Tech giant Google has reportedly introduced carrier billing for Bhart Airtel and Vodafone subscribers in the country.
According to various media reports, Airtel and Vodafone users have started seeing the option pop up in their payment methods on the Play Store. However, the Google support page for accepted payment methods lists Idea Cellular as the direct billing carrier in India.
Google is likely to officially annouce its carrier billing partnership with Airtel and Vodafone in coming days.
In May this year, Google's head of partnerships and product- Android and Crome, Mike Hayes, told ET that the company was actively engaging with other major carriers.
"I can't give a specific date but we expect that in the short term, there will be several announcements that we would announcing with them. We have learnt a lot and are able to talk intelligibly what those opportunities are with the carriers," he then said.
India was the 41st market where the internet major has launched carrier billing facility.
Introduced in India for the first time, with this integration, Idea paved the way for a new and secure way to buy and enjoy digital content via a smartphone.
The service currently allows Idea subscribers to pay for all applications, content and in-app features on Google Play with the cost being directly charged to the subscribers' existing phone credit - be it post-paid or pre-paid. The subscribers will have to merely choose the Idea billing option when prompted during the purchase. A nominal convenience charge will be included in the final transaction.
In India, Google had earlier changed its sub-dollar pricing, which brought down the content price to as low as Rs 10. Due to this change, a developer can set the prices as low as Rs 10. The internet major had also introduced Gift Cards.
According to various media reports, Airtel and Vodafone users have started seeing the option pop up in their payment methods on the Play Store. However, the Google support page for accepted payment methods lists Idea Cellular as the direct billing carrier in India.
Google is likely to officially annouce its carrier billing partnership with Airtel and Vodafone in coming days.
In May this year, Google's head of partnerships and product- Android and Crome, Mike Hayes, told ET that the company was actively engaging with other major carriers.
"I can't give a specific date but we expect that in the short term, there will be several announcements that we would announcing with them. We have learnt a lot and are able to talk intelligibly what those opportunities are with the carriers," he then said.
India was the 41st market where the internet major has launched carrier billing facility.
Introduced in India for the first time, with this integration, Idea paved the way for a new and secure way to buy and enjoy digital content via a smartphone.
The service currently allows Idea subscribers to pay for all applications, content and in-app features on Google Play with the cost being directly charged to the subscribers' existing phone credit - be it post-paid or pre-paid. The subscribers will have to merely choose the Idea billing option when prompted during the purchase. A nominal convenience charge will be included in the final transaction.
In India, Google had earlier changed its sub-dollar pricing, which brought down the content price to as low as Rs 10. Due to this change, a developer can set the prices as low as Rs 10. The internet major had also introduced Gift Cards.
