The deal will give subscribers to the streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa the option to pay through their mobile phone accounts DUBAI: Streaming service StarzPlay is partnering with Tpay, a payments platform in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, to offer customers the option to pay subscriptions through their mobile phone accounts. Tpay, which is working to expand its presence in the Middle East and North Africa region, said StarzPlay will be able to accept payments from up to 9 million viewers through direct carrier billing. “Partnering with StarzPlay strengthens our position as the region’s preferred payment-processing partner of choice for merchants, especially those in the streaming vertical and beyond,” said Isik Uman, Tpay’s group CEO. Initially the partnership will offer payment options for customers of Orange Tunisia, followed by Sudatel in Sudan and Chinguitel in Mauritania, with plans to add more mobile service providers in other countries in the region. Tpay’s platform is designed to “eliminate all the complexity of cross-border settlement” and provide “faster payment cycles, compliance, and risk management,” Uman added. The partnership will allow StarzPlay to “ensure a seamless and secure payment experience for our customers while continuing to expand our footprint in the region,” said Raghida Abou-Fadel, the company’s senior vice president of sales and business development.