Facebook have enhanced their payments platform further by offering users the option to purchase Facebook credits with their mobile phone. The mobile payments functionality is provided by Zong payments. Erin McCune from PaymentViews.com has published a detailed post on Facebook mobile payments. This post includes screenshots of each step of the process for buying Facebook credits with your mobile.

Mobile payments are expensive and are only useful for virtual goods. Depending on the country, the mobile carrier will take between 25% and 50%. As a result, if you buy Facebook credits with your credit card, one credit will cost you ten cents. If you buy with your mobile they will cost you twenty cents for one credit.

Buying Facebook credits via mobile is significantly more expensive than using a credit card but the mobile payment options makes its more accessible. Those who do not have access to a credit card may be willing to pay this premium. What is next for Facebook payments? Could we see them offer PayPal as a form of payment for Facebook credits?

Dave

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In June we blogged about Facebook testing their micro payments platform that allows users to Pay with Facebook credits within Facebook applications. Facebook have evolved their payments platform further. They are now testing the integration of virtual gifts and physical merchandise from third party vendors into the Facebook gift store. There are four developers involved in this phase of testing: American Greetings Interactive, GreetBeatz, Someecards, and Real Gifts.

BusinessInsider.com have reported that Facebook execs believe that Facebooks Payments will be bigger than Facebook ads. Revenue from Facebook ads is expected to reach $475 million in 2009. In June of this year Facebook hired Prashant Fuloria as the new director of product management for Facebook payments. Prashant Fuloria was formally a Director of Product Management at Google where he worked on Google Checkout.

The micro-payments service TipJoy announced last week that they were closing down. TipJoy had been trying to sell itself and there were reports that they were in talks with Facebook. Now it has emerged that TipJoy co-founder and CTO Ivan Kirigin has been hired by Facebook. The two new hires by Facebook and the evolving payments platform indicates that Facebook are serious about their Payments Platform. Facebook Payments are already been referred to as the "PayPal Killer" but we have seen all of this before with Google Checkout, Amazon Payments. Facebook have a large user base but this is not a guarantee for success - time will tell....

Dave

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