Tech firm maps out global growth

Tech business PM Connect has published a landmark report into the Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) industry. The company, which has been based in Birmingham since it was founded in 2012, is able to reveal that the sector will be worth $28bn globally by 2023, an increase of 59 per cent from today.

With research carried out by Mobilesquared, independent analysis of the mobile payment method maps out user and revenue growth on both a global and market scale – with the technology projected to reach $310m in revenue in the UK by 2023, an increase of 26 per cent from 2020 and $2.5bn in Western Europe – an increase of 17 per cent.

The findings show that by 2023, 39 per cent of global smartphone users will regularly access lifestyle and sports content, tickets, videos, news articles and more through DCB payments – equating to 1.5bn people. The most significant consumer sector growth will be in mobile ticketing (mTicketing) and health and fitness, alongside in-demand sport content.

Chris Purdie, group commercial director at PM Connect, said: “The past five years have seen mobile content become king, with mobile internet usage now accounting for 52 per cent of web-page views around the world.

“While the current climate has presented undoubted challenges across industries, it has underlined the power of the smartphone for communication and payment. Mobile internet use has surged by 50 per cent in some markets, as consumers look to their phones as the best way to stay connected to their favourite brands – coupled with an increase in organisations communicating to their audiences via SMS.

“Slotting neatly into this mobile ecosystem, DCB is a more universal way to pay – bypassing the need for long sign-up processes or inputting bank account details, alongside transparent direct communication. We hope this research demonstrates what an exciting time it is for our industry, proving it is a payment method on the cusp of hitting the mainstream.”

The report is hosted on PM Connect’s new website, designed by digital agency Lightbox and copy written by PR firm Story Comms, both Birmingham-based. The state-of-the-art new site marks a key step in a growth drive that has seen PM Connect’s headcount increase by 48 per cent of the past year – including key hire of new chief technology officer (CTO) Andrew Robins – alongside doubling its office space from 2700 sq ft to 6,700 sq ft.

Chris continued: “PM Connect has been proud to continue to grow here in Birmingham – finding the tech talent in the Midlands to support our expansion and partnering with businesses from the city. We now process six million payments every month and are active in 40 territories – with our headcount reaching 52 employees last year.

“As we see mobile phone usage and the role of data packages becoming increasingly influential around the world, with the right long-term vision the potential of DCB is exponential. We are committed to contributing to DCB’s global success story from our West Midlands base.”