Google and Airtel are in talks to bring carrier billing in India, according to a latest report from The Economic Times. The carrier billing support will allow Android users to pay for apps, in-app purchases and other content through their service provider instead of other mode of payments like credit or debit cards.
The move will increase the purchase of paid apps in India where credit card penetration stands at mere 2 percent. This in turn will benefit app developers and content creators to garner further revenue. The report further said that Google and Airtel are discussing over the revenue sharing terms where the former is demanding for 90 percent of the revenues.
Earlier in May, Google expanded carrier billing by adding PayPal support. India is a place where handful of people use credit card payments owing to security reasons. Hence, paying for online shopping through a monthly phone bill is more viable option to many users in the country. Google Play direct operator billing is currently available in a total of 26 countries via 51 telecom operators.