Five key benefits of direct carrier billing

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Direct carrier billing is a digital payment method that enables consumers to make cashless payments using their payment-enabled mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets that have SIM cards. They can have these payments either added to their postpaid mobile’s billing cycle or deducted from their prepaid mobile load. Merchants, too, can benefit from offering direct carrier billing as a payment option to their customers using VIA OpenPlatform to open a new revenue stream.
With increasing penetration of mobile phones and smartphones, direct carrier billing is growing rapidly in Asia Pacific and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.52% between 2019 and 2028.
According to Juniper Research, it is estimated that the value of direct carrier billing payments for digital content may grow to US$ 100 billion by 2025 up from US$ 37 billion in 2020.
Direct carrier billing which is also known as telecom billing, carrier billing, operator billing, direct operator billing, or DCB, offers a number of benefits to both consumers and merchants alike. Some of the key benefits include:
1. Convenience
Direct carrier billing makes digital payments convenient as consumers can choose to pay with their mobile devices at checkout. They need no prior registrations and would only be required to key-in their phone numbers and a PIN or OTP (one-time password) to verify and authorise a transaction.
2. Safety
There’s a growing concern about the safety of payments using credit cards as cybercriminals use stolen credit card details to execute unauthorised payments. Direct carrier billing allays these security concerns as it facilitates payments that are protected by 2FA (two-factor authentication), where customers are required to authorise the payment using a PIN or an OTP . Furthermore, since there is no transmission of consumers’ financial information such as 16-digit credit card numbers, their financial data remains secure.
3. Financial inclusion
A large section of the population in Asia is still unbanked or underbanked and therefore, continues to depend on cash for day-to-day financial activities. However, with an increasing user base of mobile phones, direct carrier billing can facilitate financial inclusion by enabling payment for digital services without the consumers necessarily needing a bank account or credit card.
4. No upfront fees
Direct carrier billing does not involve any upfront sign-up fees or monthly recurring costs for merchants and is usually based on a nominal transaction fee. Customers, too, are not required to pay any additional fees to enjoy the convenience of making contactless payments using the direct carrier billing method.
5. Additional revenue stream
One of the biggest advantages direct carrier billing offers to the merchants is the ability to expand their businesses and open up an additional revenue stream by reaching out to a large pool of mobile-using customers who want to consume digital services and make recurring payments virtually, but do not use credit cards or have a bank account.