Skype credit can now be paid for on your mobile phone bill with a payment partnership launched today by MACH and payvia. The companies are integrating their carrier billing technologies to offer a worldwide mobile payment platform which they say is more secure, fast and convenient than credit card and premium SMS billing.

The browser-based payment option for Skype can be used by pay monthly or pay-as-you-go customers at no extra cost. It will initially be available in Russia, with the US and Canada soon to follow.

As part of the deal, MACH is launching its Direct Carrier Billing service in the US using payvia’s direct agreements with the main mobile operators, shortly followed by Canada and Russia. This will make it easier for developers, app stores, online merchants and other content providers to take payments, while customers will be able to pay for app, in-app and online purchases.

“As well as our existing users benefitting from this new payment option, we expect direct operator billing to attract new customers who are looking for more convenient ways to manage their spend,” said Jason Macklin, director of billing and payments at Skype. “Since the announcement of our partnership with MACH in September last year, we have seen direct operator billing gather momentum in North America and Russia, and we are looking forward to rolling the solution out in additional markets in the near future.”