Australian mobile billing and payments platform, SmartTrans, has done a deal with China Mobile to launch a new in-vehicle and driver smartphone app which will be billed through the Chinese telco’s 3G/4G mobile phone network to its subscriber base.
Under the deal, users will pay a monthly subscription fee billed directly to their China Mobile account with SmartTrans receiving a percentage of all fees.
According to SmartTrans, based on its existing subscription products, it anticipates that retention rates of customers each month from the previous month will be about 80% for the product.
The deal will see the App is deployed to in-vehicle tablets and drivers’ smartphones and provides a range of services including location-based data on items such as fuel discounts, car servicing, car washing, driver training, road rules and driver licence testing.
{loadposition peter}The App also provides referrals for car insurance and booking demonstrations/test drives for new vehicles and allows users to check offences linked to a vehicle (i.e. outstanding fines). Subscriptions and in-app purchases allow users to accumulate loyalty points which may be redeemed for fuel, services and other vehicle associated products and benefits.
SmartTrans Managing Director Bryan Carr says the app extends the wide range of auto-focused media content that SmartTrans has for some time been promoting and selling to its large active user base via the SmartPay platform.
“The launch of the in-vehicle App billed through China Mobile is an exciting development and should deliver another meaningful long term recurring revenue stream to SmartTrans,” Carr says.
“By promoting this subscription-based service to China Mobile’s 3G and 4G mobile subscribers, we expect solid uptake and high retention rates which, based on historical data, we anticipate should translate into net monthly revenue for SmartTrans of between A$80,000 and A$100,000 within the next four to six months.”
Carr says SmartTrans continues to strengthen and diversify its subscription base by sourcing and distributing new content and by utilising SmartPay to partner with third parties seeking access to the China market.
“We are also complementing SmartPay with the development of an e-commerce platform to promote and sell third party content and products through the array of e-commerce sites in China.
“This new initiative will contribute to the revenue streams that we are building up through agreements signed in FY2016.”