Mukesh Ambani gets Bank of America shares as director fees

Bank of America has given shares worth nearly Rs 11 lakh to Mukesh Ambani as part of annual retainer fee to the billionaire industrialist, who joined the US banking giant's board last month.

Ambani may get a total of over Rs 1 crore of annual compensation in cash and stocks, going by the bank's director compensation policy.

However, the bank has not disclosed its specific director fees for Ambani, chief of energy giant Reliance Industries.

Emailed queries sent to Bank of America and Reliance Industries remained unanswered on what would be Ambani's exact remuneration for his role as a director.

Ambani leads one of India's biggest corporate groups with presence spanning across energy, retail and telecom businesses and plans underway for financial services entry.

As Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, Ambani was paid Rs 15 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2010.

He has decided to take a lower salary than his eligibility of Rs 39.36 crore, as per shareholders' approval, to reflect "his desire to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels." The salary figure for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011, is not yet known.

Bank of America has informed the US market regulator SEC that it has allotted 1835 Bank of America shares, worth over USD 24,500 (about Rs 11 lakh), to Ambani as a "portion of the annual retainer" payment to its directors.

Bank of America appointed Ambani as an independent director on its board on March 16.

Ambani is the first non-American to join the board of one of the world's largest financial institutions, which currently commands a market value of over USD 136 billion and had a revenue of more than USD 111 billion last year.

Zong Finds Merchants Pay Higher Mobile Payment Fees If Sales Rise

The mobile payments provider Zong Inc. says that merchants are increasingly willing to pay higher transaction fees in exchange for higher sales.

Zong's platform lets organizations such as Facebook Inc., Sony Online Entertainment and Sulake Corp.'s Habbo Hotel that sell digital goods to offer their customers the option to pay using their mobile phone number, Hill Ferguson, Zong's vice president of product and marketing, said in an interview.

Of the 500 Zong users who responded to a company survey in November, 34% said they chose the mobile payment option because it is "fast and easy," while 23% said they chose the option because it is "fun."

"Consumers will always choose the option that is easier for them," said Todd Ablowitz, president of Double Diamond Group LLC. "If consumers are buying something online or on their mobile phone, the fewer keys they have to press, the more likely they are to complete the purchase."

Carriers set the transaction fees merchants pay, which typically are much higher than those for debit and credit card transactions.

The fees vary by carrier but usually are between 10% and 40% of the sale, Ferguson said. By comparison, merchants may pay up to 3% of the sale to accept credit and debit cards, Ablowitz said.

Many merchants, however, are willing to accept the higher transaction fees if it means more sales, especially if they sell goods with a high margin, such as virtual currency, music videos and other digital content, Ferguson said. The profit margin for merchants from sales of digital goods may be as high as 80%, he said.