Zong, a mobile payments company best known as the provider of Facebook Credit virtual currency, has taken on a life outside Facebook by raising a new round of funding, becoming an independent company and taking on advanced mobile payment solutions using it’s already widely-used platform.
Through a press release today, Zong announced that its completed a $15 million round of funding led by Matrix Partners and that it’s split from parent company Echovox to become a standalone company headquartered in Palo Alto.
Beyond Facebook, Zong has also worked with thousands of other merchants in a variety of spaces including popular virtual worlds, online gaming, social networking and digital content properties. Zong is unique in that it’s the only mobile payments service that combines carrier billing with credit, debit and prepaid cards, allowing Zong to be the first company to allow multiple payment options via the mobile phone.
The company prides itself on being a “frictionless payment experience,” that converts shoppers into buyers at rates up to 10 times greater than traditional payment methods. The company has direct connections with mobile network operators around the world to provide consumers, merchants and publishers a secure payment solution that offers the high conversion rates of carrier billing with the low costs and flexibility of payment card networks.
With it’s new capital injection, Zong will likely be making a lot of waves in the near future in terms of mobile payments. Though we haven’t heard much from Zong outside the confines of Facebook, it’s apparent the company is ready to break out of its shell.
