In an interesting mash-up of disruptive technologies, Skype, the Microsoft-owned telephone service that lets users route calls over the Internet, has selected MACH as a direct carrier billing provider. Through MACH's services, Skype users will be able to purchase Skype Credits and place the charge on their mobile phone bills.

In effect, Skype calls, which disintermediate telcos and carriers, can now be paid for by using the billing statements sent out by telcos and carriers. 

The solution will go live in October and Skype users will be able to buy Skype Credits through a browser on PCs or mobile devices. In-app payment functionality through the Skype app will be rolled out soon as well.

With Skype Credits, Skype users, who can also route their calls through Skype's service on their mobile devices, will have a cheaper, easier option for making expensive international calls from their mobile devices to landlines or mobile phones. (Calls to other Skype users are free, even when placed from Skype's mobile application.) What's more, users who may not have access to a credit or bank account can buy credits, opening up the service in markets where financial inclusion is a problem but smartphone ownership isn't.

"MACH's strength in direct operator billing, as well as its heritage in delivering cloud-based communications solutions to over 650 operators, led us to select MACH as our first direct operator billing vendor," said Neil Ward, general manager for business operations at Skype. "Delivering a strong user experience has been at the heart of Skype's adoption by millions of users globally, and we want to extend this philosophy to the payment options we provide."

Ward said Skype expects the ease of payment to attract new users, while existing users will become more profitable customers as they increase their spend.

MACH CEO Morten Brøgger said his company's direct billing gateway gives the operators MACH works with the ability to enter the e-commerce value chain and start to win market share from the major credit card brands and companies.

"Being able to play in this value chain will be critical to raising operator revenues in the future and it's fantastic to have a high-profile merchant like Skype on board," Brøgger said.

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