Hybrid subscriptions enable merchants to provide access to content on a limited time basis in low-income markets. Fortumo’s new product is intended to complement its subscription payments solution (available in more than 20 countries globally) in regions where recurring billing has proven to be ineffective and where carriers have not enabled it.
With hybrid subscriptions, users select a time duration for content access and then pay for it on their phone bill. This means streaming merchants like Spotify or Netflix can enable daily or weekly access to entertainment with scaled pricing. Fortumo’s recently published Emerging Markets Payment Index indicates that in the fastest growing emerging markets the average payment size for digital content is well below USD 1; this makes the existing pricing logic of most digital merchants unsuitable for many markets.
Hybrid subscriptions feature an automatic purchasing power parity engine which assesses spending patterns across 350 mobile operators connected to Fortumo. While the merchant is setting up their payment service, the engine gives recommendations for hybrid subscription pricing and duration.
Fortumo’s hybrid subscriptions product is intended for music and video streaming companies, digital newsstands, web and server hosting providers, social networks, dating sites and other merchants whose existing business model is based on recurring payments. Hybrid subscriptions are available to merchants across all 88 markets that Fortumo covers through one payment integration. Fortumo also provides recurring billing using mobile payments in more than 20 countries, among them Brazil, France, UK, Sweden, Romania and India.
In February 2015, Fortumo entered a strategic partnership with the Chinese OEM TCL (Alcatel Onetouch) to extend payment solution to users in emerging markets.
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