Category: Wireless

Vikrant Chowdhary Joins CleverTap as Company’s First-ever Chief Growth Officer

Enterprise tech business leader Chowdhary will lead the company’s global growth charter, integrating all go-to-market (GTM) efforts

CleverTap, the world’s leading user engagement and retention platform, today added a new dimension to its core leadership team with the appointment of Vikrant Chowdhary as Chief Growth Officer (CGO). Chowdhary will lead CleverTap’s integrated go-to-market (GTM) strategy globally across all commercial and enterprise segments.

Vikrant Chowdhary Joins CleverTap as Company’s First-ever Chief Growth Officer

Increasingly, business leaders with disruptive mindsets and an eagerness to evolve are imperative for companies to succeed. Chowdhary brings this forward-thinking to CleverTap through 25 years of experience and expertise leading hypergrowth teams.

“We are thrilled to have Vikrant join us as our partner for growth as we scale our business in key global markets and sectors and steer CleverTap to become a global leader in the user retention space for mobile-first digital businesses,” said Sunil Thomas, Co-founder and CEO of CleverTap. “For the first time, we will integrate all of our customer-facing functions – across sales, marketing, solution engineering, and partnerships – to make one CleverTap Growth team under Vikrant’s leadership.” Thomas elaborates on the pivotal importance of this in his latest blog on the CleverTap website.

Before CleverTap, Chowdhary worked with Salesforce, the world’s number one CRM company, where he directed India’s finserv vertical and enterprise business units. Previously, Chowdhary held country leadership roles with SAP – where he powered the growth of the BFSI and telecom business unit, which became one of the best-performing teams in the country – as well as Teradata, IBM, and select startups. He earned an MBA from NITIE, Mumbai, and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Dayalbagh Educational Institute.

“CleverTap has created a unique platform to help growth managers monetize behavioral economics for their real-time digital businesses, and I am truly excited and humbled to become an integral part of the company,” said Chowdhary. “I’m also excited to draw on my experience building growth units in vertical sectors powered by high-performance teams and have the opportunity to bring this capability to CleverTap.”

To learn more about CleverTap visit https://clevertap.com/

About CleverTap
CleverTap is a modern, integrated Retention Cloud that empowers digital consumer brands to increase customer retention and lifetime value. For brands that understand and value user retention, CleverTap drives context and individualization with the help of a unified and deep data layer, AI/ML-powered insights & automation. Customers around the world representing over 10,000 apps, including Vodafone Idea, SonyLIV, Daimler, Gojek, Carousell, and Premier League, trust CleverTap to achieve their retention and engagement goals, growing their long-term revenue.

CleverTap is backed by leading venture capital firms including Sequoia India, Tiger Global Management, and Accel. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in Mumbai, Singapore, and Dubai.

For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

AppSealing Introduces Data Encryption Solution for Android Apps

The Data Encryption solution will help companies from the fintech, banking, and gaming industries meet their data security and protection needs in minutes, without ANY CODING

AppSealing, a leading mobile application security solution provider and a service of INKA ENTWORKS, announced the launch of its data encryption solution for Android applications.

With this solution, companies can protect a slew of sensitive data like authentication tokens, unique identifiers, and passwords from unauthorized access and modification. The premium addition of this solution to its mobile application protection suite further reiterates AppSealing’s commitment to enabling companies to fend off cyber attackers and prevent illegal application access, theft, deletion, or modification. Companies can now take better control of their data in a much more proactive manner.

The solution offers top-notch encryption architectures and supports AES 256 encryption, the strongest encryption standard in the world. It provides industry security standards like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Companies can be compliance-ready instantly without any coding or SDK integration.

James Ahn, CEO with INKA ENTWORKS, explains the relevance of data encryption for fintech companies: “Fintech industry is booming. The global fintech market, which was worth $128Bn in 2018, is expected to touch a figure of $310Bn in 2022. We have been collaborating with our clients to secure their mobile applications. Our latest offering of end-to-end data encryption further strengthens our mobile application security portfolio and leadership position in the market. We are pleased to make fintech, payments, banking, and gaming apps a lot more secure. We are excited to partner with our customers and help them be compliant, protect sensitive data, take relevant actions against hackers, and build their business and reputation confidently.”

“Digital banking enables companies to provide fintech and banking services at the touch of a button. It is a great way for companies to serve their customers, but it also means opening Pandora’s box since attackers are lurking around. Data localization restrictions also put an additional responsibility. With data encryption, we aim to help Fintech companies focus on customer experience, compliance with localization policies, and revenue generation within the safe walls of security,” says Govindraj Basatwar, Global Business Head with INKA ENTWORKS.

The key features include:
Whitebox AES 256 & FIPS 140-2 encryption for Android mobile devices, software, and operating systems
Runtime protection covering encryption keys, API keys, authentication tokens, etc.
End-to-end support system encompassing legacy native file input/output interface
Companies can thus leverage AppSealing’s data encryption solution to protect sensitive data pertaining to their Android applications. The robust encryption standards ensure 100% coverage of emerging attack vectors, to provide a complete safety net to mobile applications.

About AppSealing: AppSealing
AppSealing is the only cloud-based pay-as-you-go solution to protect mobile apps without writing a single line of code. Our solution is easy to use and allows you to protect mobile apps from hackers and illegal application modification, thus making them secure in run-time with RASP security features. AppSealing is a new App Security Service from INKA Entworks, a content security company dedicated to helping content developers and publishers protect their content from manipulation and theft.

