direct carrier billing

Direct Carrier Billing Index reveals the most favourable countries for DCB growth in the MEA region

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

The first DCB Index developed by Evina and Telecoming is released today

  • Bahrain, Egypt, and Qatar are the most attractive markets for DCB, leading the index
  • The innovative tool measures the maturity of this mobile payment method in 18 countries
  • The development of the DCB Index is one of the commitments established in the alliance signed earlier this year by both companies

Analysts from Evina, experts in DCB protection, and Telecoming, experts in DCB implementation, have developed the first Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Index. This rating aims to provide market players with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the DCB business and its overall potential.

Bahrain, Egypt, and Qatar lead the list according to the results of the first DCB Index created to measure the development of this market in MEA. The innovative tool[1] uses 4 KPIs focused on Fraud Protection, Mobile Payments Innovation, DCB Penetration levels, and DCB Growth Potential.

As a result, the DCB Index establishes a ranking based on the score achieved by each country. It is presented on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 as the lowest indicator and 5 being the most advanced pointer.

Download the full DCB Index here: https://www.evina.com/resources/dcb-index-evina-telecoming/

According to the analysis, Bahrain (3,7) stands out for its extensive DCB protection against fraud. The country shows full support for DCB, seeing that all local mobile operators have implemented this payment technology, yet innovation remains a weak point to develop.

Local mobile operators and merchants are working together to promote DCB as an effective payment method in Egypt (3,3). It’s a true breeding ground for the development of DCB, and efforts must continue to strengthen DCB protection to realize its full potential. Forward-thinking MNOs have enabled in-app purchases in Qatar (3,2). Its overall innovative approach to mobile payments, such as paying employees via mobile money, demonstrates the country’s predisposition to implement new uses of DCB.

According to the index, mobile payment partnerships centred around DCB are growing in Kenya, while Morocco shows ample room for growth in DCB Innovation.

South Africa has a high DCB uptake but has had to deal with fraudulent mobile payment attempts. Hence, increased protection is vital for the sustainable development of DCB as an easy and reliable payment method in the region.

According to Roberto Monge, COO of Telecoming, “DCB has been gaining presence in the region’s digital economy. This innovative indicator shows that many countries are on the right track. Technology is already in place, but there are still some challenges to face. All the payments tech industry players need to work together to develop a new, reliable, secure and stable mobile economy that benefits the whole market “, says Monge.

David Lotfi, Founder & CEO of Evina, states, “the DCB Index indicates that fraud on DCB remains as a top barrier to countries maximizing the potential of direct carrier billing.” Lotfi adds, “these findings strongly suggest that anti-fraud measures need to be more extensively and consistently implemented so that DCB becomes not only a widely used effortless payment method but a source of greater revenue for mobile players.”

 

[1] The figures provided are algorithmic-based estimations calculated from Evina sensors and Telecoming intelligence data. The DCB Index is intended for information purposes only.

 

SLA Digital Announce Carrier Billing Connections with UK Mobile Operators

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

SLA Digital are pleased to announce that they have added UK mobile operators to their list of direct carrier billing connections.

As a carrier billing aggregator, SLA Digital can now offer full UK coverage, opening up new revenue streams for digital merchants and facilitating fast and frictionless mobile payment experiences for UK mobile customers.

“Our connections with UK mobile operators are a very welcome addition. Many of our clients have expressed interest in the UK and we hope they will have great success in the market. When it comes to mobile payments customers are looking for convenience and we are excited to provide a simple payment option for UK mobile subscribers to access our merchants’ services,” commented Kevin Drayne, CEO at SLA Digital.

aimm is at MEF Connects – Digital Transformations

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

aimm will be speaking at MEF CONNECTS – Digital Transformation on the 26th May discussing Trust in Payments at 11.00 am

From Tuesday May 25th to Thursday 27th MEF will host its third online event this year MEF CONNECTS Digital Transformation. Over the 3  days you will have the opportunity to get a better understanding of Mobile Identity and Authentication, Direct Carrier Billing [DCB], Mobile Wallet, Mobile Advertising, Conversational Commerce and much more.

