Indian mobile operator, Reliance Communications, and mobile payment platform provider Fortumo today announced the launch of direct carrier billing in India. All Reliance Communications customers will be able to make purchases for digital content and games by charging the payments to their mobile bill or mobile prepaid account, according to a press release from Fortumo.

"Leading app stores and digital content merchants are very keen to launch direct carrier billing in India due to the quickly growing smartphone ecosystem," said Sanjay Sinha, country manager of Fortumo India. "Fortumo has emerged as one of the leaders in providing carrier billing in India. We are very excited to partner with Reliance to help launch app stores and merchants rapidly. Working with Fortumo reduces time to market and resources needed to launch carrier billing for both carriers and merchants."

While only 4 percent of people in India have access to credit cards, Fortumo's platform allows content partners to collect payments from any mobile phone owner, the release said. This can be done regardless of whether the consumer has a prepaid SIM card or a postpaid contract with their mobile operator.