Carrier Billing’s New Friends May Prove To Be PF Good Fortune

Carrier billing is hardly a new concept, but some coverage has focused on renewed carrier billing efforts from the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Google. Part of the reason that carrier billing has not, thus far, gone very far is that most consumers trust their carriers less than a convicted child molester politician. But carrier trust and likability aside, carrier billing has—on paper—a lot going for it. And payment facilitators are uniquely positioned to benefit from this move.

Carrier billing sidesteps some security concerns because the payment details reside with a company that already has them. Although that's certainly not risk-free, it's a zero increase in risk. More precisely, it's less risky than turning over payment credentials to an unknown merchant for a one-time transaction, especially if it's a faceless e-commerce site. From the merchant's perspective, there is the potential for much lower fees as interchange—in the traditional sense—is gone, especially if the consumer pays that carrier bill via check or, much more likely, ACH.