Direct carrier biller mopay has announced the results of a new study it conducted on consumers' spending behavior using direct carrier billing. According to the study, mobile payments traffic from direct-to-carrier billing experienced a four-fold increase during the three-year period covered in the study. Average spend for direct-carrier-billing purchases ranged from $2 for various mobile-related services to $10 or more for special interest social networking or entertainment offers.

Among the study's other findings, more than half of direct-carrier-billing purchases were made by returning customers. Additionally, of repeat users of mopay's payment method, conversion rates ranged between 70 percent and 85 percent.

"Based on our data it's clear that consumers are embracing direct-to-carrier billing as a way to make payments quickly and easily for the online services they use every day," said Kolja Reiss, managing director at mopay.

Reiss said the fact that half of direct-to-carrier billing purchases were made by returning customers shows that consumers who try the payment approach find it easy and continue to use it.

"As more organizations adopt direct-to-carrier billing and consumers realize this option exists, we anticipate these numbers will continue to rise in the future," Reiss said.

Direct carrier billing enables consumers to charge purchases for digital goods directly to their monthly phone bills. It's particularly popular in social media and gaming markets where younger consumers may not have access to bank and credit card accounts. The mopay study found that direct carrier billing for gaming and social media increased 30 percent year-over-year during the survey period.

The study's findings were based on more than four million transactions during a three-year period. These transactions were carried out by more than 300 mopay clients in 80 countries.