Voice over IP service Skype has announced the first countries where customers will be able to use its direct mobile operator billing option. This will let customers pay for Skype credit by charging it to their mobile phone account.
The facility has just been launched in Russia and will soon be enabled in the USA and Canada as well.
Skype’s mobile payment option is being enabled by operator billing specialist MACH in partnership with payment provider payvia.
Jason Macklin, Director of Billing and Payments for Microsoft's Skype Division, said “We are proud of our heritage in delivering a strong user experience and are pleased that our direct operator billing payment option is now live! As well as our existing users benefitting from this new payment option, we expect direct operator billing to attract new customers who are looking for more convenient ways to manage their spend. Since the announcement of our partnership with MACH in September last year, we have seen direct operator billing gather momentum in North America and Russia, and we are looking forward to rolling the solution out in additional markets in the near future.”
Director operator billing from Skype was originally expected to be rolled out from October 2012.