As mobile apps across all major platforms continue to flourish, a missing link has been a comprehensive mobile billing solution that works across all of them.  Bango today released a solution to hopefully fill that void with its new in-app billing solution that works seamlessly across Nokia/Symbian, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and iPhone.

The new solution is completely open, giving developers complete control over the experience from how they charge consumers to pricing and currency, allowing them to sell content, virtual goods and add-ons from within their app, opening up a wide range of commercial opportunities no matter the platform they’re using.

App developers can collect one-time payments or start ongoing subscriptions within their app using operator billing, credit cards or even PayPal.  The goal is to provide consumers a simple and consistent application payment experience on operator networks as well as over Wi-Fi.  The new solution is aimed at developers who would rather have greater control over in-app billing and purchases, rather than relying on app stores to provide the functionality.

A recent study by Bango itself found that 45% of developers plan to monetize their apps directly, outside of app stores, making the case even stronger for an independent third-party solution.  Though Apple and Google will undoubtedly launch their own in-app billing solutions that are tightly integrated with their corresponding app stores, as more and more platform become popular for development, a third-party solution that works across all of them will become more attractive.

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A new survey conducted by ABI research found that in most developed areas of the world, person-to-person mobile payments aren’t of much interest to consumers.

The survey, conducted in November 2009 in seven countries on three continents, found consistently low levels of interest in making person-to-person payments via the mobile phone.  The survey polled subscribers, equally divided by gender, in Germany, France, the UK, the US, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.  In all, about 200 respondents participated from each country.

The overall results showed that only 16% of Western Europeans surveyed considered themselves “extremely” or “very” interested in mobile P2P payments, while in the United States, the percentage was only 9%.  Consumers in the three Asia Pacific countries showed much greater interest, however, at 34% overall.  “It’s tough to make a convincing case for mobile P2P in most developed markets,” explained senior analyst Mark Beccue.  ”We believe it will have minimum impact in these markets because some forms of electronic P2P such as PayPal have operated there for several years with relatively low market penetration; and because these markets boast extensive ATM and banking networks, giving consumers easy access to cash to conveniently conduct P2P transactions.”

In developing markets, however, the results would be far different, says Beccue.  “In parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America which generally lack good tools for convenient P2P transactions other than face-to-face, mobile payment methods will be huge.”

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Roamware, although making no formal announcements at MWC thus far, divulged its plans in regards to mobile payments and mobile finance in general in an interview with GoMo News today.

Roamware built its business by partnering with operators — 418 total in over 150 countries to be exact — to provide roaming solutions, but has plans to parlay its reach and knowledge into the realm of mobile payments.  The largest problem facing mobile finance today is the interoperability issues between carriers, making mobile payments, for example, hard to accomplish on large scale.

With its knowledge in working with carriers around the world, Roamware has plans to introduce technology that carriers can utilize to “be able to do the job themselves, and do it well.”  In other words, Roamware doesn’t have plans to introduce its own solution, but will aim to provide the necessary technology to help bring everything together from an operator’s point of view.

Battling security issues and heavy worldwide regulation placed on international money transfers, Roamware is in the process of building a so-called “airtime transfer hub,” which when complete and secure, will allow operators to build upon to bring mobile payments closer to mainstream reality.  Though the solution is far away from being complete, it’s an aggressive initiative by a company who’s in a prime position to take the problem head-on.  Though you’ve likely never heard of Roamware before, you’ll no doubt be hearing a lot more from them in the near future.

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A new survey conducted by Luth Research on behalf of the MMA found that 17% of adults in the US utilize mobile banking, with usage growing to 22% by next year.  Mobile commerce in general is a hot topic at the moment, and consumer interest in the technology is growing rapidly.

The survey gathered input from more than 1,000 US-based adult consumers, a sample large enough to provide a statistically accurate snapshot of the entire US adult population, and found that 92% of respondents said they own a cell phone and 19 percent of that subset currently do banking with their phone- an amount equivalent to 17 percent of all US adult consumers.

How users interact with mobile banking came as surprise, with the survey revealing that most utilize a mobile Web browser (11%), followed by SMS (8%) and mobile apps (5.5%).  While most, including myself, think mobile apps would be the most common channel to access mobile banking, it’s the mobile browser that’s still on top.  Over the next year, however, SMS mobile banking usage is estimated to remain flat, while mobile-Web-based banking is expected to rise to 14%, followed by mobile apps at 8.5%.

