The first-of-its-kind initiative in the Kingdom of Bahrain will now enable Zain customers to charge their app purchases including the latest applications and digital games from the store without a credit card by directly charging to their monthly post-paid bill or prepaid account. The launch of Zain Pay became possible because of a tight partnership between Microsoft, Zain and SLA Mobile, a global mobile solutions provider.

“The mobile digital world is thriving now with a new realm of content and applications enabling customers to enjoy the latest digital games, books and applications with a click of a button. With the launch of Zain Pay, we are giving customers a safe and simple way of performing in-store transactions in the palm of their hands,” said the General Manager of Zain Bahrain, Mr Mohammed Zainalabedin.

“The core of our strategy is to reinforce our dedication in providing Zain customers with innovative and added-value services. The Zain Pay service allows customers the best purchasing experience in a safe and easy manner,” he added.

With this payment option in place, customers do not need to use a credit card to pay for applications and content on Windows Phone Store and can enjoy the one-stop convenience of having all of their application purchases consolidated into their mobile bill or prepaid account.

“This is one of the first smartphone platforms in Bahrain with the direct operator billing facility. The usage of apps on smartphones has completely transformed the world’s mobile landscape. While we offer a huge variety of free and ‘freemium’ content on the Windows Phone Store, it is just as important for both developers and consumers to have quality paid-for content available as well. Microsoft has always worked towards making innovation affordable to everyone and with the partnership with Zain, we are elated to see our customers get to enjoy all the latest applications in a manner that is safe, secure and convenient,” said Vithesh Reddy, General Manager - Lower Gulf, Microsoft Devices.

Zain Bahrain’s mobile customers using Microsoft Lumia will need to choose the application they want to buy from the Windows Phone Store and then select the Zain Bahrain account option on the payment screen to continue with the transaction. The Zain Pay account will then be automatically set as the default option for all future purchases of applications and games.