Sybase, has acquired paybox Solutions AG, mobile payment solutions provider.Sybase will now provide mobile operators, financial institutions and
merchants with a full suite of mobile payment solutions.
A privately held company founded in 1999 and headquartered in
Raunheim, Germany, paybox will be integrated into Sybase 365, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. As a provider of the broadest
mobile commerce offering, paybox also brings Sybase a proven track
record and a solid customer base.
"Mobile payments are an increasingly critical part of mobile
computing, a core component of our Unwired Enterprise strategy," said
Marty Beard, president of Sybase 365. "The sheer number of people with
access to a mobile phone in both developed and emerging markets around
the world, means the mobile device has the potential to become a
dominant vehicle for consumers to connect and transact conveniently,
anytime, anywhere, fueling the mobile economy. This acquisition extends
our offerings and capabilities to enable this mobile economy."
"This acquisition is a natural progression of the partnership
agreement signed between the two companies in Q4 last year. paybox and
Sybase share the same vision for mobile commerce that is in line with
where the market is headed and what customers are demanding from their
mobile phones," said Eckhard Ortwein, CEO paybox. "By combining mobile
messaging and mobile payments offerings, it will be difficult for any
competitor to match our mobile commerce services."
Sybase has consistently made inroads in the mCommerce arena. For the
past several years, the company has provided remote mobile payments via
SMS, MMS and WAP to content providers and brands, for digital mobile
content and services, charged directly to the subscribers' bill via
their mobile operator. In October, 2007 the company launched Sybase
mBanking 365TM - an innovative suite of products for the
financial industry enabling banks to interact with customers in
real-time through mobile alerts, two-way banking services, out-of-band
authentication, and marketing campaigns.