Cambodia's Smart Axiata has partnered with mobile technology company Fortumo to launch carrier billing for content services in the nation.
Axiata Digital subsidiary Apigate will collaborate with Fortumo to launch content servies using Smart Axiata's Direct Carrier Billing API.
Through the partnership, Smart Axiata subscribers will be able to make payments in app stores for digital content and games based on Apigate's extensive content library.
Since it was incorporated last year Apigate has built a network of global and regional partners including major marketplaces such as the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Forumo will only be required to integrate once with Apigate to deploy premium content by digital content providers at a faster rate and reduced costs to the more than 8 million Smart subscribers.
Axiata Digital CEO Mohd Khairil Abdullah said carrier billing is well suited to the Cambodian market, where nearly half of Cambodians own a smartphone but less than 3% have a credit card.
“This collaboration adds value to Apigate by tapping into the underserved segment in Cambodia which consists largely of the prepaid segment without credit card ownership,” he said.
“We look forward to creating a long-term collaboration with Fortumo and deriving mutual benefits from scale, faster delivery, and richer content for the underserved segment across our footprint.”
Fortumo offers direct carrier billing in 100 countries for apps, games, digital media companies, app stores and device manufacturers. Its platform is used by thousands of digital merchants including Google.