Customer FAQ

Want to find out how to use BOKU mobile payments? Or where to find BOKU? You’re in the right spot.

01. What is BOKU?

BOKU is an online payments service that makes it easy and safe to pay for virtual and digital goods with your mobile phone. Purchases on many of your favorite gaming, entertainment and social sites can be charged to your wireless phone bill using BOKU. No credit card or bank account is required.

02. Can I try BOKU to see how it works?

Yes. We have a demo you can view. Click on 'View Our Demo' to the left.

03. What mobile phones does BOKU work with?

Any mobile phone that can accept text messages (and that uses one of our supported mobile networks.)

04. How long does a BOKU transaction take?

The BOKU part of the transaction usually takes less than 15 seconds. However, some publishers may take longer to give you your purchased credits, points, coins, etc.

05. Do I need a bank account or credit card?

No. You only need an active mobile phone with text messaging.

06. Why is BOKU safer than a credit card?

BOKU is safer because in order to complete a transaction we require a text message confirmation for each transaction. This means someone could not complete a transaction using your telephone number only; they would need to have access to your phone. A credit card, on the other hand, is directly connected to your credit, financial and personal ID files, and if someone has your credit card numbers they don’t need to have the card on hand to make the transaction. BOKU has dozens of years of experience in payments and fraud prevention, so we add additional safety precautions to every transaction.

07. What personal information is collected?

BOKU has no registration or check-out forms, so we collect only your phone number, and this is treated with the utmost of discretion and privacy. All personal information is encrypted anytime it is sent over the internet. Please read our privacy policy for more details.

08. Where can I find BOKU payments?

You can use BOKU to pay for virtual and digital goods in hundreds of games and applications on the Web. To see a few of our favorites, try BOKU in Aeria Games, Puzzle Pirates, or Texas Hold 'Em Poker and (fluff)Friends on Facebook.

09. What do I need to do to complete a payment?

In most countries, you will just need to reply “Y” to the text message we send you. In some countries, a 4-digit PIN is required. Instructions will always be in the text message you received. You can track your BOKU purchases on your Personal Billing statement and on your wireless phone bill.

10. Do I need to register or create a new password?

No. No registration or passwords are required.

11. What countries and mobile networks do you cover?

BOKU reaches over 1.6 billion customers in 50+ countries worldwide. We are adding new countries and mobile networks all the time. Please see our latest list of supported countries and mobile networks.

12. How am I charged?

Your BOKU purchases will appear on your regular wireless phone bill. It depends on the country and mobile network, but the description will contain either “BOKU” or “Mobillcash” (our former name). (Certain exceptions apply: some countries list the short code). If you are having trouble finding the charge on your bill, you can also track your purchases in your My Purchases area on BOKU.com.

13. What if my phone is pre-paid or pay-as-you-go?

The charge is deducted from the balance on the phone account at the time of the transaction. If you do not have sufficient funds, your transaction will be declined.

14. What happens if I am in an area of poor connectivity and I don’t receive my text message immediately?

The text message is valid for up to 24 hours depending on the country and mobile network, so you will still be able to complete the payment during that time.

15. I tried to pay, but I am not receiving a text on my phone and it’s been several hours.

There could be a number of reasons why your payment may not be working. There may be temporary problems with your mobile operator, you may have insufficient funds on your pre-paid mobile phone, or you may have previously blocked all Premium SMS services when cancelling another mobile service. If you are receiving other text messages and you have not received a BOKU text after an hour of trying, please Contact Us and we’ll try to help.

16. My reply to BOKU fails and/or I receive an error message.

If your reply to BOKU failed, please try the following steps:
1. Find the original text message you received from BOKU on your phone.
2. Note the BOKU number/short code and the reply instructions (e.g. reply "Y").
3. Send a new text message to the BOKU number/short code with the instructed reply text.

17. My computer crashed before I could reply “Y” or enter the PIN code.

If you received a text message before your computer crashed, you can still confirm payment by following the instructions in the message (e.g. reply “Y”). If you have to enter a PIN code online, or if you have not received a text message after several minutes, please Contact Us.

18. Is there a toll-free number I can call if I encounter any other problems?


Yes. You can find BOKU toll-free numbers on our Contact Us page.

19. What happens if I reply "STOP" from my phone in the US?

When you reply "STOP" from your phone in the US, we will attempt to cancel your payment request. This is possible if you reply "STOP" before we charge the payment to your mobile phone. If your phone has already been charged or you have already received a payment confirmation message on your phone, it cannot be cancelled. Please note that replying "STOP" does not prevent you from making payments in the future. If you want to block all future payments on your phone, please contact us.
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