Swarmio Media Introduces New Payment Solution, Eco VoicePay, to Drive Accretive Revenue Growth on its Ember Gaming and Esports Platform

Dial-and-Pay Solution Increases Payment Options for Gamers, Facilitates Faster Uptake of the Ember Platform Globally, and Enables Swarmio to Collect Payments Instantaneously

• The Eco VoicePay solution allows gamers from anywhere in the world to make purchases in the Ember platform by dialing a special phone number.
  
  
• Gamers can use long distance credits to pay for Ember points vouchers, which are sent via SMS and can be redeemed inside the Ember platform to buy digital in-game items and content.
  
  
• Gamers don't need to have a credit card, bank account or digital wallet to purchase items from the Ember store.
  
  
• The Eco VoicePay solution facilitates faster expansion of Swarmio's Ember gaming and esports platform regionally and globally.
  
  
• Swarmio also doesn't need to wait for payment processors, telco direct carrier billing (DCB) or digital wallet integrations to collect revenue from purchases made inside Ember.

 Swarmio Media Holdings Inc. (CSE: SWRM) (OTCQB: SWMIF) (GR: U5U) ("Swarmio" or "the Company"), a technology company focused on the global deployment of its proprietary Ember gaming and esports platform, is pleased to announce that is has launched a new payment solution, Eco VoicePay. The Eco VoicePay solution will allow gamers from anywhere in the world to dial a phone number and pay for in-game items using long distance credits provided by their mobile carrier. They will then receive Ember points vouchers via SMS, which they can redeem in the Ember online store to pay for in-game digital items and accessories including skins, upgrades, value packs and subscriptions. Eco VoicePay is being launched initially in Sri Lanka and North Africa before it is rolled out to additional regions.

The launch of Eco VoicePay is an important catalyst in Swarmio's overarching strategic growth plan. As previously disclosed, Swarmio generates revenue from payment processing and transaction fees on purchases made inside the Ember platform's online store (the "Ember Store"). With Eco VoicePay, Gamers don't need to have a credit card, bank account or digital wallet to purchase items from the Ember store. Nearly two thirds of the world's 3 billion gamers live in countries where credit card penetration is low and the majority of citizens do not have access to traditional bank accounts. ^1,2

Additionally, gamers do not need to be paying Ember subscribers to use Eco VoicePay - this simple dial-and-pay option will be available to "freemium" users as well. In this way, Eco VoicePay facilitates faster expansion and global uptake of the Ember platform regionally and globally. With Eco VoicePay, Swarmio also doesn't need to wait for payment processors, telco direct carrier billing (DCB) or digital wallet integrations to collect payment on transactions made in Ember, facilitating faster revenue growth for the Company.

Swarmio CEO Vijai Karthigesu commented: "The launch of Eco VoicePay is a very important step in our global growth trajectory. Based on our last published quarterly financials (December 31/2022) which showed $4.3 million in revenue in the 3rd quarter of fiscal year 2022, it is clear that gamers are actively using the Ember platform to play games and more importantly, they are making purchases inside the platform. By adding a new dial-and-pay solution, Eco VoicePay, to the platform on top of existing payment methods including credit card, direct carrier billing, and gamer e-wallet, Swarmio is enabling gamers who lack access to traditional payment channels to participate in online games the same way their peers do. We are also removing cumbersome payment settlement processes which can result in delayed revenue for Swarmio. Meanwhile, by making Eco VoicePay available to non-paying users of the platform (or "freemium" users), we are facilitating a faster uptake of the Ember platform amongst gamers globally, and simultaneously opening new avenues for game publishers to reach gamers in countries that had been off-limits due to a lack of payment options."

Sources:

1.)   Statista, 2023: https://www.statista.com/statistics/553180/distribution-of-unbanked-population-by-region/

2.) Global Finance and Merchant Machine, 2021: https://blog.cfte.education/the-worlds-top-5-unbanked-countries-have-more-than-60-of-their-population-without-bank-accounts/

Swarmio's fully managed, plug-and-play Ember platform can be quickly and seamlessly integrated with major telco operations, allowing telcos to engage and monetize gaming subscribers and gain immediate and meaningful access to the US$200 billion gaming market.

Ember provides a proprietary digital hub for gaming communities, allowing gamers to access an ultra-low-latency playing experience, competitive challenges and tournaments, exclusive gaming content, managed communities, gamification and points system, online store (Swarmio Store), gamer e-wallet (Swarmio Pay), and customized digital content.

Ember also enables game publishers and developers to reach, engage and monetize the 2 billion gamers in Asia , Africa , the Middle East and Latin America , where credit card penetration is relatively low and access to bank accounts is limited. By partnering with telecom operators, Swarmio enables gamers to purchase Ember's exclusive services, solutions and in-game items and content using telco payment channels such as digital wallets and Direct Carrier Billing.

To learn more, visit any of Swarmio's Ember partner sites:

Globe Telecom ( Philippines ): https://globe.emberhub.gg/
Etisalat / e& (MENA): https://hub.arenaesports.ae/
Ooredoo ( Tunisia ): https://ooredoo.emberhub.gg/
SLTmobitel ( Sri Lanka ): https://esports.slt.lk/

Swarmio Media (CSE: SWRM; OTC: SWMIF; GR: U5U) is a technology company focused on deploying its proprietary end-to-end gaming and esports platform, Ember, which enables telcos to monetize their gaming customers. Swarmio has engaged with several telcos that have launched Ember as an add-on service, allowing subscribers to access tournaments, engage in a localized gaming community, challenge friends and influencers, and earn points that can be used to purchase gaming content. Ember is powered by Swarmio's patented Latency-Optimized Edge Cloud ('LEC') technology, which reduces lag and allows gamers to enjoy an optimized gaming experience.

To learn more about Swarmio Media, please visit:
Swarmio Investor Website ( https://ir.swarmio.media )
Swarmio on LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/company/swarmiomedia )
Swarmio on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/SwarmioMedia )

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation: statements about the Company's growth, the Company's ability to capitalize on the major global opportunity in the gaming and esports market, anticipated benefits to the Company's partners and their customers from using the Company's products, ongoing discussions with potential new customers or partners and the possibility that such discussions may result in additional contracts or revenue for the Company, the Company's future plans, its goals and expectations, including but not limited to, the Company's continuing ability to enter into agreements to deploy its products with international telecommunications companies and game publishers and its ability to monetize these agreements through generating SaaS-based revenues are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risks identified in the Companies long-form prospectus dated November 10, 2021 (which can be accessed through the Company's profile on www.sedar.com ). Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the respective companies undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Swarmio Media Holdings Inc.

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