U2opia launches DCB in Nigeria to help OTTs monetise a prepaid-first market

U2opia launches Direct Carrier Billing in Nigeria, enabling users to pay for digital services directly through their mobile network.

U2opia launches its DCB platform in Nigeria partnering with Airtel, MTN, and Glo, enabling OTT platforms to reach prepaid users through telecom-led payments.

NIGERIA, April 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- U2opia has launched its Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) platform in Nigeria, in partnership with Airtel, MTN, and Glo Nigeria, positioning telecom networks as an alternative payment layer for digital services in one of Africa’s largest mobile markets.

The move comes at a time when Nigeria’s digital consumption is growing rapidly, but payment infrastructure continues to lag behind user demand. With over 220 million mobile connections and a largely prepaid user base, a significant portion of consumers remain underserved by card-based and wallet-driven payment systems.

For OTT platforms, gaming companies, and digital merchants, this gap often translates into lower conversion rates and missed revenue opportunities.

U2opia’s DCB platform enables users to pay for digital services directly through their mobile airtime or postpaid billing, removing the need for cards or external payment apps. By integrating with telecom operators, the platform effectively turns mobile networks into payment rails.

“In markets like Nigeria, the constraint is not demand for digital services, it’s the ability to pay seamlessly,” said Sumesh Menon, Founder & MD of U2opia. “Carrier billing aligns with how users already transact, especially in prepaid ecosystems, and that makes it a powerful tool for improving conversion.”

Nigeria’s prepaid dominance makes it particularly well-suited for carrier billing models. Unlike card payments, which require additional onboarding and verification steps, carrier billing leverages existing telecom relationships, allowing users to transact using their mobile number.

This has implications for a wide range of digital services, from video streaming and gaming to education and subscription-based platforms, where small-ticket transactions are common and payment friction can significantly impact user behaviour.

The launch is also part of U2opia’s broader strategy to build a payments infrastructure layer across emerging markets. Beyond carrier billing, the company is working on integrating local payment methods and building a master aggregation layer that allows merchants to access multiple payment options through a single integration.

“DCB is one piece of a larger puzzle,” Menon said. “What merchants need is a unified way to access different payment methods across markets without managing multiple integrations. That’s where the industry is headed.”

For telecom operators, the model offers a way to monetise beyond connectivity. By enabling carrier billing, operators can participate more directly in the digital economy, capturing value from content and service transactions happening on their networks.

U2opia has built partnerships with telecom operators across Africa and Asia over the past decade, and is now leveraging that footprint to offer merchants a more scalable route to market expansion.

Nigeria marks the latest addition to that network, with further rollouts expected across other high-growth regions.

“Expansion into emerging markets has historically been complex for digital businesses, largely because of fragmented payment systems,” Menon said. “What we’re trying to do is simplify that, so entering a market like Nigeria becomes significantly easier.”

As digital adoption continues to rise across Africa, solutions that reduce payment friction could play a key role in shaping how quickly digital services scale, and who they are able to reach.

Kashika Mishra
U2opia Mobile Pte. Ltd.
+91 63872 80052
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