About INKA ENTWORKS:
INKA Entworks is trusted by 1000+ customers globally, providing 360-degree, cloud-based end-to-end content security for OTT platforms, such as Multi DRM, Forensic Watermarking, Anti-Piracy services, Anti-screen capture/Recorder, App Security with Quick and Simple integration. It is a ONE-IN-ALL solution for OTT owners. INKA is one of only five companies authorized to provide DRM technology for Hollywood movie studios.

For more information, please contact:
Rupesh Shinde
rupesh@inka.co.kr
+1-213-550-5473

Rachana Chowdhary
rachana@mediavalueworks.com
+1-847-453-4357

HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and Salon de TE open today

  • Five-day fairs open to public with various activities and offers

The special edition of the 40th HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and ninth Salon de TE, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association Ltd and The Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades and Industries Ltd, officially open today, bringing together more than 160 exhibitors. The physical fairs run from 8 to 12 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), while the online version runs until 19 September, providing continued sourcing opportunities through both physical and online formats.

Officiating at today’s opening of the 40th HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and ninth Salon de TE
Sponsored by Prince Jewellery & Watch for the 11th consecutive year, World Brand Piazza presents 12 renowned international brands including spectacular pieces from Piaget and Jacob & Co.
A series of public activities including watch parades, “Watch X Fashion” parades and product launches are being held throughout the fair period with models showcasing the latest designs.

The five-day fairs are open to the general public for the first time, offering visitors the opportunity to appreciate precious timepieces and shop for watches at discounted prices. Organised by the HKTDC, Asia’s premier fashion event CENTRESTAGE runs from 10 to 12 September at the HKCEC, presenting designer brands from around the world. The concurrent fairs create synergies and new business opportunities for participants from both the watch and fashion industries.

World Brand Piazza features exquisite international brands
Showcasing quality watches of different designs, Salon de TE comprises various thematic zones including World Brand Piazza, Craft Treasure, Chic & Trendy and Renaissance Moment. Sponsored by Prince Jewellery & Watch for the 11th consecutive year, World Brand Piazza presents 12 renowned international brands, including Blancpain, Breguet, Chopard, CORUM, FRANCK MULLER, Glashutte Original, Jacob & Co, Jaquet Droz, Juvenia, PARMIGIANI FLEURIER, Piaget and SARCAR Geneve.

A broad range of timepieces are under the spotlight, including the following:
Masterpieces showcase exquisite micro-engraving skills
– Memorigin highlights the Six Steeds in the Tang Dynasty tourbillon watch, its first manual-winding watch that possesses a central tourbillon with free sprung balances. Each piece involves 260 hours of craftsmanship to showcase the Yangtze River, Yellow River, mountains and 18k galloping gold horses on the 42mm-diameter watch. (Booth: 1D-A20)
– ANPASSA presents its Racing Tourbillon RXD31MCS with an 18k gold micro-engraved golden dragon featured on the tourbillon movement. The titanium case is set with rainbow-coloured gemstones, showcasing the talent of the watchmaker in creating three-dimensional visual art. (Booth: 1D-A17)

Sparkling designs grab attention
– Fouette presents the Le Petit Prince L’Etoile, which is produced in a limited quantity of just 100 pieces. The watch features 76 pieces of cubic zirconia on the bezel and eight pieces on the L’Etoile dial. It also includes a Le Petit Prince figurine in 925 sterling silver with luminous stars and hands – features that are all highly attractive to fans of the Little Prince. (Booth: 1D-B05)
– The Temporis “My” collection, inspired by the 12 zodiac constellations, has the watch case, bezel and crown set with 350 sparkling stones. The highlight of the piece is the constellation symbol rendered in black sparkling stones that provide a strong contrast to the silvery white background. (Booth: 1D-B07)

Artistic designs on trend
– The MONA LISA, Da Vinci @ Traveling Muzeum Collection Watch was designed by renowned fashion designer Vivienne Tam, and engineered by eminent scientist James Wong. The dial is decorated with 29 pieces of genuine topaz and features a crown set with valuable alexandrite. The watch, which also features a high-quality, shock-tolerant 316 S/S Swiss movement, is available for sale in a limited edition of 1,680 pieces. (Booth: 1D-B01)
– The Roulette Master Skeleton automatic model by Romago has a transparent case back showcasing an open-worked rotor. The watch is water resistant up to 50m. (Booth: 1D-B09)

Classic and trendy must-haves
– The Iza Collection C174RRD from Swiss brand COINWATCH showcases a stainless-steel case with 16 diamonds and a rose gold PVD bezel. The piece also features an interchangeable double-wrap leather strap. (Booth: 1D-A09)
– Empire Watch brings back a classic with a modern twist, featuring a metallic blue colour and a minimalist dial design. This quartz analogue watch is made from stainless steel with a mesh band safety lock, sapphire glass and a Japanese movement. (Booth: 1E-C35)

The Watch & Clock Fair also showcases parts and components. For example, the Japanese watch movement MIYOTA is introducing the Caliber 9029 at the fair, a new calibre that meets the latest trend for slimmer watch designs using its two-hand Premium Automatic movement. Other zones showcase complete watches, clocks, packaging and trade services.

