Unbanked and underbanked consumers already account for 57% of all direct carrier billing usage worldwide, and that segment is growing faster than the banked one. That’s more than half of a payment method projected to nearly double in market size … Continue reading
Unbanked and underbanked consumers already account for 57% of all direct carrier billing usage worldwide, and that segment is growing faster than the banked one. That’s more than half of a payment method projected to nearly double in market size by 2031. If your OTT platform’s checkout still banks on a credit card, you’re filtering out a majority-sized audience before they ever reach “subscribe.” Carrier billing for OTT solves exactly this, and it’s become one of the fastest-growing ways streaming platforms convert visitors into paying subscribers.
Carrier billing — also called direct carrier billing (DCB) or operator billing — lets a viewer pay for an OTT subscription or purchase by charging it straight to their mobile phone bill or prepaid balance, instead of entering card details. There’s no bank account and no credit card number required. The mobile network operator collects the payment as part of the user’s regular phone bill or airtime deduction, then routes it to the OTT platform.
For streaming businesses, this turns “do you have a credit card?” from a hard requirement into an optional one. Anyone with an active mobile connection — prepaid or postpaid — becomes a potential paying subscriber. If you’re still finalizing how payments fit into your broader monetization setup, our guide on how OTT platforms make money covers where carrier billing sits alongside subscriptions, PPV, and ad-supported models.
According to Juniper Research, the total value of DCB transactions is expected to grow from approximately $50 billion in 2026 to more than $87 billion by 2030, representing an increase of over $37 billion in just four years.
Card-based checkout quietly excludes a large slice of the global streaming audience. In many high-growth streaming markets — parts of Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America — mobile penetration far outpaces credit card ownership. People have phones and prepaid data plans long before they have a bank account, let alone a credit card. For an OTT platform trying to grow in these regions, requiring a card at checkout would eliminate a huge chunk of possible subscribers.
Also, many users, even in developed markets, simply prefer not to hand card details to a streaming app they’ve just discovered. Carrier billing sidesteps that hesitation: the transaction is authorized through the carrier, so the platform never touches financial details directly.
The payoff shows up in conversion. Removing the “enter your card” step removes the single biggest drop-off point in mobile checkout, which is why platforms that add carrier billing typically see meaningfully higher completion rates than card-only checkout.
Turn every mobile number into a potential subscriber. Muvi One’s Direct Carrier Billing lets viewers pay through their mobile carrier — no card, no bank account. See how it works →
The flow is short by design — usually just a handful of taps:
Because authentication rides on the mobile number itself rather than a card network, this entire loop is built for mobile — which is exactly the environment most OTT viewing already happens in.
Carrier billing is commonly used across:
Not every carrier billing setup works the same way. Three common models show up across the industry:
Direct telco integration. The OTT platform integrates one-on-one with each mobile operator’s own billing API. This gives more control and typically a better revenue split, but it takes real engineering time per carrier — a fit for large platforms with the volume to justify individual deals.
Aggregator-based integration. A single carrier billing platform connects the OTT provider to many telcos globally through one integration. This is the far more common route for streaming platforms expanding into multiple countries at once, since it trades a bit of margin for a dramatically faster rollout.
Silent authentication. Instead of requiring an OTP or PIN, the carrier identifies the subscriber automatically through their SIM. This is the lowest-friction version of carrier billing and tends to convert best, though not every operator or market supports it yet.
Carrier billing isn’t free — mobile operators take a cut for handling billing and collections on the platform’s behalf. Industry norms generally put the telco’s share in the 15–30% range of transaction value, leaving the OTT platform with roughly 70–85%. That’s a real cost compared to a standard payment gateway, but it needs to be weighed against what it replaces: subscribers who otherwise wouldn’t have converted at all, plus lower payment-failure rates than card billing typically sees, since expired or declined cards are one of the most common causes of involuntary subscription churn.
One integration, many markets. Muvi One’s carrier billing connects to operator networks including Singtel, MTN, M-Pesa, and Unifi — spanning hundreds of millions of subscribers across Asia and Africa. Talk to our team →
Carrier billing has been part of major OTT expansion strategies for years, not just a theoretical option. When Netflix entered Australia, it launched with carrier billing built in through partners like Optus, letting broadband customers pay through their existing telco bill rather than a separate card transaction. Netflix used the same approach expanding across Asia-Pacific, including a carrier billing partnership with Sri Lankan operator Dialog for its postpaid subscribers — a pattern we cover in more detail in how OTT is impacting telecom providers.
Music streaming has followed the same playbook: Spotify rolled out carrier billing across Japan’s three largest mobile operators, giving well over a hundred million subscribers the option to pay for Premium through their phone bill instead of a card — a move aimed specifically at markets where mobile-first payment is the norm.
Muvi One supports direct carrier billing as part of its broader payment and monetization stack, alongside standard gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Adyen. It connects to major operator and mobile wallet networks — including Singtel, MTN, M-Pesa, and Unifi — configurable directly from the CMS, so platforms can enable carrier billing in specific regions while keeping card and wallet payments active everywhere else.
Ready to reach subscribers your card-only checkout is missing? Add carrier billing to your existing Muvi One monetization stack without building separate local payment infrastructure. Start your 14-day free trial →
Carrier billing lets a viewer pay for a streaming subscription or purchase by charging it directly to their mobile phone bill or prepaid balance, instead of entering a credit card or bank account.
The viewer selects carrier billing at checkout, confirms their mobile number, and the telecom operator authenticates and charges the transaction to their phone bill or prepaid balance, then confirms payment back to the platform to activate access.
Telcos typically take 15–30% of the transaction value, leaving roughly 70–85% for the OTT platform. The exact split depends on the operator, market, and integration model.
Markets with high mobile penetration but lower credit card ownership benefit most — including large parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America — though it’s also used in developed markets for its convenience and security.
No. It’s typically offered alongside existing payment gateways and wallets, giving viewers a choice at checkout rather than forcing one payment method across the board.
Yes. Transactions are verified and processed through the mobile carrier’s own authentication systems, so the OTT platform never handles raw card or bank details — reducing fraud and chargeback exposure.
Written by: Sreejata Basu
Sreejata is the Manager for Muvi’s Content Marketing unit with strong expertise and experience in Video Streaming Technology. By week Sreejata spends her time in the corporate world of Muvi, but on weekends she likes to take short hiking trips, watch movies and read travelogues.
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