Boku has announced that direct carrier billing subscriptions for music streaming service Spotify, which launched in Japan in September, are now available across the country's three largest carriers, according to a press release.

In partnership with KDDI, Softbank and NTT Docomo, more than 158 million mobile subscribers can now use their mobile phone as a payment option for their Spotify Premium subscriptions. This marks the Japanese launch of Boku’s Phone-on-File technology, which enables merchants to manage renewal charges on a user's mobile account in the same way as with cards.

"Japan is the world’s second largest music market and no alternative payment method has proved more effective at monetizing Japanese consumers online than carrier billing," said Jon Prideaux, CEO of Boku. "Our partnership with Spotify and the three largest carriers in Japan is a massive win for all parties in terms of revenue growth, new subscriber acquisition, and consumer satisfaction. These new carrier agreements not only speak to the global appeal of Spotify's streaming music service, but also to the continued growth of carrier billing's popularity in all parts of the world as a preferred form of payment."