16th July 2009

AIME Best Practice Guidelines for managing mobile Premium Rate Services launched with commitments from first five Terminating Providers

Leading UK mobile aggregators, who act as Terminating Providers (TP) for mobile premium-rate services, sign up to AIME’s best Practice Guidelines to restore consumer confidence by weeding out ‘miscreant PRS promoters. Provide an agreed set of due diligence and customer reputation checks on the companies that promote Premium rate services.

London 16th July, 2009

The Association for Interactive Media & Entertainment (AIME) has brought together the UK’s leading mobile SMS aggregators (Terminating Providers) to fuse Best Practices, Standards and Guidelines which relate to the planning, deployment and management of premium rate mobile services.

AIME members, who are mobile Terminating Providers, and typically also Application Providers, have agreed a series of measures to reduce the incidence of Merchant Promoters (MP) who cause consumer harm by breaching the PhonepayPlus Code of Conduct and other regulations. The AIME members that commit to follow the Best Practice Guidelines have agreed to implement all steps and procedures contained in these guidelines.

12 Terminating Providers worked with AIME to develop the guidelines, and the first five to sign up are Zamano, mBlox, WIN Plc, 2ergo and Oxygen8

“The Industry wants consumers to trust premium rate services. This trust is being undermined by a small number of Merchant Promoters who flout the regulations,” commented Jeremy Flynn, Vice Chairman of AIME.

“This Best Practice initiative is designed to assist mobile TPs avoid contracting with miscreant promoters. The Industry working together can drive these ‘scamsters’ out of the UK market,” added Flynn.

The Guidelines cover a series of requirements to ensure that TPs:

Carry out due diligence on the MP in the same way that the PhonepayPlus 11th Code requires Network Operators to so on technical Service Provider
Proactive searches to determine whether the MP or its directors have been involved in previous breach activitie
Passport checks for MPs based overseas to validate identit
Bank account check
On-going monitoring and documentation of services to ensure complianc
Induction of a compliance culture throughout the TP’s organisation, including sales tea
Provide PRS regulation training to all relevant parts of the organisatio
Suspend any out-payments to MPs as soon as suspected breach identifie
Commit to proactive and regular analysis of traffic reports

Declan Pettit, Managing Director of, Zamano, comments: “As with most Terminating Providers in this industry, Zamano have had regulatory issues with Merchant Providers in the past. Taking a collective view on board about lessons learnt, Zamano are delighted to support AIME’s initiative to set a minimum acceptable standard for the way Merchant Providers promote and operate their mobile services. Not only does it provide a benchmark for Due Diligence, it will also encourage the industry to embrace Compliance as a fundamental element in both their culture and processes going forward.”

Andrew Bud, Executive Chairman, mBlox, comments: ““In recent months mBlox had sought ways to share with the industry our learnings from developing a highly effective compliance regime. This AIME initiative has therefore been very timely and valuable, and mBlox supports it and is fully compliant with its recommendations.”

For comment on these Best Practice from PhonepayPlus – the phone-paid services regulator – contact its Media Office on: 020 7940 7440

Copies of the Guidelines can be obtained by contacting Zoe Patterson, AIME General Manager, at: zoe@aimelink.org

For more press information or interview requests, please contact:

Tim Banks, Infomob PR
Tel: +44(0)8445 828 828
Email: andrew@aimelink.org

About AIME
The Association for Interactive Media and Entertainment is the new name for the longest serving trade body in the interactive media business where customers use their telephones, televisions or computers to access, interact with and pay for information and entertainment. AIME promotes excellence in the world of Interactive Media and Entertainment. The purpose of AIME is to create an environment of consumer confidence and trust within which our Members’ commerce can flourish within a framework of a strong Members’ code of ethics. AIME has a membership that represents the entire value chain – from the providers of information and entertainment to the network operators and technical service providers that deliver and bill them to customers. No other organisation has such reach or representation.

For more information, please visit: www.aimelink.org