Sybase Acquires paybox

By Contributor Wireless and Mobile News on January 21, 2009 12:09 PM

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 365^TM - 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.