Partners with Fortumo to offer payment options through mobile operators
Mumbai, February 25, 2014: Ditto TV, India’s first OTT (Over-The-Top) TV distribution platform from Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has partnered with mobile payment provider Fortumo to introduce a new mobile payment option to further simplify the overall consumer experience. With this partnership, Ditto TV users can now subscribe to their favourite content on Ditto TV and make payments directly through their mobile operator, and without the need of a credit card, cash on delivery (COD), or net banking options. This payment model is available for both post- paid and pre- paid mobile users.
Speaking about this partnership, Manoj Padmanabhan, Business Head, DittoTV said, “We at Ditto TV are committed to making the user experience as seamless, convenient and memorable as possible. With the association with Fortumo, we are now a few steps closer to ensuring that our users have the ease and simplicity they need to make payments using their mobile phones. Fortumo, with its multiple telecom operator tie-ups, will help us reach out to complex markets, where credit cards or net banking options are limited, and build our presence across key markets beyond the metros.”
“Compared to mobile phone users, there are very few credit card owners in emerging markets like India and South-East Asia. This creates a situation where a lot of people want access to mobile entertainment, but have no way to pay for it. Operator billing solves this problem by allowing companies like Ditto TV to charge users on their phone bill. In addition to significantly expanding payment coverage for merchants, Fortumo also reduces the time to market as only one integration to enable payments in 80 countries globally,” said Gerri Kodres, SVP of Business Development and Carrier Relations at Fortumo.
Interestingly, India has witnessed stronger adoption for smartphones with a market penetration of close to 100 million, as compared to 20 million for credit cards. Furthermore, credit card penetration remains largely confined to metros, comprising a mere 1.7% of the country’s overall population. Another challenge is the inherent resistance observed among credit card users, in sharing critical account-related information, along with the tedious sign-up processes involved. Allowing payments through mobile operators effectively mitigates the need for credit card information and will help Ditto TV reach out to a huge potential user base across smaller markets which have limited access to credit cards. Fortumo currently operates in about 80 countries across the world and has tie ups with most major Indian telecom operators – Idea Cellular, Vodafone, Airtel and Tata Docomo.
Ditto TV has integrated this seamless process for mobile payment across all subscription packages, including VOD and MOD content. All a customer needs to do is to select the content to view and confirm the payment on the mobile phone charging the amount to their mobile operator. Fortumo will process the payment request with the concerned telecom operator and once the verification is generated, the user can avail the content. The payment is later charged to the customer mobile bill or deducted from his pre- paid account balance, as the case may be.
Today, Ditto TV offers the largest collection of premium content through 70 LIVE TV channels spread across leading genres like GEC, Sports, Lifestyle, Regional and News along with rich on-demand video capabilities. Ditto TV can be downloaded from www.dittotv.com
About Ditto TV
Ditto TV, launched in February 2012, is the latest offering from the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE), Zee New Media. Currently, it is India’s first over-the-top (OTT) TV distribution platform offering LIVE TV and On Demand Content to end consumers on their mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, entertainment boxes and connected TVs. With access to the largest collection of premium content, spread across leading content genres like GEC, Sports, Lifestyle, Regional and News, along with rich on-demand video capabilities, Ditto TV offers a unique and compelling experience, delivering a seamless video viewing experience on a range of Internet-enabled devices. Along with its India launch, Ditto TV is now available across the globe in all international markets like the US, UK, UAE, New Zealand, Australia and others. Currently hosting 70 LIVE TV channels, Ditto TV has partnered for content with IndiaCast Media Distribution, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., Multi Screen Media (Sony Entertainment Television), TAJ TV Limited, Sri Adhikari Brothers, TV Today Network, BBC, Turner India and ZEE. Another amongst industry firsts, Ditto TV offers features such as an elaborative electronic programme guide, a content recommendation engine, an elegant user interface, multicurrency payment option and free cash-on-delivery service, all of which will be integral to enhancing the user experience. You can learn more about the offering at www.dittotv.com.
About Fortumo
Fortumo allows any merchant to set up payment processing for web and mobile services, games or apps. Users with a mobile phone are then able to make one-click payments using Fortumo without the need for a credit card – payments are charged to their mobile operator bill instead. Fortumo payments are cross-platform and work in PC applications, web services and HTML5, Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps. Fortumo supports payments in 80 countries through 300 mobile operators, including a number of exclusive direct carrier billing partnerships. Founded in 2007, Fortumo has offices in Estonia, San Francisco, Beijing and Delhi and is backed by Intel Capital and Greycroft Partners. For more information, visit http://fortumo.com.