carrier billing

Six 'carrier billing' stories June 2011 - July 2015

Google Play Store carrier billing added in Denmark, Saudi Arabia, & 2 more countries

Tom Maxwell Jul 23 2015 - 12:55 pm PT

Carrier billing, also known as direct billing, is a way through which customers of Google Play can pay for premium downloads without ever manually inputting a credit, debit or gift card – by having new charges billed directly to the carrier service plan they pay monthly. Now it’s available for Play Store customers on a few more select carriers in several countries – only on select carriers, though. The change was initially spotted by Android Police.

Here are the carriers and countries where Play Store carrier billing is now available:

3 in Denmark
Sun in Philippines
Mobily in Saudi Arabia
Avea in Turkey
du in UAE

Typing on mobile devices can be a frustrating, mistake-prone experience that takes longer than typing on a full-sized desktop keyboard, so it’s no surprise to see app developers quickly bringing to fruition changes that reduce the amount of finger-pecking necessary to take action – making password input a fallback to fingerprint scanning being one example. The full list of carriers and countries that have support for Play Store carrier billing is available on Google’s support site.

Google Play prepaid cards official for India at select stores

Tom Maxwell Jun 16 2015 - 9:08 am PT

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India is a large, fast-developing country where cash is still the predominant payment method for everything from paying for cabs to refilling on smartphone data. Large multibillion dollar upstarts like Uber arrive in the country and find that it’s only once they add cash payment that their businesses really take off, and so it’s no surprise that Google is jumping into the fold through the arrival of Google Play prepaid cards in India.

These gift cards should start showing up in select Vijay Sales and Spice Hotspot stores in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata & Jaipur. They will be available in denominations of INR 500 (US$7), INR 1000 (US$15) and INR 1500 (US$23), and can be paid for with any payment method these stores allow.

Redeeming the cards is as simple as visiting this page and inputting the redemption code on the back of the card. It’s believed that direct carrier billing might come to India sometime soon, but there’s no word from Google on that just yet.

Google Play carrier billing now available to O2 customers

Mark Hearn Jun 17 2014 - 2:40 pm PT

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The UK’s second largest wireless carrier now gives subscribers the option to bill Google Play purchases directly to their monthly bill. Whether purchasing an app, music, movie or game from the Play Store, O2 customers have the option to pay for it upfront or they can choose between “charge to mobile” or having the purchase deducted from their prepaid balance.

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Google Play Store carrier billing goes live for Verizon customers

Jordan Kahn Oct 31 2012 - 11:26 am PT

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We knew that Google Play carrier billing would be available “in the coming weeks” for Verizon customers when Google confirmed on Twitter earlier this month. Today direct billing is officially rolling out to Verizon users with the new payment option now available form the Google Play store billing page pictured above (via AndroidPolice). Direct carrier billing is already available to most other Android users in the U.S. on AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. No word yet on whether or not Verizon will employ the rumored $25 limit for direct billing.
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Google Play rolling out direct carrier billing for movies, music, and books

Jordan Kahn May 2 2012 - 11:24 am PT

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For quite a while, Android users on many carriers in a handful of countries have had access to direct carrier billing for apps. Google is rolling out the option today to all content available through Google Play including music, movies, and books to certain carriers in the United States and Japan. While direct carrier billing is available to AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile (everyone but Verizon who operates its own Android store), Google’s announcement seems to indicate the expanded service will launch first on T-Mobile in the United States with Sprint coming soon. It will also roll out to Softbank, DoCoMo, and KDDI customers in Japan. You can check out a full list of countries and carriers that support direct billing here.

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Netflix-like game rentals coming to Android via T-Mobile and WildTangent

9to5 Staff Jun 9 2011 - 10:48 am PT

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According to All Things D, T-Mobile USA is partnering with games service WildTangent on Android game rentals costing 25 cents per day. The game service draws from WildTangent’s service for PCs which has 25 million active users. Due later this year, it will come preloaded on select Android device and support carrier billing. T-Mobile USA is even attended the E3 show in Los Angeles this week, a first-ever for the company, to promote the initiative.

The idea here is to try games before you buy them, similar to the Android Market’s 15-minute refund policy and Google’s try-before-you-buy system. If you later buy the game, the 25-cent charge is applied against your purchase. The system is designed around the WildCoins virtual currency costing between four to ten bucks a month. Purchased WildCoins can be then used to pay for game rentals and in-game micropayments.

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