Events, lucky draws and attractive shopping offers for public visitors
Various public activities are being held during the fairs including watch parades, “Watch X Fashion” parades and product launches, with the participation of local celebrities such as Cheung Tat-ming, Nelson Cheung, Derek Wong, Lilian Kan and Chan Wing-luk. Lucky draws will be organised during the fairs with prizes such as a tourbillon watch valued at HK$28,000, a one-carat moissanite diamond ring, jewellery pieces, fashion items and more. Visitors can also participate in Smart Bidding to bid for watches starting at 10% of the original price, including a tourbillon watch valued at HK$47,000. Visitors can download electronic coupons (https://bit.ly/2W7eWU7) to enjoy discounts of up to 40% when buying watches at the fairs. In addition, key opinion leaders are conducting livestreaming shows during the fairs to introduce selected watches at the onsite studio.

A watch craftsmanship workshop with the theme “Reminisce and Inherit: Locally-Made Tourbillion Demonstration” (12 September) will feature local watchmakers introducing Hong Kong-made tourbillons and demonstrating aspects of the manufacturing process. Visitors can take this chance to get a deeper understanding of the art of watchmaking.

Industry experts offer valuable insights on market prospects and trends

Industry participants should not miss a series of forums and seminars that provide first-hand market information and insights into the latest business trends. A seminar titled “Global Luxury Watch Investment and Market Outlook in Mainland China” (10 September) will invite John Ng, Horologer of Montres S.A. and known as the only Asian disciple of master horologer Philippe Dufour, Ho Sai-chu, Chairman of Chih Lo Lou Art Promotion (Non-Profit Making) Ltd, and watch experts and consultants from renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips to share insights into global and Mainland Chinese luxury watch investment, the role of the younger generation in the watch industry and the watch industry outlook in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong International Watch Forum, broadcast online on 6 September, featured sharings by representatives of watch associations from Mainland China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and Switzerland. In addition to the latest market insights, participants discussed the future direction for development in the global watch manufacturing sector. Video playback is available for viewing on the fair website. Under the theme “Redesigning the Future of Luxury Watches”, the Asian Watch Conference (9 September) will invite a representative from iClick Interactive to share her views on online and offline marketing strategies for luxury watch brands in the mainland, while Dayton Industrial’s representative will offer insights into the latest developments of the watch industry. Louis Chan, Principal Economist (Global Research) from HKTDC Research, will share future markets insights for the watch industry.

Click2Match enables business matching
The HKTDC has mobilised its network of 50 offices worldwide to invite overseas buyers to connect and maintain contact with exhibitors through video conferencing. The AI-powered online business matching platform Click2Match helps to bring exhibitors together with the most suitable buyers. Participants can also take advantage of functions such as a meeting planner, live chat and e-business card exchange, helping them to overcome barriers and build business connections around the world.

Design competition to promote local creativity
To nurture budding local designers, the HKTDC joined together with the Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association Ltd and the Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades & Industries Ltd to organise the 38th Hong Kong Watch & Clock Competition. The theme of the Open Group was “Minimalism” and the winning design, “SPACE BAR” by Tam Kwok-tung, presents an empty transparent container in which the hands are hidden under the wheels. The student group’s theme was “Live Fully” and the first prize went to Yip Tsz-yan from the Hong Kong Design Institute for her “Insight” design, which took inspiration from the optical arts. The winning and finalist entries from the competition are on display at Hall 1D Concourse during the fair, showcasing the best of Hong Kong’s creativity to buyers and the public.

Websites:
– Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair: https://hkwatchfair.hktdc.com
– Salon de TE: https://hkwatchfair.hktdc.com/te
– Photo download: https://bit.ly/3l3krM0

About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn

Media enquiries:
HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department
Janet Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4369, Email: janet.ch.chan@hktdc.org
Angel Tang, Tel: +852 2584 4544, Email: angel.hc.tang@hktdc.org

Bussr to Reach $1 Billion in Sales on Its Mobility Platform in 2022

Mobility payment solutions disruptor Bussr has forecast sales of $1 billion in 2022

Bussr offers a mobility payment solutions platform for businesses and users, powering payments infrastructure for the mobility market using the latest booking and ticketing innovations.

More than 800 businesses have already signed on to use Bussr’s platform, 100 of which, amounting to US$150 million in annual sales, will go live in 2021.

Bussr believes that every trip and transaction should empower people to move and connect, with the smallest carbon footprint possible. Every Bussr trip considers distance and environmental impact as well as the ability to reduce urban congestion.

Bussr is also in the advanced discussion stage with the Indonesian Government to digitize the metro transit ecosystem, with an expected 10 million daily users.

Bussr’s innovative offerings extend to disrupting the last-mile logistics space; delivery brands and retailers will have a simple, automated way of integrating and adding the most relevant payment options to their business model, delighting their customers with affordable same-day delivery.

The mobility sector is an immense $2 trillion market that still relies on paper cash, fax machines, and manila envelopes. By 2050, the global population is projected to increase to around 9.8 billion, with more than twice as many people living in urban areas than in rural settings. The need for innovation in the mobility and logistics payments sector is clear.

“We are tackling a massive $2 trillion market, developing modern software for an industry that still relies on woefully outmoded paper-based systems. We bring security, efficiency, and joy to a paper-based pillar of the global market economy. We want to empower mobility and logistics partners with the right tools for their users. Mobility providers will be able to offer seamless payment options across the entire mobility ecosystem,” said Hussein, CEO of Bussr.

