MOL Global (MOL) announced the launch of MOL in Australia and New Zealand through a majority investment by MOL in Ocash Pty Ltd (ocash) – a local payment service provider specialised in online game credit.
ocash is a payment service provider specialised in online games credits for the Australia and New Zealand markets. Its flagship product – ocash points, is a virtual credit utilised by online game enthusiasts to purchase popular game credits from various game publishers. One of the online game credit distributor, OnlineGamez Australia was also recently acquired by ocash and will focus on sales and distribution, as well as building a vibrant game community throughout the region.
“This is a significant step for MOL to continue to build and strengthen its business strategy across the Asia Pacific region,” said Craig White, President of MOL Global. “According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ research in 2011, the online game industry in Australia alone is expected to grow to AUD 1 billion in 2014. We see this as an opportunity that we and our partner merchants can tap into.”
“Our growth in the region with the establishment of MOL Australia and the strategic investment in ocash is a further step of our initiative to provide a premium payment eco-system that is highly efficient in terms of convenience, security and cost. With the support of ocash’s experienced team, we are able to offer more valued-added services and products to our customers in Australia and New Zealand. At the same time, this alliance will also provide more business opportunities for our region’s game developers and publishers as they will be able to extend their reach via MOL to consumers outside the Asian region,” added Craig.
Budi Handoko, the founder of ocash will join MOL Australia’s management team as Chief Executive Officer.
MOL is one of the largest online payment service providers worldwide with more than 600,000 physical and online payment channels. MOL partners with over 150 online game publishers and social networks worldwide including Facebook, Zynga and Electronic Arts. The company also owns the recently re-launched social gaming site Friendster.