Direct Carrier Billing Market Trends

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market Overview

The Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) market size is projected to grow from USD 45032.0 million in 2024 to USD 105550.1 million by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2% during the forecast period (2024 - 2032). Additionally, the market size for Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) was valued at USD 40483.6 million in 2023. 

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) is a mobile payment technique that allows consumers to make purchases and charge the fees to their mobile phone bills. This technique, also known as Direct Operator Billing, enables customers to purchase digital products from third-party retailers without using their credit cards. A consumer just requires a mobile handset and a SIM card to conduct carrier billing transactions.

As per Analyst at MRFR, “The industry is expanding because of the rising demand for games, video-on-demand, audio; voice calls over services like Skype and WeChat, e-books, podcasts, and other content.”

Figure1: Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market, 2024 - 2032 (USD Million)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database, and Analyst Review

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market Driver

The growing demand for games, video-on-demand, audio, phone conversations such as Skype and WeChat, e-books, podcasts, and other material is driving market expansion. Service providers such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Sony, Spotify, Hulu, and others are aggressively acquiring providers' direct billing platforms and integrating them into their payment solutions and recruiting customers, resulting in market development. 

In the future, increased consumer adoption of digital goods and rising awareness of direct carrier billing services are likely to provide favorable growth opportunities over the projection period. Furthermore, when compared to alternative payment schemes, direct carrier billing delivers the most effective buying knowledge in online environments. The availability of a diverse range of direct carrier billing platforms aids in the development of new revenue generation sources for mobile operators, as well as cost-effective and simple means of providing updated content.

The scarcity of programming on television (TV) and the growth of high-speed internet have led to a recent increase in the use of over-the-top (OTT) entertainment. Smartphones are currently the most popular platforms for consuming OTT content. Because of the widespread acceptance of OTT services, several network service providers have agreed to embrace direct carrier billing as a payment method.

This is also encouraging the expansion of the direct carrier billing sector. The benefit of subscribing to or paying for a feature or media content while offline is driving increasing demand for direct carrier billing options from users. This aspect is also catalyzing the direct carrier billing sector.

Furthermore, the global Direct Carrier Billing Market is being driven by an increase in the use of subscription video-on-demand services as well as an increase in digital content such as e-sports and live streaming. The developing high-speed internet and cloud computing infrastructure are driving up demand for direct carrier billing, which boosts the Direct Carrier Billing Market.

Increasing demand for digital content platforms has been a primary driver in the enormous growth of the direct carrier billing market in the United States. With the rise of digital media, platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, and others have seen rapid expansion across the country. Because these platforms provide features such as premium options and other benefits to consumers, the need for online payment methods is increasing.

Because of the widespread acceptance of OTT services, several network service providers have agreed to embrace direct carrier billing as a payment method. This is boosting the expansion of the direct carrier billing market in the United States. Substantial investments in R&D efforts, combined with rising smartphone adoption, have fueled the rise of China's direct carrier billing sector. Furthermore, the availability of affordable smartphones, as well as the growing popularity of digital content platforms, is having a beneficial impact on the country's Direct Carrier Billing market growth.

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market Type Segment Insights

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Type Insights

By type the direct carrier billing (DCB) market has been segmented into limited DCB, pure DCB, MSISDN Forwarding and others. The pure DCB segment dominated the market in 2022.

Pure direct carrier billing (DCB) is a payment method that allows customers to pay for digital goods and services through their mobile phone bill, without the need for a credit card or bank account. This payment method is becoming increasingly popular due to its simplicity and convenience, as customers can easily purchase items without needing to enter any payment information. One of the main benefits of pure DCB is its ease of use. Customers simply select the product they wish to purchase, and the payment is charged to their mobile phone bill. This makes the payment process very straightforward and quick, which can help increase sales and improve customer satisfaction.

