The mobile payments provider Boku is set to enter the Indian market with its acquisition of Qubecell, one of that country's leading direct carrier billers. The deal was announced today. Terms were not disclosed.

Boku said the deal connects it with four of India's largest carriers and makes it the country's largest provider of direct carrier billing, capable of reaching 75 percent of the country's mobile subscribers, an estimated 550 million users.

Boku Chief Business Officer Jon Prideaux told The Wall Street Journal that the company's challenge is turning those potential users into actual users. Carrier billing, in which mobile subscribers charge items to their monthly phone bill, has typically been used to pay for virtual goods. For the space to mature, carrier billers such as Boku will seek to move beyond virtual goods to physical goods.

Many Indian citizens have mobile phones but no bank account. "India is a tremendously important market for direct carrier billing," Prideaux said in a news release. "What Qubecell has built and the market leadership position they've acquired in such a short time is extremely impressive. ... Our plan is to leverage the resources built by Qubecell to create a regional hub for our company's global operation that will provide support for our merchant and carrier customers across Asia, the Middle East and Australia, while helping to continue our expansion into the emerging markets."

Qubecell employees will join the Boku organization, which totals 115 employees, with founder and CEO Ranjan Reddy becoming part of the Asian leadership team.

San Francisco-based Boku was founded in 2009, and its investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures, New Enterprise Associates and Telefónica.

The company operates in 70 countries with more than 270 carriers. It acquired Paymo and Mobilcash as part of its initial launch. Customers include Facebook, Electronic Arts, Sony, Spotify, Deezer and PassPort Parking.

Learn more about direct carrier billing.