Facebook partners with Bango for mobile payments through your carrier bill

Pretty soon, all our online and real-world purchases could be paid through our carrier bills. Bill shock, anyone? (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

Not all mobile manufacturers have embraced NFC technology for mobile payments. But even without NFC or any other wireless tap-to-pay method, alternative payment systems are becoming popular among mobile platforms and mobile users. Facebook, for one, has launched a service through which mobile users can pay for online goods using their mobile phone bill.

The service, powered by Bango, currently works for online goods bought through Facebook, such as online game credits and other content. With the new service, users can pay for online content without traditional payment methods like credit cards or through premium SMS messages. Users get to pay through their carrier bills.
This piece of news is particularly good for developers who build apps for mobile platforms (in particular through Facebook). Bango says it has a 77% conversion rate, compared to traditional cellular billing gateways at 40%. This means developers have a better potential from earning from their mobile apps’ in-app or in-game content through the system.
The service has launched in the U.S., UK and Germany, and the companies involved say they will be rolling out the payment functionality to more countries within the year.
For Facebook, it’s one way to remain relevant in the increasingly mobile world. But going beyond in-app content, Facebook and Bango do have plans to bring their mobile payment system to the real world, giving users the ability to pay for point-of-sale or online shopping purchases through their carrier bills.

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