Direct carrier billing for app stores boosts transactions, increases conversion

Some consumers don't own a credit card. They may be too young or prefer to manage their finances in other ways. Of those that do own a credit card, some don't like to give out those details online. For both groups, Direct Carrier Billing is an option and, according to a new whitepaper from Juniper Research and Amdocs, its use is on the rise.

The whitepaper, "Mobile Payments in the App Store Economy: Winning Strategies for Telcos", found that over-the-top (OTT) storefronts that have implemented Direct Carrier Billing, such as Google Play and Windows Phone Store, have seen sharp increases in transaction volumes, average transaction values and conversion rates.

In 2012, Amdocs processed three times more Google Play purchases over Direct Carrier Billing than in 2011. According to Rebecca Purdhomme, Amdocs product and solutions marketing vice president, the payment method helps operators grow new revenue streams by leveraging their existing billing relationship with customers.

"In the future, beyond payments, we expect operators to leverage their big data to enable personalization of various m-commerce use cases, from content discovery to coupon redemption," said Purdhomme.

Furthermore, OTT storefronts and developers can monetize demographics which either do not possess credit cards, such as younger consumers, or those who dislike giving out their credit card details online.

Tags: app store, credit card, direct operator billing, over-the-top storefront, payment trends