Telefonica and Samsung have signed a global agreement to allow subscribers with smartphones and tablets to pay for apps and content directly via their phone bill.

Users of the South Korean company’s Samsung Hub and Samsung Apps portals will be able to purchase apps, games, music, videos, books and learning services, with the payment being added to their monthly bill or deducted from prepaid credit.

The deal makes Samsung the first device maker to integrate directly with Telefonica’s billing capabilities using the BlueVia payment API. Telefonica has struck similar deals with Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

According to Telefonica, the convenience of direct billing has been shown to increase sales of digital content on mobile devices, particularly in developing markets were credit cards and bank accounts or less commonplace than elsewhere.

“Partnerships like this allow us to harness the power of the billing relationships we have with our customers to make it easier for them to consume content on their tablets and mobile devices,” said Wayne Thorsen, VP of Global Partnerships at Telefonica Digital.

The technology will be rolled out to Telefonica’s various businesses in phases, with Telefonica Germany pencilled in to be the first to offer it to subscribers in “the coming months”.