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Paypal ups ante in carrier billing space

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PayPal owner eBay has added to its arsenal in the mobile payments space with the $240m acquisition of Zong, a transaction firm with strong ties to Facebook and expertise in carrier billing.

Recognising the rising heat in the mobile payments space, David Marcus, CEO and founder of Zong, said: “most of e-commerce will shortly become m-commerce, and I genuinely believe that PayPal, hand-in-hand with wireless carriers around the world will win in a big way.”

Paypal is really working to expand beyond its online transactional roots and has big plans in the mobile and retail (point of sale) worlds. Through this deal, Zong gets its hands on PayPal’s eight million merchants, brand power and financial stability, while Paypal/eBay gets Zong’s direct carrier payments network and billing technology, catering to around 250 carriers worldwide.

In the past Zong has worked on Facebook Credits and other online brands like IMVU, Sulake (makers of Habbo Hotel), Big Fish Games, Sony Online Entertainment, Zynga, Playdom (now Disney) and Bigpoint.

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