Chinese mobile payment provider Trunkbow International Holdings Ltd. announced a new partnership agreement with Tianyi e-Commerce Limited. Tianyi is a subsidiary of China Telecom. Trunkbow will provide application development and support services for the Bestpay mobile application, a mobile payment and banking app rolled out earlier this year.

"In addition to our traditional role as an application provider, we will work closely with China Telecom to market Bestpay and drive adoption of the technology through the establishment of partnerships with device manufacturers, retailers and others who can help us best reach 3G mobile users," said Trunkbow CEO Quiang Li in a statement.

The announcement said Trunkbow and Tianyi will work together to develop and expand the Bestpay merchant network, and market the Bestpay application and service platform to China Telecom's 3G mobile subscribers.

Under the agreement Trunkbow will receive revenue on transactions made through the Bestpay application as well as commissions from specific merchants for sales generated through the app.

"This agreement provides us with financial contributions through revenue sharing with both China Telecom and individual merchants, while also signifying an important milestone for our [mobile payment solutions] business, as it marks the first deployment of our technology with a carrier on a national scale," said Li.

The Bestpay mobile application lets China Telecom subscribers make online purchases, pay bills, buy tickets to events and manage their accounts through the Bestpay application. According to the announcement, China Telecom has 28 million 3G subscribers and the Bestpay application is pre-installed on the company's Android-based Tianyi handsets.

The app has already been activated on 300,000 handsets since its roll-out in August, Li said.

For stories on this topic, visit the Carriers/Card Schemes research center.