Microsoft Africa partners with local operator to offer carrier billing in Kenya

Microsoft has teamed up with African mobile operator Safaricom to provide consumers residing in Kenya the means to purchase Windows Phone apps and games through their contract. This removes the requirement to have a credit card configured on a Microsoft account before being able to download content from the app store. Purchasing apps and games will add the displayed price to airtime balances or postpaid bills.

It's super easy to make purchases through carrier billing by selecting the payment option when purchasing content. Kunle Awosika, Microsoft Kenya country manager, commented on today's announcement:

"One of the contributing factors to the smart phones penetration has been the uptake of mobile apps that has transformed the way we interact however, users have had challenges in accessing the apps due to limited payment options."

Do note that it's reported that this functionality is limited to those with Lumia Windows Phones for the time being. Also, as is always the case, we strongly recommend a password be configured for purchases on a Microsoft account, just in case the phone is lost or stolen.

Source: Microsoft East Africa (Twitter), Mulika Mwizi, allAfrica

Thanks, NairobiWP, for the tip!