On the web:

• Payoo, Vietnam's Paypal, Rolls Out Paybill - Tech in Asia
• Soldsie Enables Online purchases through Facebook Comments - Springwise
• Parallel Paths or Course to Collision? Technology's Effects in the Payments Industry - Portals and Rails
• Pageonce Now Processes $1M In Mobile Bill Payments Each Day - TechCrunch

On the wires:

• BOKU Announces Mobile Payments Partnership with U.S. Cellular
• Six Credit Unions Select OnCU from Fiserv for Account Processing
• ACI Worldwide Alleviates Dodd-Frank Compliance Burden for Financial Institutions
• Oberthur Technologies Selected by Banco Bradesco for EMV Card Personalization and Fulfillment
• TransCard acquires HQ: Announces Plans To Introduce New Prepaid Products To Mall Operators

BOKU and GlobalCollect announced GlobalCollect has selected BOKU as its global mobile payments partner. The partnership integrates BOKU’s payments platform into GlobalCollect’s international payment network, allowing online merchants to accept mobile payments at checkout.

“At GlobalCollect, we provide our merchants with the best fitting online payment methods available for their business," said John Snoek, Global VP Marketing. “BOKU’s mobile payment platform is trusted and available in more countries than any other mobile payment option. Next to that BOKU brings unrivalled experience on the mobile payment process to the table. It was clearly the best option for our merchants, who now through the partnership can substantially increase checkout conversion, reduce cost and accelerate time to market of mobile payments."

BOKU has announced that it is an approved carrier-billing gateway for the T-Mobile Mall.

“Our merchants find significant value in the high conversion rate of mobile payments with in-app purchases.” said Ron Hirson, President of BOKU. “By combining our bank-grade technology with the access to millions of customers who regularly use the T-Mobile Mall, we’re confident this global billing and distribution method will add tremendous value to game developers seeking a wider audience and increased revenue.“

BOKU has announced today a direct mobile billing agreement with Sprint.

“This agreement is a welcome expansion of BOKU’s direct carrier relationships here in the U.S.” said BOKU President Ron Hirson. “Most importantly, Sprint is focused on the future and strongly believes in empowering developers to drive innovation in the market. They focus on providing developers with the best tools and an industry-leading network. We’re proud that they chose BOKU as a mobile payments platform to serve both their developers and their customers.”

In related news, BOKU also announced a direct mobile billing agreement with Deutsche Telecom in Germany. With these two agreements, BOKU can now directly process transactions with every major carrier in the US, UK, France, and Germany.

BOKU announced that it has secured $35 Million in funding. Investors include New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Telefónica Digital, as well as previous investors.

“Payments are going mobile and we want to be at the forefront of this trend,” said Matthew Key, Chairman & CEO, Telefónica Digital. “BOKU has quickly established itself as a true innovator in the mobile commerce space and this investment gives us access to their tools, infrastructure and know how, ideally complementing our own mobile payments expertise. In addition to the investment we are also embarking on a global partnership with BOKU to enhance our operator billing capabilities and the overall payment experience through our future mobile wallet services.”

Additional participants in the round include Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures.

Vindicia has announced that it has added mobile carrier billing support to CashBox. "Through its integration and partnership with BOKU, Inc., the global leader in mobile payments, Vindicia clients will have the ability to seamlessly and securely accept mobile payments from consumers in 67 countries and across more than 240 mobile network operators."

Over on Payments Views, our sister blog, Glenbrook's Russ Jones explores BOKU's entry into the mobile POS skirmish.

We recently sat down (virtually) with BOKU to learn more about how the company views the mobile payments market and where BOKU Accounts fits in the emerging mobile POS landscape. What follows is a summary of what we learned and our reaction to the their strategy and approach.

BOKU's announcement is here; our analysis is here.

BOKU announced that it is expanding its payments technology to cover retail point-of-sale with BOKU Accounts.

“BOKU Accounts brings together the best parts of mobile payments and technology, leveraging NFC, smartphones and global payment networks for a better consumer experience.” Said Mark Britto, BOKU CEO. “We are leveraging the power of the device in your pocket to improve every transaction you make, anywhere in the world, and helping our MNO partners expand into the off-line world, while bringing tremendous value to their subscribers and merchants alike.”

BOKU announced that Payment Service Provider (PSP) WorldPay has selected BOKU as its global mobile payments partner, integrating BOKU’s payments platform into its payment network.