Bussr’s payment solutions platform allows mobility businesses of all types to have bespoke booking and ticketing solutions for their respective markets. For operators, brands, and retailers, getting onboard with Bussr is a near-effortless three-step process:
1. Get your branded mobile app and website
2. Add your product with prices and descriptions
3. Choose your payment options and start selling

The overarching theme of efficiency runs deeper — Bussr understands that its responsibilities will ultimately impact people and the planet alike. This means that every trip and transaction should empower people to move and connect, all the while with the smallest carbon footprint possible. Every trip considers distance and environmental impact as well as its ability to reduce urban congestion.

With the complex goal of changing the way people connect across cities and countries, Bussr benefits from its strong leadership trio: tech entrepreneur Hussein Abdelkarim, former Rocket Internet founder and CEO, I.M. Shousha, veteran technology consultant and co-founder, and Ajay Bhandari, former Microsoft Chief Architect, CTO, and co-founder.

It’s no surprise that Bussr promises an exciting ride ahead for all on board. To learn more about Bussr, and its goal to digitize mobility and connect the world, join the dialogue at www.bussr.com.

Contact:
HA, Bussr Technologies
E: press@bussr.com
U: https://www.bussr.com

Boku launches M1ST, the world’s largest mobile payments network, connecting Southeast Asia Digital Consumers to global merchants

Boku Inc. (AIM: BOKU) today announced the launch of the M1ST (aka Mobile First), the world’s largest mobile payments network. The M1ST Payments Network features an unrivalled 330+ mobile payment methods, including mobile wallets, direct carrier billing, and real-time payments schemes, reaching 5.7 billion mobile payment accounts in 90 countries – all through a single integration.

By 2022, middle class in Southeast Asia is expected to wield over US$300 billion in disposable income. The region’s middle class is expected to double to 51 per cent in 2030 from 24 per cent in 2020 – or from 135 million people to 334 million people. According to the World Bank, 45% of consumers globally use mobile wallets vs. just 18% that use credit cards for payments. In Boku’s 2021 Mobile Wallets Report showed that Southeast Asia will become the fastest growing mobile wallet region in the world: the number of mobile wallets in use by SEA consumers is projected to increase by nearly 25.5% to reach 439.7 million mobile wallets in use by the end of 2025.

“In a Confidence Index survey, 52 per cent of the merchants in SEA experienced a high level of growth during H1 2021 and 70 per cent of these merchants are expecting additional growth of more than 10 per cent in Q3 2021. This shows that despite the challenging times, digital consumers continue to make purchases digitally. The launch of M1ST will not only allow SEA merchants and digital consumers to connect within the region, but also to global markets seamlessly, with a payment method that is useful and convenient to them,” said Loke Hwee Wong, Vice President and General Manager, APAC at Boku.

However, mobile payment acceptance for global merchants is highly complex, especially due to the extreme fragmentation of mobile payment methods. M1ST solves a number of these challenges so that merchants can easily accept mobile payments, globally, and at scale, including:

– Standardization – M1ST removes the complexity of disparate technical, legal and contractual considerations, simplifying 330+ payment methods into a single, scheme-like network.
– Digitally Native – M1ST enabled payments are built to support the 0-tap subscriptions and 1-tap checkout transactions that enable new, online business models.
– Future-Proofed – By 2025, nearly 60% of consumers globally are projected to be using mobile wallets; the M1ST Network follows market demand to maximize merchant acceptance.
– Global Settlement – M1ST delivers merchants a single, global settlement, eliminating the complexity of local taxes, foreign exchange, and cash repatriation.
– Local Legal Infrastructure – Through payment licenses and local entities, M1ST is capable of accepting regulated payments in nearly 50 countries.

M1ST is designed to eliminate the difficulty of mobile payment acceptance so that merchants can accept mobile payments more quickly, at lower cost, and focus on building world-class user experiences that drive long-term, valuable relationships with their customers.

“We’ve seen a fundamental shift of consumer purchasing power from west to east, from established to emerging markets, and from credit cards to mobile payments. Today, we’re launching the M1ST Network to enable global merchants to acquire, monetize, and retain mobile-first consumers,” said Jon Prideaux, CEO of Boku. “For merchants to capitalize on the massive potential of mobile-first consumers, they need to accept the payment methods they have and prefer, which are increasingly behind glass screens, not rectangular pieces of plastic. We’ve spent the past decade delivering new customers to our merchants through mobile payments. Now that mobile payments have overtaken credit cards globally, merchant acceptance has moved from a competitive advantage to a strategic imperative.”

About Boku

Boku Inc. (AIM: BOKU) is the fintech powering the world’s largest mobile payments network, M1ST (Mobile First). With 45% of global consumers using mobile payment methods to buy goods online, compared to 18% using credit cards, the future of commerce is mobile-first. Boku’s technology platform helps the world’s most demanding merchants attract, convert, and retain customers using mobile payments. By turning payments infrastructure into a source of sustainable competitive advantage, Boku safely activates a range of new merchant business models – from bundling to subscriptions.

Boku’s platform is used in 90 countries with more than a billion verified transactions in 2020, contributing more than $8 billion to the digital economy. Customers that trust Boku to simplify sign-up, acquire new paying users and prevent fraud include global leaders such as Apple, DAZN, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, Sony, Spotify and Tencent.

