Let’s be honest – nobody grows up dreaming of a career in compliance. It’s not glamorous. It doesn’t get the headlines. And when it does, it’s usually because something’s gone wrong. 

But behind the scenes it can be quite exciting… In the world of Direct Carrier Billing (DCB), compliance is quietly doing the heavy lifting. It’s the difference between a market that grows sustainably and one that implodes under the weight of complaints, fines, and bad actors. It’s not just about avoiding disaster – it’s about creating the conditions for long-term success. 

From Firefighting to Forward Thinking 

I’ve worked in and around compliance for a long time, across multiple markets and regulatory frameworks. And if I had a pound for every time I was brought in after a problem had emerged – well, I probably wouldn’t be writing this article. 

Reactive compliance tends to follow a familiar pattern: 

• A spike in complaints 

• Some misleading or downright fraudulent behaviours 

• A regulator raises the alarm 

• Suddenly, everyone’s scrambling to shut the stable door long after the horse has bolted. 

We’ve seen it happen time and time again. A market opens up, grows quickly, and attracts providers looking to make the most of it. But without robust oversight, even those setting out with the best intentions can get dragged down by a race to the bottom they never meant to join. And before long, a few bad journeys ruin it for everyone – including the mobile operators, aggregators, and CSPs who were doing things the right way. 

The New Reality: Compliance as a Product Decision 

But things are changing. Regulatory expectations are rising. Consumers are savvier. And smart businesses are realising that compliance isn’t just a back-office checkbox – it’s a product design principle. 

It shows up in the user flow. In the clarity of language. In the accuracy of billing descriptions. In how consent is gathered, verified, and stored. It’s embedded from the very first click – not bolted on after the campaign is live. 

And when you build compliance into your product and service design, the benefits go far beyond ‘not getting fined’. You get: 

• Fewer complaints (obviously) 

• Higher conversion (surprisingly often) 

• More trust from partners and regulators 

• More stable revenue, with fewer unexpected pauses or suspensions 

One of the most common myths I hear is that good compliance kills creativity. But from what I’ve seen, it’s the opposite. Some of the best-performing campaigns we’ve tested are the ones that built compliance into the brief. Clearer messaging. Smarter journeys. Better outcomes for everyone. 

Collaboration Over Control 

Of course, none of this happens in a vacuum. DCB and mVAS is a complex ecosystem. No single party – not the operator, not the platform, not the regulator – can tackle compliance alone. 

That’s why collaboration matters. 

At MCP, we work closely with parties across the value chain, as well as the industry bodies such as the Mobile Ecosystem Forum and AIMM in the UK, who are helping to facilitate this collaboration. These bodies are playing a growing role in helping the industry move from rules-based policing to shared accountability – where everyone in the value chain contributes to a cleaner, more transparent market. 

Codes of conduct. Complaint-handling frameworks. Pre-live testing. Real-time monitoring. It’s not about creating bureaucracy – it’s about removing friction and enabling responsible growth. 

That’s exactly the conversation we’ll be having at next week’s Global Carrier Billing panel: Redefining Compliance – From Reactive Policing to Proactive Design. I’ll be joining industry leaders from MEF, AIMM, af2m, Etis, and the Dutch regulator to explore how we move compliance from an afterthought to a design principle. 

And look, I know compliance isn’t always the most exciting thing to talk about at a conference. But if we want to keep this industry growing, if we want to keep consumers engaged and regulators on side, then we’ve got to treat compliance for what it really is: a growth enabler. 

The Compliance Takeaway 

As we look ahead, the challenge – and the opportunity – is clear. Let’s stop treating compliance like an afterthought. Let’s embed it into design, into partnerships, into the way we launch and scale services. Not because we have to. But because it works. 

And yes, because it keeps me in a job too.