Direct Carrier Billing Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Direct Carrier Billing Market is projected to expand from USD 61.85 Billion in 2025 to USD 118.27 Billion by 2031, reflecting a CAGR of 11.41%. Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) functions as a mobile payment solution that permits consumers to charge digital services and content costs to their monthly phone bill or deduct them from a prepaid balance. This growth is largely underpinned by the increasing demand for seamless, friction-free payment options in the digital entertainment industry and the need to offer financial inclusion to unbanked individuals who lack access to traditional credit cards. Additionally, the market is broadening into sectors beyond entertainment, such as parking and transportation; for instance, the Association Française pour le développement de services et usages Multimédias Multi-opérateurs (AF2M) reported that the value of SMS-based transport ticketing in France hit €42.5 million in 2024, demonstrating successful adoption in utility sectors.

Despite these favorable drivers, the market encounters a substantial obstacle due to the high transaction fees charged by mobile network operators relative to other payment processing methods. These elevated costs frequently discourage merchants from establishing DCB as a primary payment option, particularly for low-margin physical goods, which restricts the method's wider application in general e-commerce. Moreover, the inconsistent regulatory environments across various regions add complexity to compliance for global merchants, creating further barriers to achieving universal market penetration.

Market Drivers

The booming mobile gaming sector and in-app microtransactions serve as the primary catalyst for the Global Direct Carrier Billing market. As consumers increasingly engage with freemium game models, the demand for a frictionless, high-frequency payment method has positioned carrier billing as the preferred choice for impulse purchases, avoiding the cumbersome process of entering credit card details. This mechanism is crucial for converting free users into paying customers by simplifying the checkout process for digital goods, such as skins and currency packs. The volume of these transactions is significant; according to Boku’s 'Audited Results for the year ended 31 December 2024' released in March 2025, the company's Total Payment Volume (TPV) reached $12.4 billion, driven largely by digital entertainment merchants.

Furthermore, strategic partnerships between telecommunications operators and digital content providers are accelerating market adoption by extending DCB from simple transactions to subscription bundling. Operators utilize these alliances to reduce churn by providing bundled access to OTT video and music streaming services, effectively turning the mobile bill into a central hub for digital lifestyle management. This trend is evidenced by the surge in subscription aggregators; Bango PLC's 'H1 2025 Results' from September 2025 indicated that active subscriptions on their Digital Vending Machine platform doubled to 19.2 million. Such integration underscores the immense economic scale of the mobile ecosystem, with the GSMA's 'The Mobile Economy 2025' report from March 2025 noting that mobile technologies generated $6.5 trillion in global economic value added.

Market Challenges

The substantial transaction fees imposed by mobile network operators constitute a primary barrier to the expansion of the Global Direct Carrier Billing Market. Unlike credit card processors or digital wallets that typically charge low single-digit percentages, carrier billing fees are often significantly higher. This pricing structure renders the payment method economically unviable for merchants selling physical goods, such as electronics or clothing, who operate on thin profit margins and cannot absorb such costs. Consequently, the adoption of direct carrier billing remains largely restricted to the digital content sector, where higher margins allow providers to accommodate these elevated rates, thereby stalling the market’s entry into the broader general e-commerce landscape.

This economic constraint prevents the technology from achieving universal penetration and competing directly with traditional financial instruments. By confining usage to high-margin verticals, the total addressable market volume is capped, limiting revenue streams to specific digital niches. According to the Association Française pour le développement de services et usages Multimédias Multi-opérateurs (AF2M), the total transaction value processed via carrier billing in France reached €790 million in 2024. While this figure demonstrates activity, the market's broader potential remains unrealized as high merchant fees deter the integration of mass-market retail sectors.

Market Trends

The convergence of Direct Carrier Billing with cloud gaming platforms and eSports betting ecosystems is fundamentally altering the market's trajectory. With 5G networks enabling real-time wagering and low-latency game streaming, carrier billing has become critical infrastructure for processing high-frequency, low-value microtransactions without the friction of banking authentication. This synergy is particularly prominent in the eSports sector, where immediate payment settlement is essential for in-play betting and digital item acquisition. Highlighting the scale of this segment, Xsolla’s April 2025 report, 'Gaming and direct carrier billing: Telco's big win,' notes that global direct carrier billing spending reached $78.5 billion in 2024, with the gaming vertical serving as a primary contributor, signaling a shift from static digital downloads to dynamic, session-based revenue models reliant on carrier payments.

Simultaneously, the rise of carrier-led super apps and digital wallet ecosystems is expanding the utility of direct carrier billing beyond simple content consumption. Mobile network operators are increasingly transforming their payment interfaces into comprehensive financial platforms that bundle DCB with services such as peer-to-peer transfers, insurance, and merchant payments. This evolution allows carriers to retain a larger share of the customer's digital wallet by offering a unified ecosystem for diverse financial needs. The financial impact of this strategic pivot is significant; according to MTN Group's 'Interim Financial Results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2025' released in August 2025, fintech revenue increased by 37.3%, driven by the accelerated adoption of these advanced payment platforms, indicating that carrier billing is maturing into a foundational layer for broader financial inclusion and digital commerce super apps.

Key Players Profiled in the Direct Carrier Billing Market

• Boku, Inc.
• DIMOCO Payments GmbH
• Trimble Inc.
• One MobiKwik Systems Limited
• Mobile Payment Solutions NV
• PayPal, Inc.
• Bango PLC
• Vonage Business Inc.
• PayByPhone Technologies Inc.
• NTT DOCOMO, INC.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Direct Carrier Billing Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Direct Carrier Billing Market, by Type:

• Limited DCB
• Pure DCB
• MSISDN Forwarding
• Others

Direct Carrier Billing Market, by Platform:

• Android
• iOS
• Others

Direct Carrier Billing Market, by End User:

• Games & Apps
• Video Content & Movies
• Music
• Others

Direct Carrier Billing Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Direct Carrier Billing Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

This product will be delivered within 1-3 business days.