Boku Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the US. To learn more about Boku please visit: https://www.boku.com

Boku in Asia

In Asia, Boku’s payment partners for Mobile Wallets include: AliPay, Dana, GCash, GoPay, GrabPay, KakaoPay, LINE Pay, Ovo, PayMaya, PayPay, Toss, Touch ‘n Go, Truemoney
Boku also partners with payment partners to offer Direct Carrier Billing: AIS, BSNL, Celcom, Digi, dtac, Globe, Indosat Ooredoo, Jio, Korea Telecom, KDDI, LG U+, Maxis, M1, NTT Docomo, StarHub, Singtel, Softbank, SK Telecom, Smart, Smartfren, Tata Docomo, Telkomsel, Three, TrueMove, Vodafone, XL (amongst others)

Enquiries:
PRecious Communications for Boku, Inc.
Singapore/Asia Pacific: Clarence Lim, boku@preciouscomms.com

LG Uplus Kiosks Go Touchless with Kardome’s Voice Technology

  • The innovative voice technology enables private, secure voice recognition interaction in kiosks and digital signage

Kardome today announced it has contracted with LG Uplus to install its Voice Activation Software in the mobile service provider’s store kiosks. Kardome is excited to partner with LG Uplus to provide its customers with secure voice interaction in its kiosk digital assistants.

The voice technology startup will install its voice activation technology in 2,000 LG Uplus store kiosks throughout South Korea by the end of the year. LG Uplus is one of South Korea’s largest mobile service providers.

The development of voice technology is shifting into high gear, with consumers demanding touchless solutions due to hygienic concerns during the pandemic.

Privacy and security are also a concern when using voice recognition software in public spaces. Kardome allays these concerns with its unique location-based voice user interface (VUI).

“We are proud to see our voice activation technology employed in LG Uplus kiosks,” says Dani Cherkassky, Kardome CEO and cofounder. “Our voice user interface software will give the company’s customers private, secure voice interactions in any environment.”

Kardome’s VUI technology provides a personalized digital experience using parametric or directional loudspeakers. The speakers transmit the digital voice assistant’s responses only to the relevant customer standing before the kiosk.

The location-based source separation technology enables this secure and private voice interaction, capturing only the relevant customer’s speech, regardless of background noise or passerby.

About Kardome
Kardome is an Israeli-based voice technology startup. The company’s innovative location-based, noise-reduction VUI technology gives clear, real-time voice command input and audio output in any environment. Kardome’s goal is to solve end-user frustrations with speech recognition and voice command devices.

About LG Uplus
LG Uplus Corp is a South Korean telecommunications and Mobile phone service provider controlled by the LG Group, one of the country’s largest family-owned business conglomerates.

More information: http://bit.ly/LGUplusKardome
Video demonstration of Kardome’s Voice technology in LG Uplus store kiosks in Gwangju, South Korea https://youtu.be/VjsSoOn3e4k

Contact:
Laura Tate, Kardome VP Marketing
+1 323-205-6436
Laura.tate@Kardome.com

Cuentas and WaveMax Sign an Exclusive and Definitive JV Agreement for 1,000 Locations to Offer Advertising on WiFi6 Next Generation Patented Technology in Cuentas’ “Bodegas” Network throughout the USA

Cuentas, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUEN & CUENW) (Cuentas), a leading FinTech provider (Top 4 Fintech) of mobile banking, digital wallet and payment solutions focused on Hispanic and Latino communities signed an exclusive, Definitive JV Agreement to rollout WaveMax’s SharedWiFI6 patented technology (Wavemax Patent) in 1,000 locations.

This Rollout will begin in the greater New York City Metropolitan Area with 500 Locations in NYC, 330 locations in New Jersey and 170 locations in Connecticut. The agreement also includes plans to roll out the service in other areas throughout the US. The parties will install advanced WiFi6 Access Points and Small Cells in these 1,000 “Bodega Stores” in a 50/50 joint venture. These will become Cuentas premium locations that will be near public train stations and mass transit hubs and will be offering all Cuentas products and services on secure networks. The WiFi6 service will enhance the customer experience while in the Bodega store, by automatically connecting them to SharedWiFi high speed internet and receive special in-store offers. Users at Cuentas Points of Sale (POS) locations will also receive promotions for the Cuentas GPR card and discounted products sold through the Cuentas Mobile App.

This unique agreement that our organizations are bringing to the market will allow Cuentas to enter the advertising ecosystem using major brands to advertise through mobile handsets and additionally Cuentas products & services will benefit from 50% discounts for most favored nation pricing on this digital advertising platform.

WaveMax’s SharedFi patented technology allows for a shared network of WiFi access points and small cells. The user has access to this shared network and, if he has opted in, be impacted with location-based advertising. These ads are configured by advertisers using WaveMAX’s dashboards targeting, manually or programmatically, the right audience, at the right time, and the right place.

“I am proud that we were able to sign a definitive agreement with WaveMax for their state of the art technology. This is the first time that Cuentas is announcing to its public shareholders that it was able to complete this unique agreement and I am looking forward to expand this network for the rest of Cuentas’ Bodega network nationwide,” said Arik Maimon, Cuentas Founder and Interim CEO.

“We are very pleased to enhance our original commitment to the first 1,000 bodegas in Cuentas’ network. We are happy to add value to Cuentas’ unique proposition in the US market and its Mobile Banking App,” said Eduardo Velasco, WaveMAX CEO. (Shared Wi-Fi 6 Network)

“Cuentas was recently classified and deemed as a technology sector vertical (Technology Sector), we are very excited for the upcoming events of our company and we are very confident that Cuentas has a bright future,” said Michael De Prado, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman of Cuentas.

