Obopay Updates News of BillMonk Acquisition

"For a society that pays so much for convenience, it's ironic how inconvenient money itself has become," said Obopay CEO Carol L. Realini. "We're making money convenient again with new social money services that let Obopay and BillMonk users easily send, spend, and track money via any mobile phone."

Social money is the money that passes between people when they engage in shared consumer experiences, such as splitting the check at dinner or sharing expenses while on a road trip. As friends, roommates, family members, and co-workers do more things together, there can be confusion and conflict over who owes what. Obopay's new social money services remove the tension from these and other situations:

• Roommates sharing living expenses such as rent, utility bills and groceries;
• Travelers splitting hotel bills, car rentals and gas while on vacation;
• Co-workers picking up the lunch tab, or pooling money together for a birthday gift;
• Friends taking turns paying for dinners, movie tickets, drinks or long nights-on-the-town;
• Families with teenagers and college students receiving allowances and living expenses.

The power of Obopay's social money services comes from the combination of Obopay's convenient mobile payments solution -- which lets users instantly get, send and spend money on any mobile phone -- with BillMonk's innovative money management services. BillMonk allows users to keep track of the many payments and debts arising from shared consumer experiences. Users access the service via their mobile phone or the Web to record the bills they wish to split, and BillMonk automatically calculates the amounts owed, keeps track of payments, and reports the running balance. Today, as part of the acquisition, BillMonk is introducing a new payment method that allows users to settle up instantly using the Obopay mobile payments service. More blended functionality and new features will be added to both services in the months ahead.

"We are very excited to be joining forces with Obopay," said BillMonk co-founder Gaurav Oberoi. "This acquisition enables individuals actively engaged in shared consumer experiences to easily figure out who owes what and pay up on-the-spot via mobile phones or later via the Web. The two services are a perfect match, and the acquisition is a huge win for consumers."