“WorldPay is a leading payment service provider with an outstanding network of merchants,” said James Patmore, SVP and Managing Director, BOKU. “Our technology helps do the hard work for our merchants, things like foreign exchange, granular price points, multiple currencies & languages, and more. We believe BOKU offers WorldPay merchants a powerful tool for the acquisition of new customers and an opportunity to enhance their purchase experience, leveraging the convenience of BOKU for all types of digital goods and services.”

On the web:

• Save On Gas With Text Payments at POS and Smartphone App - Point of Sale News
• Seeing What Dimly Lies in the Distance: Parting Thoughts on Addressing Payments System Risk - Portals and Rails

On the wires:

• Paytoo Announces a Multi-currency Mobile Payment Platform
• BlueVia Launches a Global Payment API with Partner BOKU
• Jumio Payment Goes WordPress - A Credit Card Reader for Every Blog
• GETI and Alliance Payment Systems Announce Partnership for Point of Sale Check Processing
• ROAM Data Secure Swipers Distributed with Intuit GoPayment in Verizon Retail Stores
• Fulton Financial Corporation Selects Fiserv
• VeriFone Ships 500,000th System to Swedish Partner Point Transaction Systems

BOKU has announced that it has "launched direct carrier billing with French carriers Bouygues Telecom and SFR, a subsidiary of Vivendi, adding to existing direct billing with Orange France. The partnership offers over an additional 32 million French customers the ability to pay for digital goods and services using only their existing wireless service account, with the charge appearing on their carrier bill. With this agreement, nearly all mobile users in France will benefit from BOKU direct carrier billing."

T-Mobile USA has announced Direct Carrier Billing, "a nationwide purchasing program to provide customers the convenience of securely purchasing digital content and services from their web-enabled device. With Direct Carrier Billing, T-Mobile customers can conveniently charge online purchases of digital games, gaming and social networking credits, music, videos and other digital content offerings directly to their existing T-Mobile account right from the Web browser of their connected device – whether a PC, smartphone, netbook or tablet."

T-Mobile Direct Carrier Billing is initially available via BilltoMobile, Boku, OpenMarket, Payfone, and Zong.

BOKU has announced that its 1-Tap Mobile Billing for Android capability is now live in 56 countries.

The developer SDK opens up significantly expanded revenue opportunities to Android developers via direct carrier billing for in-app purchases, along with a consumer reach that spans the globe. Once integrated, BOKU’s production Android SDK provides users with a simple 1-Tap purchase process that does not require the collection of credit cards, financial information, user login, or registration through a third-party website.

Telefónica O2 Germany and BOKU have announced a direct carrier billing relationship that allows O2 customers to use BOKU’s payment platform to purchase goods ranging from .09 Euros to 30.00 Euros.

“This agreement opens up the opportunity for BOKU merchants to offer payment for physical goods as well as virtual and digital goods,” said James Patmore, Managing Director, BOKU in EMEA. “Our partnership with O2 confirms our vision of evolving online mobile payments into a range of new vertical markets.”

On the wires:

• Logica signs deal to provide managed fuel cards service for Shell
• Fiserv Delivers Web and Mobile Self-Service Channels for Loan Servicing
• MyCommerce Rolls Out Revamped eCommerce Web Platform

On the web:

• Phone Beta: Deutsche Telekom announced rolling out mobile payments in 2011-2012
• CrunchGear: Video Interview: Boku’s Ron Hirson Describes Their Mobile Payments Service
• CNET: Mobile Phone e-wallets Get Closer to Reality | Mobile World Congress Review

BilltoMobile and BOKU plan to integrate BilltoMobile's payment gateway and BOKU's mobile payments platform. The goal is to offer direct mobile billing with Verizon (via BilltoMobile) to BOKU customers. Jim Greenwell, BilltoMobile CEO and Mark Britto, BOKU CEO, issued a joint statement:

“BilltoMobile and BOKU’s cooperative agreement is a landmark in US mobile payments cooperation. The real winners today are the many wireless subscribers who are excited about access to convenient, secure online mobile payments and the merchants who provide these consumers with a wide array of digital goods, content and services.”

Curious about mobile payments, but tired of reading the small print? Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson has compiled a collection of how-they-work videos. Included are videos from Bling Nation, PayNearMe, Square, BOKU, Intuit GoPayment, PayPal Mobile, VivoTech, Oberthur, MobilePay, MocaPay, and FaceCash.

