Fonix provides a mobile payments and mobile messaging platform and is based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Its services are used by the media, entertainment,

telecoms Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

, enterprise and

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

sectors and Fonix has connections to all of the UK mobile networks. When consumers make payments, they are charged to their mobile phone bill. This service can be used for ticketing, content, cash deposits and donations. The company was founded in 2006 and it has partnerships with

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

(of which it is a platinum partner),

EE Limited EE is a British national mobile network operator and internet service provider, which is a brand within the BT Group. EE is the second-largest mobile network operator in the United Kingdom, with 26.1 million subscribers as of September 2 ...

, Telefónica UK Limited and Hutchison 3G. Fonix's clients include

ITV (TV network) ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passi ...

, Global, BT,

Bauer Bauer is a German surname meaning "peasant" or "farmer". For notable people sharing the surname, see Bauer (surname). Bauer may also refer to: Education and literature * Bauer's Lexicon, a dictionary of Biblical Greek * Bauer College of Busin ...

and BBC Children in Need, Comic Relief and more. The current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

is Rob Weisz.

How it works

Fonix's service works by charging digital payments to the mobile phone bill, either via Carrier Billing or

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

Billing. Fonix also offers messaging solutions.

Carrier billing

APIs are used to charge users to their phone bills through desktop, mobile or apps. Fonix's Carrier Billing services can be used for ticketing (e.g. parking tickets and cinema tickets), content (e.g. paying for film or magazines) and cash deposits.

SMS billing

Fonix's API charges customers to their phone bills via SMS. This means that customers can purchase services or make charitable donations and are charged by sending the text message. The service is most commonly used for digital purchases, such as content, donations, voting, competitions and polls.

Messaging

Fonix's messaging services have the capability to send and receive

online, via an

API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standa ...

or via SMPP.

RCS RCS may refer to: Organisations *Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace * Radio Corporation of Singapore *Radcliffe Choral Society * Rawmarsh Community School *Red Crescent Society *Red Cross Society * Representation of Czechs and Slovaks, a football t ...

messaging can be used to send richer message content.

History

Fonix was originally named Orca Digital and was founded in 2006 in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

. Orca Digital focused upon

mobile telephony Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Telephony is supposed to specifically point to a voice-only service or connection, though sometimes the li ...

and providing interactive services to the media and entertainment sectors. In 2014, Orca Digital relaunched as Fonix Mobile under

Rob Weisz. At this point, the business became focused upon mobile operator payments and mobile messaging services to a range of sectors including media, charity,

, enterprise, gaming and entertainment. Since 2014, Fonix has secured contracts with Channel 5, Sport Relief, Children in Need,

tastecard tastecard is a discount card accepted by many restaurants in the UK and Ireland offering in some cases a 50% discount, in others two meals for the price of one at participating restaurants; details and restrictions vary from restaurant to restau ...

Unicef UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

(

Soccer Aid ''Soccer Aid'' is a British annual (formerly bi-ennial) charity event that has raised over £38 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The televised event is a friendly-style football match between t ...

), BT Sport,

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, Stand Up To Cancer, Ruth Strauss and many more. In 2015 and 2016, Fonix was listed in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track, ranking 34th and 28th respectively. In 2015 and 2016, Fonix ranked 50th and 37th in the

Deloitte Fast 50 The Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Awards are run and moderated by international professional services group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. They recognize the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in regions around the world. Winners include ...

respectively. In 2015 and 2016, Fonix ranked 363rd and 238th respectively in the

Deloitte Technology Fast 500 The Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Awards are run and moderated by international professional services group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. They recognize the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in regions around the world. Winners include ...

. In 2016 and 2017, Fonix won th
Moma Award
for the Not for Profit/Charity Mobile Strategy/Campaign of the year. This was to recognise their use of

for collecting

gift aid Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. Gift Aid was introduced in the Finance Act 1990 for donations given after 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gi ...

for the 2015 Children in Need Campaign. Fonix went public at the London Stock exchange (AIM) in October 2020. The company has successfully raised £45m with a market capitalisation on admission of £90m.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.fonix.com/ Mobile payments Companies based in the London Borough of Hounslow