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What’s happening among the MEF membership? Here’s your weekly round up of all the latest announcements from MEF Members including product launches, partnerships, research insights and more…

MasterCard to launch QR code-based payment service in 33 African countries

A landmark deal between Ecobank Group and MasterCard will see Masterpass in-store payment extended across all African countries this year.

The partners have already deployed the QR code system in Nigeria, and have set a goal of reaching 100 million customers by 2020

Users of Ecobank’s platform will be able to pay for online and in-store purchases by scanning a QR code displayed at checkout on their smartphones, or by entering a merchant identifier into feature phones.

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Binbit signs VAS agreement with Real Madrid

Just weeks after signing up Barcelona, Mexico’s Binbit has won the rights to sell Real Madrid’s mobile content.

The agreement covers 90 mobile operators and reflects Binbit’s strategy of acquiring the mobile licences for high value brands.

Antoni Muntaner, president of Binbit, said: “The quality of the partnered brands is Binbit’s strength. Furthermore these partners can reach out to the big universe of mobile users that Binbit can access, as well as benefit of the market knowledge held by the company.”

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SpotX and BrightLine team up on connected TV ad buying

Advertisers will be able to buy programmatically on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and other channels thanks to SpotX and BrightLine’s new partnership.

The deal will give SpotX publishers the chance to automate the sales of personalized ads on smart TVs, gaming consoles and more across millions of US households.

BrightLine’s InCAST platform offers marketers the ability to turn ads into dynamic brand experiences on connected TVs.

Allen Klosowski, VP of Mobile & Connected Devices at SpotX, said: “Enabling support for BrightLine ad units…blends many of the benefits of digital, including addressability and interactivity, with the experience of traditional television.”

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Wirecard to power Orange’s teen-friendly mobile wallet app

Orange France and Wirecard have teamed up to launch the Orange Cash Jeune service for younger users. The app lets youngsters make mobile payments approved by their parents.

The service is actually an extension of Orange’s mobile wallet app ‘Orange Cash’, and is intended to give a payment option to teens without bank cards.

Parents install the app on their children’s smartphones and add funds via the web interface. They always control how much money is available and get a real-time overview of spending.

“By adding the Orange Cash Jeune feature to the app we have succeeded in addressing a younger target group. With this solution, teens have their finances firmly in hand at any time,” said Susanne Steidl, EVP of Issuing Services at Wirecard.

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Boku adds charge to mobile option for Windows 10 in Russia and Poland

Payment specialist Boku has extended its agreement with Microsoft and will bring direct carrier billing to Windows 10 users on Beeline in Russia and Orange in Poland.

This is the first time carrier billing will be offered as a payment option for the Windows Store in these countries. The option will work across devices including Window Phone, Surface Tablet and any PC or laptop running Windows 10.

Windows 10 is installed on more than 400 million devices. Beeline Russia has over 60 Million mobile subscribers, and Orange Poland has over 16 Million mobile subscribers.

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MEF