From a marketing standpoint, having users gain interest in mobile banking — and becoming comfortable with the idea — means more opportunities for mobile commerce-oriented and transactional-based marketing techniques.  “The data provides clear evidence that mobile is becoming a viable platform for banking,” said Jacqueline Rosales, evp of business development and client service at Luth Research.  “The task at hand for marketers in mobile banking is to migrate consumers from engaging in primarily informational services such as checking account balances to using transaction oriented services.”

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Ok, I will admit I have never worked for a carrier and I don’t know their future plans for mobile commerce, but I do know one thing:  carriers love money and they do a good job at taking way too much of it. Yes, premium SMS is a multi-billion dollar industry and it’s made a lot of carriers good money, but could it have been even bigger? Premium never really took off for SMBs and, let’s face it, there are millions more smaller businesses than bigger ones. You had to be a big player like Disney or Universal to really make money with content like ringtones and wallpaper. The carriers typically take 50% of the revenue generated from premium content; as a result, it didn’t allow many people to jump in the game. Overall , I don’t think we have seen the mass adoption that premium could have made if it was less expensive to get in. Of course, the premium SMS scandals that took place didn’t help either. There were a number of unscrupulous companies that would get consumers locked into premium monthly subscriptions with no way out.  As a result, there were quite a few lawsuits and consumer confidence was damaged.

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A new startup out of Palo Alto, CA has the unique intention of utilizing social media “virtual currency” to allow users on Facebook to complete third-party offers in exchange for free pre-paid wireless airtime.

The startup, Embee Mobile, has launched a Facebook application dubbed “Embee Mobile Minute Wallet,” whereby mobile subscribers can earn, spend, manage and share prepaid mobile credits and “top-up” when they’re running low by completing various offers and surveys, shopping at predetermined Online retailers, watching movie trailers and product commercials and more within the Facebook app.

When users login to the Embee dashboard on Facebook, they can click the “Paycheck” tab to be taken to all available third-party offers.  Once complete, the so-called “virtual currency” is credited to that user, and once enough has been accrued, the user can redeem for pre-paid minutes on most of the national well-known pre-paid mobile providers.  So far, Embee works with 30 US-based pre-paid providers, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Virgin and others.

The service is aimed squarely at frugal pre-paid mobile subscribers willing to fill out surveys and quizzes to save money on airtime, and the company itself was founded by a group of students at UC-Berkley’s Hass School of Business.  Nearly one-fifth of mobile subscribers in the U.S. are prepaid, and the total U.S. prepaid market is estimated to be worth $15.8 billion.  Frugality is a major attribute to many consumers in this market, and Embee is attempting to capitalize on it.

Utilizing Facebook as a distribution platform was a smart strategic move on Embee’s part.  Utilizing the social aspect and integrating virtual currency — that in itself has gained massive popularity on Facebook — will most likely prove very popular with users.  Though still very much in its infancy, Embee will be one to keep an eye on.

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Today’s announcement of the Apple iPad ushered in a new wave of mobile technology unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time, and with it came unrivaled potential for mobile marketers and advertisers to explore new possibilities.

When the iPhone debuted, it presented a simplistic approach to otherwise complex mobile technologies.  Browsing the Web was no longer a tedious process, transferring media was never simpler, and with the introduction of the App store, extending the utility and functionality of the device was never more simple.  With such mass-market appeal, users came in droves, and the massive ecosystem we see today was created based on that approach.

Apple has taken the same initiatives with the iPad- bringing the simplistic approach of the iPhone, combined with the processing power of larger laptop computers, to create a device that would appeal to just about anyone.  The iPad, and tablet devices in general, are an entirely new segment of mobile technology, and with it comes endless opportunities for brands to engage users in brand new ways.

The iPhone opened new possibilities in the areas of mobile advertising, branded mobile apps, in-app advertising and content distribution in general.  Adding iTunes-based payments to the mix created the vibrant ecosystem we see today, and that success will parlay into the iPad as well- with a larger screen to engage users further.

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