Direct carrier biller Fortumo today announced that it has opened an office in Singapore to help maintain its growth in southeast Asia, according to a press release. 

Fortumo's Singapore hub will be headed by Siddharth Sahi, an industry veteran with more than 10 years of experience in the telecom industry at Airtel, Idea and Bubbly, according to the announcement.

"Carrier billing has grown to be one of the most popular payment methods for users in the Asia Pacific," Gerri Kodres, senior vice president of business development and carrier relations at Fortumo, said in a statement. "With a large population, high smartphone ownership and low credit card penetration, the region is one of the key growth drivers of mobile payments in the upcoming years. Fortumo already has the biggest carrier billing coverage in Asia and with an office in Singapore, we are able to further grow business for our merchants and build out relationships with local carriers."

Fortumo's direct carrier billing platform is currently available to 2.1 billion users of 46 different mobile operators in 12 countries in Asia (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam), according to the announcement. Globally, Fortumo covers more than 300 mobile operators in 81 countries, connecting 4.6 billion end users to its carrier billing solution.