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CarrierBillingCheckOut API Description

CarrierBillingCheckOut API Description

Owned by Alberto Ramos Monaga
Last updated: yesterday at 9:14 pm
3 min read

API Description

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) is a payment method that allows users to charge digital and physical purchases to their mobile phone bill or prepaid balance. It is widely used in digital services, gaming, and subscriptions but is also expanding to other industries.

The โ€œCarrier Billingโ€ API initiates and confirms purchase transactions associated to a mobile line (MSISDN). During the checkout process the shopper selects the carrier billing payment option and authorizes the merchant to initiate the payment request to the carrier (provider of the mobile line). It also helps to handle pre-authorization for subscriptions. This API requires 3-legged authentication.

There are two ways to use the API defined in CAMARA:

  • 1-STEP Payment: This payment process is completed in a single phase (one action), where all the OB Carrier Billing Systems verify and initiate the charging request against billing systems.

  • 2-STEP Payment: The payment is executed in two phases (two actions). The first action involves a payment preparation request that encompasses all necessary preparations or validations required prior to initiating the payment transaction. The second action requires explicit confirmation or cancellation of the payment by the user. Any payment not confirmed or canceled by the user within a specified time is discarded to maintain consistency in the billing systems.

Use Cases

Direct Carrier Billing and the Carrier Billing API enable shoppers to use their mobile phone number to purchase certain types of products and services, e.g.:

Digital goods & subscriptions

  • App stores & digital content

  • Gaming (in-game purchases, virtual currencies)

  • Streaming services

  • E-books & online courses

  • Cloud storage

Physical goods & services

  • Public transport & micromobility (bus tickets, scooter rentals)

  • E-commerce purchases (low-ticket items, event tickets)

  • Vending machines & parking payments

  • Food delivery & quick commerce

Carrier-specific services

  • Value-added services (news, insurances, ringtones, horoscope services)

  • Charitable donations (via SMS)

  • 5G-enabled enterprise services (IoT billing, cloud services)

Benefits

For shoppers:

  • Convenience โ€“ No need for a credit card; payments are frictionless.

  • Security โ€“ No sensitive financial data shared with merchants.

  • Accessibility โ€“ Works for unbanked users and prepaid customers (upon criteria of mobile operator).

  • Speed โ€“ One-tap checkout experience.

  • Global reach โ€“ Available where traditional payment methods are limited.

For Merchants:

  • Higher conversion rates โ€“ No need for user registration or card input.

  • Wider audience โ€“ Access to unbanked and younger demographics.

  • Lower fraud risk โ€“ Transactions are tied to a carrier account. Carriers may apply eligibility filters to mobile subscribers to maximize confidence in shoppers.

  • Recurring payments support โ€“ Ideal for subscriptions.

  • Alternative revenue channel โ€“ Particularly for digital content providers.

API Portfolio: Payments and Charging

SubProject Wiki: Carrier Billing CheckOut
(incl. how to meet the team)

API Wiki: Carrier Billing

API Repository: Carrier Billing CheckOut

API Repository Status: Sandbox

API Status: Initial

API Version(s) and Release Date(s):

  • v0.2.1 (06.03.2024)

  • v0.3.1 (23.11.2024), Fall24 meta-release

  • v0.4.0 (11.03.2025), Spring25 meta-release

API availability: Information which APIs are available in which country and network, and how to get access can be found on the GSMA public launch status page.

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