Direct carrier biller mopay announced it has successfully completed a large scale network extension initiative in the Middle East and North Africa region. The initiative covers 15 countries, the company said, including Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The new focus on MENA is due to online growth numbers in the region, the absence of alternative payment methods and a lack of customer confidence in conventional payment methods, the company said. The region has experienced a rapid increase in Internet usage with growth rates at more than 30 percent over the past three years, it said.

Mopay's platform gives users the ability to charge digital content directly to their monthly mobile phone bills. The direct carrier billing model is popular for social media and gaming, categories whose younger users may not have access to a bank or credit card account. Direct carrier billing is also popular in areas such as the Middle East and North Africa, where large numbers of relatively affluent consumers still lack access to basic, reliable financial services.

"Although North America, Europe and Asia are the most developed markets in mobile payments, being a global leader for us means closely monitoring every single region and thus identifying market indicators at a very early stage," said Kolja Reiss, managing director at mopay. "As was the case in South America two years ago, MENA today represents a highly fertile online market environment with above-par mobile penetration."

Reiss said factors including a lack of an established and trusted payment method mean the Middle East and North Africa represent a unique opportunity for mopay to provide both local and foreign online merchants with a safe way to pay that is also broadly available and easy-to-use.

Mopay currently operates in more than 80 countries. Its platform connects mopay merchants to more than 4.3 billion consumers through connections to major wireless carriers worldwide.

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