ABOUT CUENTAS
Cuentas, Inc. (Nasdaq: CUEN & CUENW) is a Fintech company utilizing technical innovation together with existing and emerging technologies to deliver accessible, efficient and reliable mobile, new-era and traditional financial services to consumers. Cuentas is proactively applying technology and compliance requirements to improve the availability, delivery, reliability and utilization of financial services especially to the unbanked, underbanked and underserved segments of today’s society. Its products are supported by its core methods, procedures, contracts and intellectual property. For more information, visit https://cuentas.com.

ABOUT WAVEMAX CORPORATION
WaveMax is a WiFi-5G sharing company leveraging US patented technology to create an ecosystem monetizing mobile interactions between Telcos, Retailers, Providers, Apps, and Users. WaveMax ecosystem in 2020 supported millions of Wi-Fi accesses and it is rapidly growing, creating new synergies and network effects.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains ‘forward-looking statements’, as that term is defined in section 27a of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21e of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this news release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this news release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements that are preceded by, followed by, or that include such words as ‘estimate’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘plan’ or ‘expect’ or similar statements are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include statements relating to other publicly available information regarding Cuentas.

Contact:
Cuentas:
investor@cuentas.com
800-611-3622

WaveMax:
info@wavemaxcorp.com
512.902.8038

SOURCE: Cuentas, Inc.

Study: More than half of the world’s population will use mobile wallets by 2025

The biggest report ever on the growth of mobile wallets projects that one in two people will use a mobile wallet by 2025. At the end of 2020, there were over 2.8 billion mobile wallets in use. That number is projected to increase by nearly 74% to reach 4.8 billion mobile wallets in use by the end of 2025 – nearly 60% of the world’s population. The fastest-growing markets are Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa & Middle East where mobile wallets are displacing cash and cards for more convenient digital payments.

Boku, a fintech pioneering the world’s first global mobile payments network, has released its 2021 Mobile Wallets Report in partnership with digital technology analyst house Juniper Research, which provides insight into mobile wallet adoption and use in leading markets across the globe. In 2019, mobile wallets overtook credit cards to become the most widely used payment type globally and the shift to online driven by the pandemic has accelerated adoption. Mobile wallets use is growing rapidly across the world with emerging markets leading the way.

Key findings

– Southeast Asia is the fastest-growing mobile wallet region
Mobile wallet use will grow by 311% between 2020-2025, reaching up 439.7 million wallets in use across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam from 141.1 million in 2020. The rise in e-Commerce and the dominance of super-apps like Grab and Gojek, particularly in markets like the Philippines and Indonesia, is driving accelerated mobile wallet adoption.

– China reaches maturity but Japan, Korea and Taiwan set for hyper-growth
The Far East and China continue to be the largest mobile wallet region in the world with 1.34bn users in 2020. Market saturation is resulting in slowing growth in China with a CAGR of just 2.2% per year. Meanwhile, markets including Japan, Korea and Taiwan will continue to see accelerated adoption of mobile wallets with 98.4% market penetration by 2025.

– Africa & Middle East is the second biggest mobile wallet market
The second-biggest mobile wallet market is set to grow by 147% between 2020-2025. This is driven by expanded usage of mobile money services such as M-Pesa which are increasingly offering additional services such as access to eCommerce.

– Latin American growth is being supercharged by eCommerce
This region is set to increase mobile wallet use by 166% between 2020-2025. Long-held back by consumers’ preference for cash-based payments and comparatively lower smartphone penetration, this is fast-changing, and the region’s eCommerce growth is supercharging mobile wallet use.

– Slow growth in Western Europe and North America
With 65% growth in Western Europe and 50% in North America by 2025, these regions will see the least amount of mobile wallet growth in the next five years. However, markets such as the UK are seeing a rise in card-based mobile wallets due to the adoption of contactless spurred on by the pandemic and shift towards cashlessness.

“While mobile wallets are being used on a global basis, we see two distinct types being used today. One is card-based mobile wallets, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, which provide an easier way to pay with cards people already have. The other is stored value mobile wallets, like AliPay and GrabPay, that enable consumers to transact with digital cash and are popular in emerging markets with fast-growing e-Commerce sectors,” said Adam Lee, Chief Product Officer at Boku. “The markets that are set to grow the fastest are those with the lowest levels of card penetration, stored value wallets are thriving. In North America and Western Europe, which are dominated by card-based mobile wallets, we are seeing the slowest growth in mobile wallet adoption, as the technology provides merely incremental benefit.”

“We are seeing a clear bifurcation in the market between card-based mobile wallets in developed markets and stored value mobile wallets that are ubiquitous in Asia and rapidly growing in all emerging markets,” concluded Lee.

“Southeast Asia is one of the most rapidly digitalizing regions in the world. In 2020, the region added 400 million new internet users, with 70% of the region now online. Together with consumption trends brought about due to lockdowns during the pandemic, that has led to a familiarity with e-Commerce and an exponential rise in mobile wallet use,” said Loke Hwee Wong, Vice President and General Manager, APAC at Boku. “This is also because the region was heavily dependent on cash and bank transfer before mobile wallet use, and the convenience and accessibility, especially with stored value mobile wallets, will see Southeast Asia leapfrog the rest of the world in mobile payment adoption.”

The growth and bifurcation of mobile wallet use present both an opportunity and challenge for merchants. The number of mobile wallets transacting over $1 billion per year is set to grow by 27% from 54 wallets in 2020 to 69 wallets by 2025. This provides a lucrative opportunity for merchants looking to acquire valuable customers, many of whom only use mobile wallets. However, not only are consumers using mobile wallets more, they are using more mobile wallets. Consumers in high-growth markets such as India and Indonesia use an average of 2.74 wallets. This means that not only do merchants need to accept wallets but they need to ensure broad coverage across each target market.

