DCB spend to hit $78.5 bn in 2024, as raft of new use cases emerge around RCS and the agent model

Carrier billing (DCB) is having a moment: the German market is seeing it rolled out for bus ticketing – in conjunction with RCS – and even the mighty Deutsche Telekom is offering it in its online store as a payment agent for DIMOCO. Globally, too, DCB has exploded – and its rise is set to continue.

Data from Juniper Research shows that the global DCB market is set to be worth $78.5bn in 2024, rising a staggering 55% to $122bn in just three years’ time – double what it was worth in 2022. This will be driven by the 1.65bn users seen worldwide in 2024 rising to 1.8bn in the same time frame.

WHERE IN THE WORLD

The main driver for this growth continues to come from developing markets across MENA. Currently there are some 742mn DCB users in the region, set to hit 803mn by 2027, according to Statista. Here the explosion in the digital economy and a love of mVAS among a population that has very low bank account and card penetration has seen DCB rise to become a key payment tool.

A similar picture is being seen in the Indian subcontinent, which while not as big a market for DCB as MENA (yet), is set to see the fastest and largest growth in the next three years, logging a projected 37.7% CAGR on spend compared to 37.3% in MENA.

A rise in ecommerce across both India and MENA is also set to drive up DCB – and other alt. payment – spends in the coming years. Global ecommerce transactions could reach $11.4trn by 2029 – up from $7trn in 2024 – driven

by the adoption of ecommerce across emerging markets, finds Juniper Research. In these regions, it will be Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) that enable consumers in non-cardcentric markets to purchase online for the first time – and much of this to start with will be driven by DCB.

However, carrier billing isn’t just a payment tool popular in developing and evolving markets, they are also seeing a surge in use across more developed markets. This has been especially true of Germany. As we shall come to, the German DCB market is one of the most advanced in the world, leveraging new payment models and tying up with other tech such as RCS rich messaging to create some new and very interesting business models.

WHAT IN THE WORLD

Before we get to that, however, it is worth looking at what DCB is being used to buy. It comes as no surprise that digital games are, and will continue to be, the most important segment in the DCB market, with an estimation to reach $40.8bn of spend in 2027.

Due to the enormous popularity of mobile gaming worldwide and the fact that carrier billing is particularly well suited to facilitate payments in this vertical, digital games will continue to push the rise of DCB.

However, the way in which DCB is finding new outlets in developed markets is also going to be a strong driver of growth.

According to Juniper Research’s report, ticketing will be the fastest growing segment from 2024 to 2027. With Mobility as a key driver of this growth, ticketing will be one of the drivers of the evolution of the market.

Currently, the largest market worldwide for ticketing is North America, with tickets for events and travel tickets as a key opportunity for Carrier Billing, together with the digitisation of all tickets. However, Germany is perhaps at the forefront of developments in the this area, with Vodafone Germany teaming up with DIMOCO Payments and messaging company HORISEN to create the world’s first RCS powered bus ticketing system (see panel).

In the same line, physical goods will also be a segment to watch out in the coming years in

the DCB market, as they will account for 21% of the global spend by 2027 ($25.4 billion).

In the physical goods vertical, in regions such as Europe, being compliant with the PSD2 regulation is a must in order to be able to manage these transactions.

Already DIMOCO Payments is providing carrier billing (DCB) services to operator Telekom’s online shop in collaboration with Brodos, strengthening its partnership with Telekom and leveraging the Agent Model that has tempted DCB into being used much more widely.

With the DIMOCO Payments Agent Model, Telekom and Brodos can accept carrier billing payments for physical goods. This next step will allow customers to make friction-free purchases on a wide range of white goods and other products.

The Agent Model is a setup that allows MNOs to facilitate payments on behalf of consumers. It allows for greater flexibility and scalability in carrier billing, catering to a wider range of payment needs in today’s market.

Under the Agent Model, DIMOCO payments has the financial license and pays strict adherence to legal frameworks like PSD2 to ensure compliance and security.

DCB and RCS join forces in Germany

Vodafone Germany is working with messaging company HORISEN and leading billing company DIMOCO Payments to roll out the firstever public transportation ticketing concept using RCS (Rich Communication Services) and DCB (Direct Carrier Billing) in Germany. Powered by HORISEN’s Business Messenger Platform, the solution allows users to book public transportation tickets and pay directly through their phone bill – all this inside an RCS dialogue.

The process is quite simple: the user just scans the QR code at the bus stop, choose a tariff, selects carrier billing, and enjoys the ride, making public transport more accessible and convenient than ever.

The initiative is part of Vodafone Germany’s UPLIFT project, dedicated to exploring new innovation partnerships. By focusing on future topics like sustainability, data analytics and AI. Vodafone UPLIFT connects innovators with the resources and expertise needed to bring market-ready solutions to life.