Don’t miss out on aimm’s session on the Tuesday discussing trust in Payments alongside EE and Mastercard.

 Sign up for free now!

EPIC ON Launches Direct Carrier Billing with SLA Digital

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

SLA Digital brings customers in the Middle East access to EPIC ON, a premium Indian-inspired streaming platform, through direct carrier billing.

EPIC ON by IN10 Media is a one stop destination for entertaining and informative India-centric TV shows, short videos, documentaries, and specials across the genres of sports, food, history, mythology, travel, and more. Through the OTT platform EPIC ON is catering to the needs of digital entertainment seekers by providing them with appealing and easily accessible content at the tap of a finger on their smartphones.

Taking a step ahead in the direction to enhance its digital offerings, EPIC ON has joined hands with SLA Digital to introduce carrier billing solutions and offer customers in the Middle East an option to make seamless and secure payments for EPIC ON’s OTT content directly through their mobile phone bill.

“We are delighted to introduce EPIC ON as a new service in our portfolio and we look forward to continuing to work with IN10 Media and their partner Digital Technology to bring new customers to the service through carrier billing.” commented Ashley O’Kane, Head of Business Development at SLA Digital.

 Sharing his thoughts on the new service launch Sourjya Mohanty, Chief Operating Officer, EPIC ON stated “Continual improvement of our customer services and digital offerings is the core value that we operate by at EPIC ON. We are delighted to join hands with SLA Digital and through this partnership we have strengthened our digital and payment services. With the launch of direct carrier billing we strive to make the best use of the mobile payment technology to offer more flexible and transparent payment solutions to our EPIC ON customers in the Middle East.”

SLA Digital will continue to roll out the EPIC ON service to new mobile operators and customers across the Middle East and Asia.

Sam Media earns the Malaysia International Business Awards for Telecommunications

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

The company is using data science to prevent fraud in Direct Carrier Billing.

Sam Media won in the Telecommunications category of the Malaysia International Business Awards 2020, which honours exceptional international businesses based in Malaysia.

The company connects the world to premium digital services. Sam Media develops apps and browser-based digital products, like e-learning software and interactive entertainment portals. Together with monitoring partners like the French company Evina (https://www.evina.com), they are one of the pioneers in the fight against carrier billing fraud.

As a leader in innovation, it is the company’s mission to make digital products accessible to everybody on any device type. They are also growing their reach by using alternative payment solutions like carrier billing, so their suite of products can be enjoyed by all users, even those who don’t have access to traditional payment methods, such as bank accounts or credit cards.

Sam Media boasts in unlocking new markets with alternative payment methods and multi-platform compatibility. Their experienced media buy team knows how to reach millions of consumers, whilst having a strong focus on data science to improve user experience and to track down fraudulent activities.

In 2018, the company started recruiting data scientists to its Malaysian office, focusing on the analysis of consumer behavior in order to improve users’ experience within its digital products. Now, Sam Media’s data science team has picked up on another great challenge in monitoring transacties and marketing activities.

As with any payment method, fraud remains a constant companion and a source of concern.

Wherever transactions and billing are happening on a larger scale, there’s a growing likelihood that fraudsters will attempt to take a piece of the pie. Carrier billing has been no exception.

Recognizing this, the company looked for external solutions to protect its business. However, they noticed that trusting exclusively external anti-fraud solutions only gives a false sense of security. Thus, their Malaysian data science team started to connect all the dots, combining the data of the external anti-fraud solutions with the firm’s own data to better protect users.

In the past years, Sam Media has been developing its own analytical tools to get ahead of what the industry requires. Their tools are being updated and altered continuously based on the requirements in the market, whilst their data science team sets ambitious goals to keep innovating.

Alexis Bartels, CEO of Sam Media, responds to winning this award: “As a company, we have a recognition and reward culture, so we are extremely happy with this award. All credit to our data science team. I am very proud of our people.”

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sam-media.