Figure2: Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market, by Type, 2022 & 2032 (USD Million)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database, and Analyst Review

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market Platform Segment Insights

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Application Insights

Based on Platform, the Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market segmentation includes Android, iOS, and Others. The Android segment held the majority share in 2022 contributing around 76.4% to the market revenue. Mobile operating systems like Windows, Android, and iOS provide the infrastructure for DCB by letting developers include DCB as a payment option in their applications. 

The direct carrier billing industry is divided into three platforms: iOS, Android, and others. Customers employ direct carrier billing services on a variety of platforms. Because of the availability of low-cost smartphones and the growing volume of digital content, the DCB payment option is becoming increasingly popular on a variety of platforms, particularly Android-based handsets.

Among these segments, Android has the highest share of the market in the globally direct carrier billing platform market in 2022 and is expected to continue to be the largest during the projected period. As a result, the developing world has a large market for direct carrier billing platforms, and the use of Android-based mobile apps for gaming, entertainment, banking, sports, and other purposes has skyrocketed. 

With the support of product developments, collaborations, and expanded capabilities in direct carrier billing platforms, platform providers are on track to bring millions of unbanked people into the carrier billing system. As a result, worldwide technology advancement is boosting the android segment to increase globally.

 Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Regional Insights

By Region, the study provides market insights into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America.  The regions included in the study are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to dominate the direct carrier billing (DCB) market in 2022 while Asia-Pacific is anticipated to exhibit the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

North America holds the 13% market share, with a CAGR of 9.20% throughout the projection period. Direct carrier billing has emerged as a powerful motivator for the sale of digital items and services via mobile. It provides a better user experience than other payment methods and allows operators to reduce their exposure to payment processing fraud and risk. The increasing use of smartphones and the expanding number of mobile users are two major reasons driving the region's direct carrier billing market.

The region's increased smartphone penetration is expected to open new potential for mobile money providers. Due to the prevalence of smartphones among residents of the area, consumers in North America can use carrier billing to purchase content on any digital platform, such as a music streaming subscription or a video subscription. Youth in this region with higher levels of education and income are more likely to be digitally connected, as most youth are highly engaged in purchasing online games and online media, and the direct carrier billing payment method offers the best purchasing experience in online environments.

The variety of direct carrier billing platforms will aid in creating new income streams for mobile operators, increase average revenue per user, and provide simple and affordable ways to add new content. As an increasing number of their users are based in this market, several digital content providers are increasingly relying on carrier billing. A direct carrier billing platform is one of the solutions available to game providers and eSports organizations in the region seeking ways to maximize player and audience participation. Furthermore, an increase in the relevance of mobile gaming, an increase in demand for over-the-top (OTT) content, and a rise in smartphone penetration are some of the critical reasons expected to promote the expansion of direct carrier billing in North America

Europe's developing economies include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and other European countries. The region has the highest mobile penetration rates in the entire world, and the consumer in Europe is transitioning from voice-centric to data-centric and app-centric; there is widespread desire for apps and services that dramatically alter daily life in Europe. As smartphone adoption continues to rise, consumers in countries such as Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands are experiencing significant changes in how they use internet services. 

Smartphones are now a routine in these countries, with the device’s penetration levels among internet users being above 60% as per the Ericsson report. With 80–90% smartphone penetration, carrier billing in the Nordic countries is gaining substantial market share from digital content payments. In Norway, direct carrier billing is one of the popular payment methods for digital gaming.

In Europe, some digital businesses, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and Netflix, have begun to accept carrier-based payments. The direct billing carrier platform is the most popular in this region, and many OTT providers and mobile network operators (MNOs) want to collaborate with them. A direct billing carrier is being propelled by bundled content, such as Spotify, a Swedish worldwide media services provider that provides digital music services globally. It has worked with a number of regional carriers, including Telia Company AB and KPN. In turn, Spotify has seen a moderate increase in consumer conversions from free trials to paid subscriptions after adding a mobile phone billing option such as direct carrier billing.

