BOKU Inc, a global leader in mobile payments, today announced that a partnership with Gumtree.com, offering users a convenient way to pay for classifieds listings via their mobile phone number.

Gumtree users can now pay for listings and other features on the website by entering their mobile number and charging directly to their mobile phone bill. At checkout, Gumtree and other participating eBay Classifieds group properties display multiple payment options including credit cards and BOKU payments.

Users choosing to pay by mobile simply enter their mobile phone number to checkout. They receive a text to confirm the payment, and the charge appears on their mobile phone bill or is deducted from their pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐go credit. An integrated payment connection between Gumtree and BOKU provides a value-­‐added service to the British online consumers and merchants, including a secure payment mechanism that is both convenient and easy to use. Gumtree originated in the UK, and now offers online classifieds postings for 60 different cities spread across 6 different countries: UK, Ireland, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Gumtree users in the UK alone post more than 250,000 new ads every week, and 2.3 million ads are live on the site at any given time.

Gumtree.com users spend an average of 72 minutes on the website each month.

“Gumtree is a leader in Europe’s online classifieds market, one of the largest in the world and part of the global eBay Classifieds Group,” said James Patmore, Managing Director, EMEA for BOKU. “This collaboration is an opportunity to connect with customers who prefer to pay with their mobile phone and is another significant step to BOKU opening up the European market. This collaboration will undoubtedly provide our new British customers with added value and options.” “BOKU mobile payments offer a simple and secure checkout option for Gumtree users,” said Patricia Bennett, head of product for Gumtree. “We’ve always focused on creating a great user experience, and the technology BOKU offers simplifies the payment process, adding value to the overall seller experience.”

BOKU markets their mobile payment service to online merchants and publishers on a global scale. The BOKU service enables merchants and publishers to drive incremental revenue by offering carrier billing as a payment option to their customers. BOKU is connected to over 220 mobile operators in more than 65 countries, and provides access to more than 2 billion potential customers who can pay by mobile. The process for making a payment is simple and convenient -­‐ users simply click Paymo by BOKU to purchase and then 1. Enter their mobile number, 2. Receive a text message to confirm, and 3. Reply with the letter “y.”