Headline News is compiled by Glenbrook Partners:

• Blackhawk Network Expands Digital Content Category Internationally
• CardinalCommerce and IP Commerce Announce Partnership

• MIT Technology Review: Your Next Wallet Is Calling
• The Accounts Payable Channel: EFT: Definitions and Comparative Costs
• Fast Company: Visa to Use Your Phone's Location to Prevent Credit Card Fraud
• Wall Street Journal: Race Is On to 'Fingerprint' Phones and PCs
• TechCrunch: Electronic Billing And Payment Solutions Provider Transactis Lands $7 Million
• mocoNews: Boku Inks Deals With Carriers In France, Korea For Mobile Payments
• The Tennessean: Salvation Army Kettles Now Take Plastic

BilltoMobile (announcement), BOKU (announcemnet), and Zong (announcement) are all working with with AT&T to provide direct mobile billing payment services to AT&T’s wireless subscribers – enabling customers to charge digital content purchases made online directly to their existing wireless service account.

This is the second direct mobile billing agreement with a major carrier that BilltoMobile has announced this year - the company announced a similar integration with Verizon in March - and the first for BOKU and Zong.

BOKU has announced the launch of a global in-app mobile billing solution for the Google Android mobile platform. According to the company, "the BOKU Payments SDK is a toolkit for developers to easily enhance and monetize any Android app with in-app purchases via carrier billing. Developers interested in the alpha version of the SDK can sign up to request access on the BOKU website." READ MORE »

BOKU has announced that it has secured funding from the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Silicon Valley technology veterans Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of the firm, will also advise BOKU on strategic matters, industry insight and tactical direction.

“Andreessen Horowitz looks to help talented entrepreneurs build great companies around great technologies, and we did an extensive review of the mobile payments space and the players before deciding to work with BOKU,” said Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “We feel that BOKU’s management team along with the company’s market-leading merchant relationships, global coverage, and technology will be a powerful combination as they continue their aggressive growth plans in a rapidly changing space.” READ MORE »

Globe Telecom, a mobile operator in the Philippines through its wholly owned mobile commerce subsidiary G-Xchange (GXI), is partnering with BOKU to expand acceptance of the Globe GCASH service internationally. The deal opens the BOKU mobile payment platform and growing international merchant community to Globe’s GCASH subscribers. READ MORE »

BOKU has announced that it has raised $25 million in series C capital led by DAG Ventures with continued participation from Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. The company says that "this round of capital builds on the strong success and momentum BOKU has experienced in the last year and stands as a strong vote of confidence for the company’s future." READ MORE »

BOKU has announced new merchants and publishers who have selected BOKU for its convenient, bank-grade payment solution - spanning the social and casual gaming, social networking and application spaces. According to the company, its service allows over 1.8 billion potential consumers to shop online and purchase virtual goods and digital content easily and securely using their mobile phone. READ MORE »

In an article titled "Investors Bet on Payments via Cellphone", Claire Cain Miller and Matt Richtel write for the New York Times about Obopay (and MasterCard's MoneySend launched last week with Obopay), Boku, Zong and PayPal.

[Editor's note: one facet of a couple of these services that the article's authors fail to note is the cost of payment acceptance - and how that cost varies from service to service. In some segments - such as virtual goods where merchants have a close to zero cost of goods sold - merchants can afford to pay a lot to gain widespread acceptance on cell phones. Other merchants, with real costs of goods sold, would find the costs of these approaches out of the question. There's a similar story when it comes to person-to-person money transfer. For domestic transfers in the US, there's a certain cost sensitivity. For international remittances involving currency conversion, on the other hand, there's a much greater opportunity to price for value. Need help understanding all of this? Drop us a note here!]

In a post titled "Beaucoup Bucks" over on our sister PaymentsViews.com website, Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson takes a look at Boku, the new online payments service that was announced yesterday. Carol begins: "Boku is drop-dead easy for the consumer. The online demo is stunning in its simplicity. Never, ever, underestimate the importance of ease of use for a consumer. Especially for spontaneous purchases. In my opinion, this is right up there with 1-Click."

BOKU has announced the launch of a new mobile payments service, along with the acquisition of both Paymo and Mobillcash businesses -- two leading providers in the global mobile payments industry.

According to BOKU, its mobile payments service "enables global consumers to make online purchases of digital and virtual goods with their mobile phones. The company is creating a new standard for mobile transactions by bringing bank-grade mobile payments to the Web, and enables merchants and publishers to provide fast and reliable mobile payments to over 1.6 billion consumers globally. In a related announcement today, the company raised $13 million in venture funding led by Benchmark Capital, with participation from Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures, and unveiled its management team." READ MORE »