Google sunsets Play Store carrier billing program, with US Cellular bowing out

Summary

A Google support document reveals that US Cellular is discontinuing its support for Play Store carrier payments.
US Cellular’s departure signals the end of Google’s Play Store carrier billing partner program — at least in its current incarnation.
Users have until March 31, 2026, to switch to an alternative payment option such as credit card or PayPal.

Following in the footsteps of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, American phone carrier US Cellular is discontinuing its participation in Google’s Play Store carrier billing initiative. This policy change is effective as of March 25, 2025, though existing users can continue to leverage carrier billing up until a cutoff date of March 31, 2026.

While no official press release has been made by either US Cellular or Google, the latter company’s Play Store Help portal has been updated with confirmation of this development.

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Google isn’t only a smartphone maker, it also provides it’s own cellular network that works with Android phones and iPhones.

Google’s Play Store carrier billing program was pitched as a streamlined method for making digital purchases within the company’s Android app storefront. The idea is that customers can select their cellular carrier as an accepted method of payment, and have their purchases billed through their carrier at the end of every month.

Over the past couple of years, US carriers have been opting to bow out of Google’s Play Store billing program altogether. US Cellular stood as the final hold-out carrier still participating in the initiative — its discontinuation as a supported payment method marks the end of US carrier-based billing on the whole.

Google Play Store

Google Play has the most comprehensive app and game selection on Android phones, with over 3.5 million options to choose from.

Google’s Play Store carrier billing program bites the dust

The carrier billing era has come to an end, but there are other payment options available to choose from

Thankfully, there are plenty of alternative methods available for purchasing digital content from the Google Play Store. If you own an Android phone and have access to an active Google Account, you can link your credit card for fast-tracked single-time and subscription-based payments.

Alternatively, you can set up your Play Store purchases to be billed through PayPal or Cash App, and pre-paid Google Play gift cards are readily available for purchase in most big-box retail settings.

For more details on available Play Store payment options, Google provides an in-depth support document
on its official Help page
.

Google is advising US Cellular customers to switch from carrier billing to an alternative method of payment in advance of the March 31, 2026 cutoff date, in order to ensure a hitch-free transitional period.

It’s unfortunate to see carrier-based Play Store billing being phased out in the US, as more payment options are generally a good thing. That being said, the program still exists outside of America — for the time being, Canadian carrier Telus remains an active participant in Google’s mobile phone billing initiative.