The value of end-user spend on digital goods via carrier billing is expected to exceed $74bn by 2026, a significant increase from $54bn in 2022, according to a report from Juniper Research.
Carrier billing involves users charging payments for digital and physical goods to their mobile phone bill.
In its new research, ‘Carrier Billing: Opportunities, Challenges & Market Forecasts 2022-2026’, claims the majority of the revenue increase will be caused by gaming spend. It states the sector will account for over 50% of digital goods spend via carrier billing in 2026.
The dominance will be driven by accelerating monetisation strategies, including 5G cloud gaming and gaming subscription models.
As a result, Juniper Research states carrier billing vendors must prioritise partnerships with leading gaming platforms, including emerging cloud gaming players, so they can survive.
Another finding of the report is that operator-billed carrier billing revenue attributable to digital goods will reach $11bn globally by 2026, up from $8bn in 2022. The research also found that the high costs per transaction as a limiting factor for carrier billing payments versus card and digital wallet payments.
Research co-author Nick Maynard said, “In the face of a rapidly accelerating digital transformation within payments, operators can be in the driver’s seat for reaching potential users, given their access to existing subscribers. Leveraging this subscription base is critical to accessing this potential revenue source.”
Another finding in the report are that physical goods spend its increasing much quicker in carrier billing than for digital goods; at a rate of 270% over the next 4 years.
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