Boku, which traditionally has supported billing for virtual and digital goods sold to smart phone owners, is launching a wholesale offering for carriers that will include in-store payments.
The new service, called Boku Accounts, will allow operators to set up payment accounts for mobile users that will work in physical stores using MasterCard, NFC stickers and NFC-enabled phones. MasterCard is a major partner, allowing the service to be used anywhere MasterCard payments are possible.
The move shows the increasing blurring of lines between "online payments" and "in store payments," as well as a growing porousness of the distinction between online and offline retail commerce and shopping.
Telefonica recently has invested $5 million in Boku.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Boku Makes "In Store" Payment Move, Targets Carrier Partners
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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