DCB & Mobile Money: Building the Future Through Co-Construction DCB & Mobile Money: Building the Future Through Co-Construction
At the Global Carrier Billing Summit & Mobile Payments Summit 2025 in Amsterdam, industry leaders shared a clear conviction: the future of Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) and Mobile Money depends on cooperation. These payment methods, once considered niche, are now central to digital economies across the world. They provide inclusion, security, and simplicity in the customer journey. But they can only achieve their full potential if operators, regulators, aggregators, technology enablers, and service providers align around a collective vision. This requires breaking down silos, addressing common challenges together, and shaping standards that make growth responsible and sustainable.
Repositioning DCB as a legitimate, compliant, and trusted payment method
One of the most essential challenges for the ecosystem is the need to reposition DCB. Too often, it is still perceived as a telecom feature rather than a financial-grade product. This perception undermines trust and prevents regulators, merchants, and consumers from seeing its full potential. The path forward is clear: stronger consent flows, real transparency, fraud prevention by design, and clear complaint-handling processes. DCB must be addressed in all aspects of other recognized payment methods. As Eric Tiberghien, COO of Digital Virgo, explains:
“The only way to make DCB and Mobile Money trusted and sustainable is through shared responsibility. Operators, regulators, and technology partners must align on compliance and user experience if we want this payment method to scale further.”
Bridging the airtime disconnect in the bundle economy
In prepaid markets, a new challenge has emerged: the decline of airtime as the foundation for payments. Users increasingly buy data and voice bundles rather than topping up traditional balances, leaving DCB disconnected from how people now consume mobile services. This disconnect risks limiting access to digital content and slowing down monetization. The solution lies in adaptation. Hybrid billing models, conversion tools, and flexible pricing can help bridge the gap. But for this to succeed, commercial alignment is essential across the entire ecosystem, including operators, aggregators, and content providers. Bundles must be seen as an opportunity to redesign DCB so it fits naturally into the evolving prepaid economy.
Making Mobile Money frictionless and scalable for Digital Content
Mobile Money has revolutionized financial access in emerging markets, enabling millions of unbanked users to transact and participate in the digital economy. Yet, when it comes to digital content, scaling remains difficult. Consent flows differ from one provider to another, recurring payments are not always possible, and interoperability between wallets is still limited. The result is fragmented user experiences that discourage adoption. To unlock its full potential, the industry must embraceco-construction. Telcos, fintechs, aggregators, and service providers need to work hand in hand to create smoother, more predictable journeys. Importantly, DCB and Mobile Money should be seen as complementary payment methods that together can expand access, improve choice, and provide merchants with the tools they need to reach diverse audiences.
Creating shared standards and alliances
The long-term growth of DCB and Mobile Money depends on clear, consistent, and enforceable standards. Fragmented rules create confusion, reduce consumer trust, and slow down adoption. Shared codes of conduct, regional alliances, and regulatory alignment can protect consumers and allow healthy competition to thrive. By focusing competition on content, innovation, and user experience rather than opaque practices, the ecosystem becomes stronger and more sustainable. As Guillaume Briche, CEO of Digital Virgo, notes:
“We cannot build the future of mobile payments in silos. Co-construction is the engine that will allow DCB and Mobile Money to deliver on their full potential, combining inclusion, security, and growth.”
Digital Virgo: leading the way
For Digital Virgo, these four priorities are not abstract. They shape our daily work with more than150 operators worldwide. By strengthening compliance, addressing the airtime disconnect, supporting the scalability of Mobile Money, and driving the creation of shared standards, we help create an ecosystem where both DCB and Mobile Money can flourish.
Our position as a leader in this ecosystem comes from our ability to connect local realities with global expertise, designing secure and scalable payment solutions that benefit operators, merchants, and end users alike.
The conclusion is clear: the future of DCB and Mobile Money will not be built in isolation. It will be built through cooperation and co-construction. Events like Global Carrier Billing Summit, hosted by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum, offer a real opportunity to bring the entire ecosystem together, create a shared space for dialogue, and generate momentum for everyone to work collaboratively in the same direction. And Digital Virgo is proud to stand at the forefront of this collective journey.
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