Introduction

Multi-channel billing integrations help you achieve better service quality through seamless platform integration.

This type of integrations is leveraged for the use cases where the billing is controlled outside of Cleeng.

These integrations support in-app purchases, and can be used for carrier billing, and partner bundling, providing flexible billing solutions across multiple channels. Integrations include Apple In-App Purchase, Google Play Billing, Roku, Samsung TV, Amazon FireTV, carrier billing and soon also bundles with telcos, enabling subscribers to manage services through their preferred platforms.

Main Benefits

• Streamlined store integration process
  Multi-channel billing enables smoother and faster integration of various payment and subscription/pass sources. Adding new options for customers to subscribe and pay becomes a more efficient and straightforward process.
• Improved data accuracy
  Improvements related to multi-channel billing make it easier to monitor and validate the status of subscriptions or passes originating from external sources. Both platform administrators and customers gain enhanced visibility into subscription/pass activities, leading to improved transparency and better user experiences.
• Reliable ‘Source of truth’ for all subscriptions
  The new framework ensures consistency and compatibility across different sources. With the new framework, the logic specific to each store remains separate from Core , while entitlements and reporting are consolidated in the Cleeng platform. This leads to a more harmonious coexistence of diverse subscription sources, enabling a seamless experience for both the platform operators and end-users.

Cleeng-Managed vs Externally-Managed Purchases

Cleeng Core API was originally created to support purchases of offers where the whole lifecycle is under the control of Cleeng: for example, creation, renewal, and termination for subscription offers. Such standard purchases are called Cleeng-managed purchases.

Nowadays, integration of mobile apps, connected TVs, telco carriers, and other channels of distribution is one of the key challenges faced by OTT services. Cleeng harmonizes these different platforms with a unique API framework for synchronizing externally-managed purchases in our multi-channel subscriber business management.

OTT teams can now focus on building unified strategies across the whole business, adding channels when attractive opportunities emerge because Cleeng provides:

• a unified API for both Cleeng-managed and externally-managed purchases, so integration with the Cleeng platform is frictionless
• the ability for the Cleeng platform to reflect the state of subscriptions, passes, and payments where applicable, from a source other than Cleeng - making it a source of truth on par with Cleeng.

Note:

If a subscription originates from an external source, Cleeng is not a Merchant of Record.

Main Concepts

• Source - a system that manages subscriptions, passes and/or payments. It can be Cleeng, but also a partner or a third-party store.
• Externally-Managed Purchases - refer to subscriptions and other offer types managed by an external source (other than Cleeng).
  • If these are subscriptions, Cleeng does not trigger any lifecycle changes for them
  • All changes are triggered by an external source (through a Connector).
• Cleeng-Managed Purchases - refer to subscriptions and other offer types managed by Cleeng.
  • For subscriptions - most lifecycle changes depend on creating payments
  • Limited ability to adjust parameters of the subscription.

Comparison

Please see below for comparison of Cleeng-managed and externally-managed purchases.