Starting today you can buy apps, games, rent movies or buy e-books on Google Play Store with your mobile phone balance. How’s that possible? Google India has added “Carrier Billing” on Google Play Store India and Indian telecom operator Idea Cellular has first gone live in the service.
Popular in western countries the Carrier Billing on Google Play Store allows you to buy apps, games, and content on Google Play Store without the need of a Credit card or Debit Card. You can pay for the contents from your main phone balance for prepaid customers or added to your monthly phone bill for postpaid customers.
Currently, only Idea Cellular subscribers can utilize the service and they can pay for any purchase on Google Play using their talk time or main mobile phone balance.
Paying using Carrier Billing on Google Play is actually a very simple process. While making a purchase of an app or any content on Google Play Store, the customer can choose their telecom operator to pay the bill. In addition to the listed price, there will be some convenience fee added by the telecom operator.
Steps to add Idea direct Carrier Billing in Google Play Store
- Customer will need an Android device with an active Idea post-paid or pre-paid SIM in order to be able to purchase digital content through Google Play using DCB service.
- Navigate to Google Play Store app.
- Go to Account>Payment Methods>Add Payment Method.
- Select ‘Use Idea Billing’, an activation SMS will be sent free of charge.
- After verification, you need to save the payment method, thereby agreeing to Idea’s TOS.
Thereafter you can make a purchase of an app or any content on Google Play Store and choose the telecom operator to pay from your mobile balance.
There is also a refund option available for two hours from the time of purchase. This option is available directly from the purchase page within Google Play Store.
Benefits of Carrier Billing
- Buy apps, games and content from Google Play without the need of a credit card or debit card
- Works also with in-app purchases
- Pay with your main account balance or added to monthly bills
- Works with Apps, games, movies, magazines and e-books
The whole process is very simple and one need not worry about sharing their Credit Card or Debit Card. We hope Google Play Carrier Billing will get extended to other major India telecom operators including Airtel and Vodafone India in future.
If you are interested, here is the complete terms and condition that you must agree before adding the carrier payment mode.
Terms and Conditions for Direct Carrier Billing Service
Idea Subscriber (“You”), you will be charged an additional 16% convenience fees on purchase of any products from Google Play over & above listed price.
Idea MP Circle subscribers will be charged 5.4% convenience fees on purchase of any products from Google Play over & above listed price.
- Idea Cellular Limited (“Idea”) may offer its eligible customers the ability to pay for digital content purchased through Google Play through his/her Idea prepaid/postpaid account (Hereinafter referred to as “Direct Carrier Billing Service” or “DCB service”).
- Idea shall in its sole discretion decide whether or not to give you access to DCB service.
Eligibility
- Customer will need an Android device with an active Idea post-paid or pre-paid SIM in order to be able to purchase digital content through Google Play using DCB service.
Payment and spend limits
- Idea will charge a convenience fee which will be over and above the listed product price on Google Play.
- Idea will apply a default spend limit of INR 300 per transaction for the purchase of digital content through Google Play using DCB service. Should you wish to purchase digital content through Google Play at an amount greater than INR 300 per transaction, you will need to use another payment method.
- You agree and acknowledge that there may be some cases where the charges are debited from your account before the digital content is delivered to your device and you do not have any objection for the same.
- Idea will take reasonable steps to make DCB service available to you at all times, but it does not give any guarantee that it will provide DCB service to customer in a timely, continuous or fault-free manner.
- You can inform Idea about any errors or disputed charges billed to you using DCB service. Idea may if it deems fit, but is not obliged to, agree not to recover such charges from you. The decision of Idea in ascertaining the disputed charges shall be final and binding on you in such cases.
Digital content
- Idea is not and shall not be responsible or liable in any circumstances for any digital content bought by Customer through Google Play using DCB service. Idea does not promise or warrant the accuracy, suitability or quality, of such digital content from third party providers.
- Customer’s use of any digital content purchased using DCB service is covered by any terms imposed and communicated to him/her by the merchant of record for that application in Google Play or the developer of that application.
- Idea will take reasonable steps to deliver digital content bought by customer through Google Play using DCB service. However, Idea does not promise that it will deliver digital content in a timely, continuous or fault-free manner.
Complaints and refunds
- If customer has any complaints about any digital content, or want to apply for a refund, he/she shall initiate it through Google Play. Google Play’s refund policy will be applicable for refunds. The policy can be found at https://support.google.com/googleplay/. Idea will not be responsible in any event to the Customer for any kind of refund with respect to the digital content bought from Google Play.
General
- Customer must acknowledge and agree that Idea may cease to provide DCB service at any time without any notice to the Customer if its agreements with Google or with any merchant of record for Google Play end or for any other reason whatsoever. However. Idea may try to provide its Customers as much notice as possible before it ceases providing DCB service.
- Customer must use his / her device, our services and our networks in accordance with our Acceptable Use Policy.
- These Terms and Conditions are subject to Indian law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts in Mumbai.
- Idea Cellular Limited reserves the right to change, suspend, remove, or disable access to the Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) at any time within the realm of TRAI Guidelines and Directives as applicable. Further, it is notified that DCB Terms and Conditions shall be concomitantly read with terms and conditions of the Customer Application Form (CAF).
- The total liability of Idea, in any event, under this DCB Terms and Conditions, shall not exceed the actual amount excluding convenience fees which has been paid by you or which is payable by you (for digital content purchased through Google Play) or INR 300 per transaction (permissible limit) whichever is lower.
- Per transaction limit is subject to revision at sole discretion of Idea Cellular.