US carrier billing consolidates as Bango acquires BilltoMobile

UK-based carrier billing platform Bango has acquired BilltoMobile from Danal to set itself up as the only processor of carrier billing transactions across all four of the big US MNOs.

The deal is being valued at $3.5 million and represents consolidation in the US carrier billing market. Bango is already positioning the move as creating a one-stop-shop for carrier-billed payments. The company already works with Google, Microsoft, Samsung and BlackBerry but has yet to announce a formal arrangement with Apple. BilltoMobile has had direct billing relationships with all four (Verizon, AT&T, TMUS and Sprint) since 2011.

“We have worked with BilltoMobile for many years and there are tremendous synergies already in place,” said Bango CEO Ray Anderson. “The unmatched combination of Bango’s powerful technology, coupled with the depth of BilltoMobile’s high-quality software and trusted operator relationships, will now create a premier customer experience for Bango and its app store partners in the U.S. market.”

Bango was founded in 1999, so has withstood some turbulent times in the mobile business. It claims to be the pioneer of mobile payments. Following its flotation on the AIM in 2005 and the smartphone revolution three years later the company increasingly focused on carrier billing via app stores. Bango launched carrier billing in India in partnership with Google and Idea Cellular last week and appears to be having a general global push.