The APAC direct carrier billing industry has been analyzed in terms of historically significant, current, and prospective trends in the region's countries. The Asian landscape for direct carrier billing appears to be promising. Mobile phones are becoming a crucial instrument for enjoying content, and the acceptance of alternative payment platforms such as direct carrier billing is influencing industry growth in Asia. Korea and Japan are prominent direct carrier billing countries. It has entered the mainstream and has been widely embraced for some time. 

Telcos are quickly seeing the value of direct carrier billing and are forming profitable and smart alliances with Apple. Furthermore, Google Play, App Store, Spotify, and Netflix are among the top OTT providers in Asian nations that use direct carrier billing. Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines are among the nations where stated OTT providers and telcos are collaborating for direct carrier billing. Furthermore, few people in Asia have smaller discretionary incomes, leading to an increase in digital service providers. This component also provides packages for users, making digital material more inexpensive for customers.

Figure3: Direct Carrier Billing (Dcb) Market Size By Region 2022 & 2032

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database, and Analyst Review

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Key Market Players & Competitive Insights

The direct carrier billing market has witnessed significant growth over the forecast period due to increasing demand for games, video-on-demand, audio, voice calls such as skype and WeChat, e-books, podcasts, and other content, easy affordability of smartphones and associated services in developing countries, low friction, and emerging markets and increased security as driver for direct carrier billing market. 

There are several domestic, regional, and global players operating in the direct carrier billing market who continuously strive to gain a significant share of the overall market. During the study, MRFR has analyzed some of the major players in the Direct carrier billing market who have contributed to the market growth. These include Singapore Telecommunications Limited, T-Mobile US, DIMOCO, Bango, Centili, Infomedia Services Limited, Swisscom, NTH Mobile, txtNation, Infobip, Orange S.A., Paymentwall, Boku Inc., ZONG, and Telenor ASA.

Among these, Boku Inc., Centili, Bango, DIMOCO, Telenor ASA, Singapore Telecommunications Limited are among the key players in Direct carrier billing market. These players focus on expanding and enhancing their product portfolio and services to remain competitive and increase their customer base. Additionally, these players are focusing on partnerships & collaborations to expand their business and customer base to enhance their market position.

Key Companies in the Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) market include

• T-Mobile USA, Inc.


• Centili


• DIMOCO


• net Ltd


• Singtel


• Swisscom telecommunication (Swisscom)


• NTH Mobile


• TxtNation


• Infobip


• Paymentwall


• Boku Inc


• Zong China Mobile


• Telenor


• Orange S.A.

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Industry Developments

• March 2023, In collaboration with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and Samsung, T-Mobile has aggregated four mid-band spectrum channels on its 5G standalone (5G SA) network using the Samsung Galaxy S23. VoNR was also expanded to four new cities by the Un-carrier: Cincinnati, OH; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; and Seattle, WA.


• February 2023, T-Mobile and Amazon are collaborating to combine T-5G Mobile's Advanced Network Solutions portfolio with AWS cloud-based services and scalable, pre-integrated apps, allowing clients to explore, customize, and deploy 5G edge computing more quickly.


• February 2022, Centili, a digital monetization firm, and ZEE5 Global, the leading streaming platform for South Asian content, have joined forces to provide customers in Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with safe and convenient access to the most diverse range of South Asian entertainment. Centili has enabled carrier billing on Zain Bahrain and Zain Saudi Arabia for ZEE5 Global.


• November 2020, the worldwide data-driven commerce platform, has announced that it will enable bundled subscription services for BT, the UK's premier telecommunications business. BT has chosen the Bango Platform as a key integration point to provide its customers with various third-party products and services. Bango and BT's collaboration will provide more leisure and commerce options to BT's large consumer base.

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Market Segmentation

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Type Outlook

• Limited DCB


• Pure DCB


• MSISDN Forwarding


• Others

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Application Outlook

• Android


• iOS


• Others

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Application Outlook

• Games and Apps


• Video Content and movies


• Music


• Others

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Application Outlook

• Single Factor Authentication


• Two Factor Authentication

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Regional Outlook