Samsung Electronics today announced operator billing integration for its Samsung App Store in India. The company has partnered with two Indian telecom operators Vodafone & Aircel, to offer operator billing to Indians and it is available for both prepaid & postpaid customers. Samsung App store comes pre-installed on all Galaxy devices, so all owners of Galaxy devices take advantage of operator billing for app downloads. It is available from May 1st, 2014 and Google is yet to launch operator billing for the Google Play Store in India.
Regarding the tie-up, Tarun Malik, Director of Media Solutions Center-South West Asia, Samsung Electronics, said,
“We are excited to partner with India’s major telecom operators for this unique integration. This exclusive tie-up on Samsung App store further showcases our commitment to providing the best service experience to our customers. Given the poor credit card penetration in the country, we are positive that this move will be welcomed by customers. It is another step forward to expand our engagement with the publisher and developer community by enhancing adoption as well as monetization from the store.”
Commenting on their partnership with Samsung, Vivek Mathur, Chief Operating Officer, Vodafone India said,
“With the growth of smartphones and mobile internet, people are increasingly showing more interest in mobile apps and content services. This partnership will provide Vodafone customers ready access to the Samsung App Store with the convenience of operator billing. The limited penetration of credit cards makes this service a huge convenience for customers who can now use their Vodafone account to purchase apps and content.”
Commenting on the partnership with Samsung, Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel said,
“With a low penetration of mobile application purchase through credit cards, there is need for telecom operators to play a significant role in order to improve customers’ mobile usage experience. Aircel is delighted to partner with Samsung, with an objective to offer its customers the convenience and flexibility to buy paid applications through the operator billing system. Through this service, Aircel customers will easily be able to download any application without worrying about the mode of payment.”
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