US mobile roaming company Roamware, that has its eyes on the US$5bn global mobile banking market, has acquired Dublin software company Macalla for an undisclosed sum.
Macalla’s m-commerce and mobile banking solutions are successfully deployed by banks and operators around the world; these solutions include adding prepaid minutes, credit transfers, international remittance, person-to-person transactions and bill payment.
Following its acquisition of Macalla, Roamware aims to build upon its roaming expertise and become a market leader in mobile financial services (MFS), specifically addressing the needs of low-income, unbanked communities across the world.
“We are clearly the market leader in roaming with over 60pc global market share and 382 global network operators as customers,” said Bobby Srinivasan, CEO of Roamware.
“The move into mobile banking and m-commerce is a natural extension for us as it leverages our customer relationships, business partnerships and technology innovation – banking for the un-banked is a massive market opportunity for Roamware.
“The Macalla acquisition brings us domain expertise and a proven platform that will enable us to take a leadership position in this emerging category,” Srinivasan said.
According to Juniper Research, MFS market revenues will exceed $5bn globally by 2013.
These revenues are based on the commissions and charges acquired from the gross value of money transactions derived from mobile money transfer services and remittances.
“Macalla has been a leading innovator enabling mobile money transactions across banks, remittance service providers and mobile operators,” Niall O’Cleirigh, co-founder and CEO of Macalla explained.
“By joining forces with Roamware, we can benefit from its global reach and relationships within the mobile community to build a true global ecosystem of mobile financial services,” O’Cleirigh added.
By John Kennedy
Photo: Mobile roaming company Roamware aims to build upon its roaming expertise and become a market leader in mobile financial services now that is has acquired Macalla.
