Sybase has acquired Paybox Solutions AG, a global leader in mobile payment solutions, in a deal that extends the company's leading mobile infrastructure solution to the mobile payments environment.
As a result of this acquisition, Sybase is now able to provide mobile operators, financial institutions and merchants with a full suite of mobile payment solutions enabling their customers to undertake person-to-person remittances, pay for goods and services, top-up mobile airtime and pay bills from a mobile device.
"The sheer mass of people with a mobile phone in South Africa means that cellphones have the potential to become the dominant vehicles for consumers to transact conveniently, anytime, anywhere," says Julie Tomlinson, director of Sybase Mobile, a division of Sybase SA. "With this acquisition, Sybase empowers mobile operators, financial institutions and merchants to quickly launch mobile commerce services to their customers. We believe this solution will be extremely popular among South African companies that want to offer true mCommerce capabilities to their customers."
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. Paybox's capabilities and expertise in mobile payments extend Sybase's leadership and global mCommerce footprint.
For several years, Sybase has provided remote mobile payments via SMS, MMS and WAP to content providers and brands, for digital mobile content and services that are charged directly to the subscribers' bill via their mobile operator. In October 2007, the company launched Sybase mBanking 365 - a 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.
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Sybase SA
Sybase SA is the sole African representative of Sybase Inc, the world's largest enterprise software and services company exclusively focused on managing and mobilising information. Sybase SA has emerged as a formidable local IT solutions company, with an impressive 15-year history of profit and a portfolio of 300 customers across 3 000 sites.
Sybase SA is structured into four solution-focused practices/divisions: Business Intelligence Practice, Sybase Data Management, Sybase Mobile Solutions and Sybase Education that provide customers with industry-leading technology and services for business intelligence, enterprise data solutions and mobile computing.
Through specialised business practices, Sybase SA aims to be the preferred software solutions company in South Africa and Africa.