More than a third of smartphone users (37 percent) in the UK and Germany have paid for apps using direct operator billing, according to a survey by billing software company MACH.
The research found that 29 percent of smartphone users actually prefer the payment method – in which the charges are added to monthly bills or taken from pay as you go credit – over retailer payment services, PayPal and card payments.
Two-thirds of people that prefer direct operator billing, do so for the convenience, while 50 percent cited the greater speed of transactions. Nineteen percent of UK users said they would switch to an operator that provides direct operator billing, if their current one doesn’t.
Head of sales for Mobile Billing & Payments at MACH, Michael De Jongh, said the results show that smartphone users are demanding more convenient payment methods, presenting operators and content providers with an opportunity to differentiate themselves. “Deploying a frictionless purchase process has the potential to deliver greatly enhanced transaction completion rates, providing a real shot in the arm for the entire mobile content ecosystem,” he said.
The survey covered more than 2,000 smartphone users.