Bango Regulatory News (BGO)

BANGO PLC

("Bango")

Bango expands in South Korea to support retail and IoT payments

This announcement contains inside information

Bango (AIM: BGO), the mobile payments company, announces expansion of its presence and business development activity in South Korea to support the growth ambitions of key partners. Through this expansion, Bango will increase payment opportunities for digital, physical and Internet of Things (IoT) services across the region.

To lead these opportunities, Alex Oh joins Bango as Country Manager, South Korea. Mr Oh brings extensive experience working with major Japanese, Korean and US technology businesses to Bango. His 25 year career includes technical leadership at Samsung, Dilithium Networks and Comverse and most recently in the field of media streaming devices. 

Early in 2016, Bango expanded its presence in Japan to support the activities of partners using Bango technology in strengthening their offering in the Japanese market. In June 2017, Bango successfully deployed a new payment method for Amazon in Japan, enabling the full range of retail goods to be purchased using carrier billing.

Korea shares many characteristics with Japan. Bango has identified similar opportunities for Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) for both digital and physical goods, as well as smart home and other consumer devices. Bango expects that expansion into Korea will be a significant growth opportunity for partners who use the Bango Platform to collect payment for physical goods and IoT services, alongside digital content.

In the IoT business, Bango has seen encouraging results from trials in North America using the Bango Platform to monetize smart home devices, and Korea is a key market for IoT innovation. The partnership with Danal established in 2016 has already identified several merchant opportunities and is developing well.

Alex Oh, Country Manager, South Korea at Bango commented: "The Bango Platform is truly differentiated by being capable of powering physical goods sales and capabilities that enable internet connected devices to be monetized. I look forward to expanding the established Bango relationships with Danal and Samsung, along with introducing the Korean mobile operators to the benefits of the Bango Platform, in particular the unique technology that increases content sales. I am thrilled to join the Bango team to help make its strategic partners - and anybody selling to internet uses - more successful."

Bango CEO Ray Anderson said: "Following this year's successful launch of carrier billing for Amazon in Japan, I am excited to establish a Bango presence in South Korea led by a hugely experienced Country Manager. The Bango strategy, to power the leaders in physical and digital retail, and in exciting new areas such as smart home, has seen a continued increase in End User Spend and Bango is EBITDA positive on a run-rate basis entering November 2017."

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About Bango

Bango is the standard platform chosen by leading global stores to deliver mobile payments to everyone. As the next billion consumers adopt their first smartphone and look for universal payment methods, Bango will be there to unlock the world of apps, video, music, games and other content that brings those smartphones to life. Global stores plugging into the Bango Platform include Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Samsung (005930: Korea SE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Bango also partners with leading payment providers around the world to drive new users and revenues through its industry-leading mobile payment solutions. For more information, visit www.bango.com.

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