John Mittens and Nigel Wallbridge, executives from the London-based Interoute telecoms group, have resigned to found Global Internet Billing Ltd, a company providing billing services for e-commerce businesses across Europe. Mittens said the new company, which has yet to define where its headquarters will be located, operates in two ways.
First there is the straightforward service for small purchases such as software, entertainment or information where the buyer click on a button on the vendor’s website, receives Global Internet Billing’s software as a free download, then places an order over a premium rate phone line. The goods are billed to the purchaser’s phone bill, with the phone company passing the payment on to Mittens’ company, which in turn reimburses the vendor, with commissions being charged at each stage in the process.
The second is a more complex transaction, involving larger sums of money, and for this purpose, Mittens said he is in negotiations with a series of financial institutions to serve as intermediaries. The system would work with the banks guaranteeing the transactions, with the intermediary accepting the risk inherent in the operation.
Mittens’ previous post was chairman of i-21, the Interoute company installing a $2bn broadband network linking 70 cities around Europe. Wallbridge was CEO of Interoute Europe. Mittens said both men remain as shareholders and board members of Interoute.
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