6. Boku Plc

Mobile Money – Powering Payments with Your Phone Bill

Boku Plc is a UK-listed company that helps businesses accept payments from customers using their mobile phones, making online shopping easier for people who don’t use credit cards. It operates in the financial technology – or fintech – industry, specifically focusing on mobile payments. Boku makes money by charging fees to merchants for processing these transactions, acting as a middleman between companies and mobile users worldwide.

The company’s main service is “direct carrier billing,” which lets customers charge purchases to their mobile phone bill or prepaid balance. For example, if you buy a game on the Google Play Store, Boku can process the payment through your phone provider – no card needed. Boku also offers digital wallet payments and real-time account-to-account transfers, connecting merchants to over 7 billion consumer accounts across 60 countries. Its biggest market is the Asia-Pacific region, where mobile payments are hugely popular. In 2024, Boku processed $12.4 billion in transactions, with revenues hitting $99 million, a 20% jump from the previous year.

Boku works with global giants like Amazon, Google, Spotify, and Netflix, helping them reach customers in markets where credit card use is low. It partners with mobile operators – think Vodafone or SK Telecom – and wallet providers like GCash and KakaoPay to make this happen. Merchants pay Boku a small fee per transaction, usually a percentage of the sale, which adds up as Boku handles millions of payments yearly. The company’s platform simplifies things for businesses by offering one integration that connects to hundreds of local payment methods, saving them the hassle of dealing with each one separately.

Headquartered in London and San Francisco, Boku was founded in 2008 and employs around 550 people globally. It’s listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: BOKU) and had a market cap of £627 million as of March 2025. Boku is growing fast – monthly active users rose 31% to 88.4 million in 2024 – but faces competition from other fintech firms like Bango. Still, its focus on mobile-first markets and big-name partnerships keeps it ahead in the race to dominate global mobile payments.

Boku is an unusual case. At first glance, it appears to be a fast-growing tech company, and its projected growth over the next few years looks promising. However, it is a US tech company that chose to list on AIM rather than in its home market – an immediate red flag. The US offers the best platform for listed technology companies, so why opt for a junior market in the UK instead?

Another concern is the founding team. There are four founders, yet only one remains involved, holding a mere 3% stake and serving as a non-executive director. Rather than focusing on building up Boku, he now works at PayPal – an odd move for someone invested in a high-growth technology business.

While Boku is worth keeping on a watchlist, initial research suggests it is far less compelling than it first appears.