Carrier billing gains traction among UK mobile phone operators
All five of the UK’s mobile network operators have connected to Gemalto’s direct billing platform
All of the UK’s mobile network operators have extended their carrier billing offerings by connecting to a direct billing platform suppliend by Gemalto’s Netsize subsidiary, the company said it has enabled UK mobile subscribers to use their existing phone bills or prepaid balances to purchase digital content, applications and services direct from their handsets.
Frédéric Deman, general manager of Netsize, described it as “a single, seamless payment and billing solution that embraces virtually all of the country’s mobile subscribers”.
He added that mobile operator billing offers a compelling alternative for those who don’t have, or don’t want to give, their bank account details when purchasing items with their smartphones.
Direct carrier billing has been available on all networks in the UK since 2012 when direct operator billing firm, Mach signed Vodafone, Everything Everywhere, O2 and 3UK up to its Direct Operator Billing platform for digital goods, and said that the use of such a solution to purchase physical goods was on the horizon.
The common framework is called Payforit and aims to provide a secure and trusted transaction mechanism for both merchants and consumers.