“We are witnessing a paradigm shift in payments driven by mobile wallets. Mobile wallets have lowered the barrier to making digital payments and in parallel ushered billions of new consumers into eCommerce. These consumers are not in North America or Western Europe, they are in emerging markets, and while they don’t have credit cards, they overwhelmingly have mobile wallets,” said Jon Prideaux, CEO at Boku. “For global merchants, mobile payment acceptance is not about accepting one type of mobile wallet or another, but ensuring that consumers in every market will have the required selection on payment types in order to monetize transactions.”

To download the 2021 Mobile Wallets Report please visit our website. 

About Boku

Boku Inc. (AIM: BOKU) is a fintech pioneering the world’s first global, mobile payments network. With 45% of global consumers using mobile payment methods to buy goods online, compared to 18% using credit cards, the future of commerce is mobile-first. Boku’s technology platform helps the world’s most demanding merchants attract, convert, and retain customers using mobile payments. By turning payments infrastructure into a source of sustainable competitive advantage, Boku safely activates a range of new merchant business models – from bundling to subscriptions.

Boku’s platform is used in over 70 countries with more than a billion verified transactions in 2020, contributing $8.5 billion to the digital economy. Customers that trust Boku to simplify sign-up, acquire new paying users and prevent fraud include global leaders such as Apple, DAZN, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, Sony, Spotify and Tencent.

Boku Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the US. To learn more about Boku please visit our website. 

About Juniper Research

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

Inquiries:
PRecious Communications for Boku, Inc.
Singapore/Asia Pacific: Clarence Lim, boku@preciouscomms.com

Boku in Asia

In Asia, Boku’s payment partners for Mobile Wallets include: AliPay, Dana, GCash, GoPay, GrabPay, KakaoPay, LINE Pay, Ovo, PayMaya, PayPay, Toss, Touch ‘n Go, Truemoney.

Boku also partners with payment partners to offer Direct Carrier Billing: AIS, BSNL, Celcom, Digi, dtac, Globe, Indosat Ooredoo, Jio, Korea Telecom, KDDI, LG U+, Maxis, M1, NTT Docomo, StarHub, Singtel, Softbank, SK Telecom, Smart, Smartfren, Tata Docomo, Telkomsel, Three, TrueMove, Vodafone, XL (amongst others).

Additional insights from the Mobile Payments Report 2021

Other insights from the Southeast Asian region include:
1. Indonesia represents one of the greatest opportunities for merchants accepting mobile payments: its mobile wallet penetration is at 25.6% in 2020, and set to triple to 76.5% by 2025. The report also expects that mobile wallet transactions will increase by volume to 16 billion transactions in 2025 (from 1.7 billion in 2020), and $107 billion in 2025 (from $28 billion in 2020) – the highest in the region.
2. Malaysia mobile payment adoption is behind other Southeast Asian countries currently, at a 31.7% penetration rate, but is poised for hyper-growth over the next five years to 93.9%.
3. Philippines has one of the lowest levels of mobile wallet penetration at 22.4% of the population, but expected to grow to 63.4% by 2025 with a mobile wallet transaction value of $63.4 billion by 2025 (from $15 billion in 2020).
4. Singapore is set to reach mobile wallet penetration of nearly 95% by 2025 from 30.4% in 2020 – the highest in the Southeast Asian region, and with mobile wallet transactions projected to increase by 11x (from 101 million transaction volume in 2020, to 1.1 billion in 2025).
5. Mobile wallet penetration in Thailand is at 21.4% in 2020 and set to grow to 63.4% in 2025. The country is also set to hit $36.7 billion in transaction value in 2020 (from $10.6 billion in 2020).
6. Vietnam is primed for massive mobile payments growth – with mobile wallet transaction growth of 7x expected to 5 billion by 2025 from 674 million in 2020, and a mobile wallet penetration rate of 55.5% in 2025 (from 19.7% in 2020).

As part of the Mobile Payments Report 2021, Boku also conducted an in-depth consumer survey of 1035 respondents in Indonesia, during May 2021, which showed that:
1. Consumers use an average of 3.2 wallets in use per respondent, one of the highest in the world after India. The top reason for using more than one type of mobile wallet included different wallets giving different benefits (63%).
2. Cash was the payment type that is most in use prior to mobile wallets (at 66%), followed by bank transfers (63%) and debit cards (44%), which can likely be attributed to the extremely low credit card penetration rate in Indonesia.

NEC Announces New Industry-leading Multi-carrier Radio Solution to Address Higher Capacity Demands for 5G Networks

– High transmission power at high modulation with the quality of the IAG/IAP series –
– Industry’s highest-capacity outdoor module capable of supporting multiple channels –

NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701), a leading provider of wireless solutions, today announced the release of new iPASOLINK IAP3 series High-Power Outdoor Units (ODU) and a next generation Outdoor Branching (BR) Combiner (OBC2) to help answer the challenges operators face in increasing 5G network capacity and accelerating deployment needs.

NEC’s iPASOLINK ODUs are well-known and trusted for their reliability and market-leading performance by network operators that require high availability and high capacity operation over a wide range of challenging environmental conditions. The new IAP3 series ODU’s continue to deliver high quality, and now feature significantly improved RF performance in an energy efficient, compact, lightweight housing.

