Direct Carrier Billing Comes to Windows 10 in the UK and Italy

Windows 10 users in the UK and Italy can now take advantage of direct carrier billing when making Windows Store purchases for the first time. This capability is available to O2 customers in the UK and Wind customers in Italy thanks to a new deal with Boku, which is billed as the world’s largest direct carrier billing mobile payments company.

“Microsoft is a superb partner for Boku, and our relationship has been made even stronger with the addition of UK and Italy,” Boku CeO Jon Prideaux says in a prepared statement. “Our agreement with Microsoft has expanded from one major developed market to five, and covers all Windows 10 devices; from phones and tablets, to desktop computers. This rapid expansion, with much more to come, is proof positive that carrier billing is becoming the world’s preferred alternative payment, regardless of consumer access to credit or bank cards.”

As noted in the above quote, Boku already offers carrier billing options in three other countries: the United States, Germany and Switzerland. In fact, Boku is currently is the only carrier billing agent supported by Microsoft the United States at this time. Boku also handles carrier billing for Apple’s iTunes ecosystem, EA, Facebook, Google Play, the Sony Playstation Store, Spotify and others in various markets. The firm says that it operates in 70 countries, reaches more than 4 billion consumers, and works with over 250 carriers.

For Windows 10 users, direct carrier billing provides a new payment method when purchasing apps, games or content from Windows Store that sits alongside configured credit cards, PayPal and other supported options. Users who wish to take advantage of this option just need to enter their phone number to get started, and after they’re authenticated, they simply need to choose the carrier billing option when making Windows Store purchases; the purchase amounts will be added to their monthly carrier bill.

And yes, this capability works with both Windows 10 for PCs as well as Windows 10 Mobile, on smartphones.