Financial services company Voice Commerce, whose payment system allows businesses to accept credit and debit card payments by mobile phone, has reported a 73% rise in clients for its Voice Transact payment processing services in the first quarter of this year.
The FSA authorized company, founded by Nick Ogden, who previously built the internet payment service WorldPay, now expects to expand its merchant base by 150% or more every quarter this year.
Nick Ogden said: “2010 has seen a very strong start for Voice Commerce and the indications are that the SME and new business sectors are starting to revive post the credit crunch. Whilst this news is of course a good indicator of a move forward for the economy, it also means that we are ramping up our own recruitment to help us in achieving our strategic plans as we expand and develop the business.”
The company has been following a strategy of providing free tools including its On4 systems to try and encourage business starts ups. On4 includes a fully functional e-commerce store, with full stock control and shipping management, all linked into the Voice Transact payment system. Customers can pay by mobile phone, landline or online using VoicePay, Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Ogden continued: “The expansion of e-commerce internationally has opened new doors for small businesses and start ups. On4 has been specifically designed to not only help them establish a web presence quickly but also allow these entrepreneurs to process payments easily and cost effectively.”
Voice Transact is developing a range of Point of Sale (POS) systems for real store retailers which will be available during 2010.
Earlier this month Voice Commerce earlier this month announced it had become the first payments institution to become a principal member of Visa Europe. That meant it could start providing its own payment services to businesses, including payment transactions.
The news comes as a new report from Juniper Research said the mobile marketing and retail sector, which includes mobile advertising, coupons and smart posters, would pass $8bn by 2012.