The new IAP3 delivers up to 5dB of transmission power improvement in the higher modulations, crucial to operators looking for high capacity links with high availability performance. The IAP3 supports the 6 to 23 GHz bands and channel widths up to 112 MHz with adaptive modulation (AMR) support up to 4096 QAM.

Automatic transmitter power control (ATPC) is enabled on the IAP3, ensuring efficient operation and that all standard radio configurations are supported, including Cross Polarization Interference Cancellation (XPIC) and Space Diversity operation. The IAP3 is also fully supported by the new N-on-1 hybrid coupler.

The N-on-1 hybrid coupler provides operators with a simple means to increase capacity and availability. It also offers improved flexibility, allowing operators to use either multiple channels in a single band or combine channels in different frequency bands. Moreover, inventory is also greatly reduced as the system uses the same IAP3 and IAG3 ODU’s as deployed in other parts of the network. Operators may start off with a single channel and easily upgrade in the future as spectrum becomes available, reusing and redeploying the same ODUs from other parts of the network. The N-on-1 hybrid is available in a compact, lightweight, direct mount package reducing demands on tower hardware.

NEC is also pleased to announce the release of the next generation Outdoor Branching Combiner (OBC2), offering flexible configurations up to 16 radio channels (8 channels in both polarizations) in ACAP, ACCP, CCDP and CCDP+ACCP configurations supporting capacities up to 10 Gbps. The new architecture simplifies field upgrades, and a simple cascading option allows support for Space Diversity.

The OBC2 size has been halved and weight reduced by up to 80%, reducing overall tower loading and aperture requirements. Moreover, the IP66 rated construction delivers reliable maintenance-free operation in the most severe outdoor environments. The OBC2 provides support for operation at higher modulations up to 4096 QAM and delivers superior RF performance, minimizing transmission power losses through reductions to insertion loss and signal distortion in the branching circuit.

“NEC continues to provide innovative products for our customers’ requirements. A key element for 5G is the bundling of bandwidth with configurations that feature high-power and flexible channel arrangement, which enables the use of faster transport. NEC’s high-power ODUs and the next generation Outdoor BR Combiner will help customers to expand the capabilities and flexibility of wireless solutions for 5G,” said Hideyuki Muto, Deputy General Manager, Wireless Solutions Division, NEC Corporation.

Both the IAP3 and OBC2 are part of NEC’s end-to-end high performance 5G network infrastructure solutions covering RAN, core network, optical and wireless transport, Orchestration / Marketplace (BSS) and a wide array of network infrastructure services.

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.

NEC Commercializes Open RAN Cloud-native Software Featuring High Performance Massive MIMO and Beamforming

NEC Corporation announced today the launch of carrier-grade, cloud-native Open RAN software supporting its industry-leading digital beamforming of Massive MIMO (mMIMO). The solution will be available globally from the beginning of 2022.

5G Networks are increasingly adopting the cloud. The introduction of virtualization technologies in various layers of the network, from core to RAN, enables faster service provisioning and equipment cost reduction while shortening procurement lead times. Cloud-native architecture and operation allows network orchestration and automation at scale, thereby achieving improved service quality and reliability.

NEC’s cloud-native software delivers carrier-grade performance, cloud-grade scalability and cost effectiveness. To meet 5G’s high-speed, high-capacity requirements, it provides advanced control of full digital beamforming over 16 layers in downlink communications in systems where mMIMO is utilized. This implementation delivers large-capacity transmission as well as efficient and autonomous control depending on the service requirements and traffic conditions.

The solution fully supports O-RAN specifications and leverages the wide ecosystem of a variety of partners. This open RAN, cloud-native software is fully containerized and provides flexibility for deployment scenarios (on premises, private cloud, public cloud), geographies (urban, peri-urban, rural) and use cases (consumer, enterprise, government).

In addition to these products, NEC also offers a new windowRAN Domain Orchestration solution from its subsidiary Netcracker. The solution combines Netcracker’s industry-leading orchestration, OSS and analytics functions with NEC’s expertise in integrated network operation and management to fully automate all aspects of the RAN domain. The solution is based on Netcracker’s cloud-native Digital OSS (operation support system). It runs on any Kubernetes(2) cloud platform and is compliant with open APIs and standardization, enabling collaboration with a variety of products from different Open RAN vendors.

Patrick Lopez, Global VP Product management, 5G products at NEC commented: “We are continuing with our tradition of market-leading innovation. NEC was the first vendor to develop virtualization technologies for communications networks. We were the first company to commercialize Open Flow(3), SDN controllers(4) and NFV(5) as well as the pioneer vendor to provide virtualized core networks.

“Today, by introducing cloud-native virtualization to the RAN as well, NEC accelerates the migration toward next-generation networks and contributes to unlocking the full potential of 5G.”

(1) Technologies with advanced MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output). A technology that simultaneously improves the quality stability of spatial multiplexing and radio propagation paths by taking advantage of the freedom of a large number of independent transceivers. In 5G, it was developed and introduced aiming at further frequency utilization efficiency improvement by spatial multiplexing in addition to orthogonal frequency multiplexing and time division multiplexing of 4G.
(2) Open source software that automates the deployment and scaling of containerized applications.
(3) Network technology that enables centralized network control by separating network control functions from switches and aggregating them into controllers.
(4) Software-Defined Networking: Concepts for software-controlled networking.
(5) Network Function Virtualization: A technology that virtualizes various functions that make up a network, such as router functions and firewall functions, and realizes network functions on a general-purpose server without using dedicated hardware.

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.