Amazon customers with an NTT DOCOMO or KDDI (au) mobile phone account can now pay for the Amazon Prime membership fee, either monthly or annually by charging the cost to their mobile phone bill. At the same time, students in Japan can now use this new payment method to pay for their annual membership fees to the Prime Student programme. 

Adding carrier billing as a payment option increases choice for customers in Japan, making it easy to complete purchases. Selecting this payment method enables instant purchase completion, without needing to register card details online. Bango technology ensures reliability, security and customer success when paying with carrier billing.

“An amazing range of goods and services can now be purchased through the phone bill in Japan," said Ray Anderson, Bango CEO. “The Bango Platform ensures global retailers can offer these customers the trust and transparency they want from a payment method, and can deliver this at scale…"

Charging online payments to a phone bill is a widely-adopted payment method in Japan, where mobile usage is deeply embedded into business and culture. The payment method opened-up to purchase goods on Amazon.co.jp at the start of June, greatly increasing the range of products that can be charged to the phone bill by KDDI and NTT DOCOMO customers, who cover around 75% of all mobile subscribers in Japan (Telecommunications Carriers Association, Japan, 2016).

To use this payment option, a KDDI or NTT DOCOMO user simply adds carrier billing as a payment option in their Amazon.co.jp account and then purchases can be made from their mobile phone, with the cost charged to their post-paid phone bill.