentication services that secure consumer accounts and transactions[16]
In 2020, Boku acquired Fortumo, the second largest carrier billing company and recorded revenues of $54.6 million.[17]
Through its subsidiary, Boku Network Services IN Pvt. Ltd., Boku Inc. has obtained complete clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator in India. This progress comes after the first in-principle permission that was given on 31 January 2023.[18]
Partnerships
Boku's payments customers include
Products and services
Boku provides businesses with the ability to accept mobile payments (direct carrier billing and mobile wallets) online from consumers.[20] Boku also offers a subscription bundling product, named Trident, that enables subscription services to be offered to consumers through a mobile network operator. Consumers may receive the service for free during a trial period until they are billed by the mobile operator.[21] Additionally, Boku offers mobile identity products that utilize mobile network operator data in order for consumers to verify their identity in order to complete transactions online.[22]
Recognition and awards
In 2011, Mobile Trax awarded Boku their Mobility Award.[23] In 2011[24] and 2013, Forbes selected Boku for their 25 most promising companies in America list.[25]
In 2014, Boku won the "Best Alternative Payments" award at 2014 Payment Awards[26]
In 2020, Boku won the "Future Digital Awards" for Best Mobile Money Offering and Fraud Detection and Prevention Innovation.[27]
See also
- Mobile commerce service provider
- E-commerce payment system
- List of online payment service providers
- Micropayment
- Payment service provider
External links
References
- ^ "Boku, Digi to launch mobile identity services for fraud protection in Malaysia". thepaypers.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ London Stock Exchange “BOKU, INC.”. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ Chapman, Lizette. "Mobile-Payments Co. Boku Gets Indian Carriers With Qubecell Acquisition".
- ^ Peter Kafka (19 January 2010). "Another Big Bet on Mobile Payments: Boku Raises $25 Million". All Things Digital. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Ingrid Lunden (15 March 2012). "Mobile Payment Startup BOKU Raises A $35M Round. NEA, Telefonica Among The Investors". Techcrunch. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Mannes, John. "Boku locks down another $13.75M to fund carrier connections for global expansion". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
- ^ Gedalyah Reback (September 2016). "Direct carrier payments get a boost as startup Boku scores $13.75 million funding round". Geektime. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Joshua Warner (20 November 2017). "DIRECT CARRIER BILLING FIRM BOKU JOINS AIM VALUED AT GBP125 MILLION (ALLIPO)". Alliance News Limited. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "GCash Now Works Anywhere Thanks To BOKU Partnership With Globe Telecom". Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ Lizette Chapman (21 November 2013). "Mobile-Payments Co. Boku Gets Indian Carriers With Qubecell Acquisition". WSJ. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ "Boku launches direct carrier billing on Sony's PS4". www.telecompaper.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ Ary Levy (October 2014). "No slowdown in payments as Boku buys mopay". CNBC. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ "Boku acquires Italian mobile payment provider". www.mobilepaymentstoday.com. 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
- ^ Tech Team (18 August 2014). "Mobile Payment Startup Boku Acquires Mobileview Italia to Expand Carrier-Billing in Europe". The Fast Mode. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ "History & Development". Boku Inc. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "Mobile payment co. Boku acquires Danal for up to $68M to add user authentication". TechCrunch. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- ^ "Mobile payments outfit Boku to buy Fortumo". Finextra Research. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- ^ "The Global Reach of Boku: Reserve Bank of India Backs Boku for Payment Aggregator Services". Daily Excelsior. 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ Justin Llewellyn (11 April 2016). "Xsolla & Boku: Gateway to Drive Mobile Business". Xsolla Blog. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ PYMNTS (2018-12-06). "Boku Buys ID Authentication Co. Danal For $68M". PYMNTS.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ Paul Sawers (26 February 2015). "Boku launches 'phone-on-file' carrier billing to replace credit cards with phone numbers". Venturebeat. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ press release (29 April 2016). "Spotify enlists Boku for carrier billing in Germany and Italy". Finextra. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Admin (25 March 2011). "Boku Wins the 2011 Mobility Award for Mobile Commerce". Boku Blog. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Brett Nelson, J.J. Colao and Max Mallet (30 November 2011). "Americas Most Promising Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Brett Nelson, J.J. Colao and Max Mallet (February 2013). "Americas Most Promising Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ Scott Thompson (21 November 2014). "2014 Payments Awards: winners announced". Retail Systems. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ "Juniper Research Recognizes Boku with two 'Future Digital Awards'". GlobeNewswire News Room. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2021-05-03.