Ooredoo Myanmar, a telecom provider in Myanmar, has announced a direct carrier billing partnership with Fortumo, according to a press release. 

All Ooredoo customers can now make payments for digital content including app stores, streaming services and games by charging purchases to their mobile account. This is the second market where Fortumo has teamed up with Ooredoo, having launched carrier billing in Indonesia with the mobile operator in August 2016.

Fortumo noted in the release that Myanmar is a growing digital economy, with 70 percent of people owning a mobile device (according to GSMA Intelligence) and 97 percent of internet browsing originating from mobile devices (according to On Device Research). The recent boom in smartphone ownership is a result of the Ministry of Transport and Communication opening up the country's telecommunications market.

While smartphone penetration is growing rapidly, bank card ownership in the country is below 2 percent (according to World Bank) which means the majority of people cannot make online payments.