LONDON – Direct carrier billing produces a conversion rate 10 to 14 times higher than credit card billing among consumers using mobile devices, a new study from Juniper Research and mobile messaging company DIMOCO asserts. In addition, content providers who move from solely credit card billing to a mixture of methods that relies heavily on carrier billing have seen average transaction values rise by more than 40 percent.

Although direct carrier billing for adult content and services is unavailable in the U.S. at present, the chunk of change up for grabs in Europe alone could represent a significant revenue stream for adult merchants worldwide. The European market for digital content is expected to nearly double during the next four years: from an estimated 15.8 billion euros in 2012 to almost 29 billion euros in 2017 on a handset penetration of more than 120 percent across the continent.

“The beauty of the direct carrier billing process lies in its simplicity and ubiquity,” noted Dr. Windsor Holden, Research Director for Juniper Research. “If enabled, it can be utilized by anyone with a mobile phone, allowing content providers to monetize digital content through the hundreds of millions of consumers who lack credit or debit cards, or who simply don’t want to register a card.

“Where carrier billing has been deployed, not only do conversion rates rise sharply, but there is a marked increase in average transaction values,” he added.

The research report, released Dec. 4, includes data and recommendations based on real-world behaviors observed during trial campaigns, in addition to prognostications about future market potential.

The complete report, “Is mobile operator payment the ideal payment method for digital content?[/url]” is available as a free download here.