Apple rolls out carrrier billing to Russia

They may bypass card schemes (not always a good idea), but the funds are still coming from the same source (bank a/c or card on file - which is often linked to that very bank a/c anyway), whether you use V/MC, smoke signals or pigeon post. If Apple wants to be useful in payments, they should apply for a bank licence. However, that won't work as they are good with UX, but are crap with CS (Customer Service).

Mr. Peschkoff,

Good points and I have one question: what is UX? And one comment: my experience with Apple has been excellent - above and beyond really when dealing with an Apple store, by phone or by email. 

User Experience. Call Apple and ask them what is the warranty period for their products in the EU. Then Google EU law on that... Another example: millions of users have been asking FOR YEARS for full flexible parental control on iPads. Did Apple listen?.. Actually, that nails it: as Jobs said "it's my job to tell users what they need/want". Hard to build good CS on that basis.

Thank you for the quick reply!

Obviously a bit of a difference in geography as I'm a Yank and I have no complaints (I'll take what Mr. Jobs provides when the alternative is the Android mess trying to be everything to everyone ...updates are a nightmare plus malware issues. It's all a trade-off and what is important to you. I have friends who swear by Android - I've used their phones and they have their good and bad points). As for the parental controls, that is huge. However, I make it a point to limit the wireless access at the router level ...and only at specified times plus there is an app we installed ...can't think of the name. (My parents had it easier - they just turned off the television and told me to go outside.) There is always a way.

Maybe it's only me but I see a mixup of Apple's role between this and Apple Pay. Here, Boku is the PSP (not Apple Inc., which is the Merchant). In Apple Pay, Apple Inc. is the PSP. IMO, a more appropriate headline would be "Boku rolls out carrier billing for Apple iTunes in Russia".

As for bypassing credit cards, Boku is the one doing that, not Apple. To paraphase a line from Boku's website, "Apple isn't interested in payments. It's interested in iTunes sales". Like Boku, Zong started off as a 100% MNO direct billing platform. However, as I'd highlighted in Banks Have Nothing To Fear From TELCOs, Zong achieved real traction only after it allowed credit cards to be used as the funding source. There's no saying that Boku won't follow the same path soon. Then we're back to the good old banking rails.