CARRIER BILLING FOR E-PUBLISHING
Boost digital revenue
CARRIER BILLING FOR E-PUBLISHING
Boost digital revenue
The alternative mobile payment method carrier billing merely requires users to enter their mobile phone number to make a payment.
The COVID-19 pandemic, as a catalyst, has accelerated the already strong tie to mobile devices significantly in all aspects, acting as a central communication tool and an access point to an increasing number of digital services, boosting online banking solutions and mobile payment options.
The publishing ecosystem has of course been no exception and has seen a huge shift from print to online, but also from free to paid content. But not every publisher has yet taken full advantage of the revenue potential, a problem carrier billing sets out to fix.
54 percent of online news is consumed by smartphones.*
Is it realistic and progressive as a publishing company to expect the online readership to invest more time to pay for content than the actual read, asking for lengthy registration processes or identification verification, download of apps or entry of bank information or credit card details, especially given the relatively low credit card penetration across many European countries?
Why not opt for a one-click mobile payment option – a payment option that everybody holds in hand – for any “pay-per” content?
The alternative payment method carrier billing merely requires your customers to enter their mobile phone number to make a payment and therefore contrast with card-based and other payments as no additional data must be added. Consumers are not forced to sign in, share personal data or fill out forms, payment is completed on any device within seconds – especially important for content linked to to pay-per-view models. It outscores other payment options with an unparalleled penetration rate and a shorter checkout flow.
Though 54 percent of online news is mainly consumed on smartphones on EU average, 30 percent is read on computers, 7 percent on tablets. *
Despite the strong tie with a mobile phone, carrier billing is compatible with tablets, desktop devices, Smart TVs and all popular software and can therefore deployed on all devices.
Direct carrier billing or DCB is an increasingly important payment solution for mobile content and services enabling the consumer to charge the cost directly to their mobile phone bill or take it directly from the pre-paid balance they have on their phone. This pure telecommunications payment method lets players use a ‘pay by mobile’ option on their phone, tablet or desktop to directly charge the transaction amount to their monthly bill.
DCB simply requires the consumer to enter their mobile phone number to make a payment and contrast this with card-based payments where the user must share their name, card number, home address etc.
STEP 1 Consumer selects carrier billing as payment option.
STEP 2 Payment order is transmitted via DIMOCO to the mobile network operator (MNO), who verifies the user and checks if the required funds are available.
The mobile network operator confirms charging to DIMOCO.
STEP 3 The consumer is informed of the successful purchase and receives a payment confirmation via SMS, containing the information that the amount is added to the mobile phone bill.
The payment option is already familiar to many users as it is applied widely for digital apps and content, such as online games, streaming and the download of music, digital subscriptions for e-books, magazines or movies, in addition to social media platforms, tickets for public transportation, parking tickets or even bike-sharing services, snack vending machines or electric vehicle charging. What do these sectors in common? Impulse purchases are often key – just like in the ePublishing sphere and many industries and international brands have come to realize the value of the payment method.
With the digital landscape set, now’s the perfect time to lean into subscriptions and accelerate sustainable revenue. Though the subscription economy has grown more than 435 percent in the last 9 years according to Zuora, this significant development sees no slowing down.
The New York Times (NYT) stated in early 2022 that subscription revenues rose about 11 percent to $351.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
By the last week of December 2021, The Times had almost 8.8 million subscriptions. Nearly 5.9 million were for digital news, more than two million were for the other digital products, and a shade under 800,000 were for the print newspaper. In February 2022, the NYT had reached their goal of 10 million subscriptions.
These published figures affirm the trend of tangible new revenue streams across the publishing fair, fueled by changed consumer behavior and market demand.
Carrier billing, once adopted, is a powerful marketing tool with cross and upselling potential, converting users from one-time purchasers to subscription clientele.
After you have gained interest by offering promotions or free trials, easy, secure, fast and transparent payment – available to everybody with a mobile device – is no showstopper – as other payment methods – to successfully convert the customer into a recurring subscriber – often cross channel, ranging from digital magazines to website content, weekly newsletters and any “pay-per” content in your portfolio.
ePublishing merchants cannot grow profitably and stand out from the competition if the entire purchasing process is not optimized for impulse payment and conversion.
