/24-7PressRelease/ - BURLINGTON, MA, April 13, 2006 - iBasis, the global VoIP company, today announced that its Pingo online prepaid calling card service now accepts payments via PayPal, a global leader in online payment solutions. This enables consumers in 32 countries including the United States to purchase Pingo prepaid calling accounts. Previously, Pingo only accepted U.S.-based credit cards.
"Adding PayPal support is a significant step in our program to internationalize our Pingo service. It enables consumers in the 31 countries outside the U.S. where both Pingo access numbers and PayPal are available to save on their international calls with Pingo just as our U.S.-based customers do," said Ofer Gneezy, president and CEO of iBasis. "In the coming months we expect to roll out additional enhancements, including support for multiple languages, currencies, and country-specific sites and promotions that will deliver an excellent customer experience and fuel overseas customer growth for Pingo."
By offering access numbers in 35 countries Pingo has provided its U.S.-based customers convenient savings on international calling card calls even when traveling overseas. Now, consumers residing in 31 of those countries, including all of Western Europe, China, Japan, Mexico, and Canada, can take advantage of the same convenience and cost savings as Pingo's U.S. customers by purchasing Pingo accounts directly using PayPal. Both iBasis and Pingo customers also benefit from the added assurance of PayPal's proprietary fraud protection systems. The PayPal service, which recently surpassed 100 million user accounts in 55 markets around the world, processed more than $27 billion in total payments.
About PayPal
Founded in 1998, PayPal, an eBay company, enables any individual or business with an email address to send and receive payments online securely, easily and quickly. PayPal's service builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards and uses one of the world's most advanced proprietary fraud prevention systems to create a safe, global, real-time payment solution. PayPal has more than 100 million accounts and is available to users in 55 markets around the world. More information about the company can be found at https://www.paypal.com.
Pingo offers consumers in 35 countries high quality long distance service on a prepaid basis. Pingo customers save on calls to and from both landline and mobile phones. Mobile phone users in particular can save as much as 90% on international calls by using Pingo's toll-free access and lower rates on international calls. Minutes can be purchased using credit cards, debit cards, and now with PayPal at Pingo's Virtual Prepaid Calling Cards. New customers begin saving immediately with a sign-up bonus of $5 worth of free calling and can receive additional $5 credits by successfully referring their friends to the Pingo service. Pingo can also be used to save on calls from 34 countries outside the U.S., including Canada, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Russia, and the U.K.
About iBasis
Founded in 1996, iBasis (OTCBB: IBAS) is a leading wholesale carrier of international long distance telephone calls and a provider of retail prepaid calling services, including the Pingo web-based offering (http://pingo.com) and disposable calling cards, which are sold through major distributors and available at retail stores throughout the U.S. iBasis customers include many of the largest telecommunications carriers in the world, including ATandT, Cable and Wireless, China Mobile, China Unicom, MCI, Sprint, Skype, and Telefonica. iBasis carried approximately 8 billion minutes of international voice over IP (VoIP) traffic in 2005, and is one of the ten largest carriers of international voice traffic in the world. For four consecutive years service providers named iBasis the best international wholesale carrier in ATLANTIC-ACM's annual International Wholesale Carrier Report Card . iBasis was also ranked among the fastest-growing technology companies in New England in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 Technology Fast 50 programs sponsored by Deloitte and Touche. The Company can be reached at its worldwide headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA at 781-505-7500 or on the Internet at http://www.ibasis.com.
iBasis and Pingo are registered marks, and the last calling card you'll ever need is a trademark of iBasis, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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