Reducing payment flow to two steps for carrier billing.
Game developers building web apps have been able to use Facebook Payments for a while, but the firm admits the process could be a bit painful for end users - up to seven steps, including SMS verification.
At Mobile World Congress Facebook pledged to improve this.
And now it has. It confirmed in a blog post that two step carrier billing is now available on the majority of carriers in the US and the UK and will be rolled out to additional operators worldwide.
Existing developers don't have to do anything to take advantage of the changes, and they are embedded in the API for any new developers who want to integfate Facebook Payments.
Users open the payment dialogue and confirm their purchase. This payment flow requires no typing and looks like this:
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2 comments
This is certainly good news for consumers. They will see the number of steps they must take to complete a purchase fall from seven to two, making the process more streamlined and effortless. However, direct operator billing will also bring a number of benefits to those operators that are onboard with this venture. Through Facebook’s new one-click system, operators will be elevated to the position of a payments service provider. In an instant, they can place themselves in the e-commerce value chain and start to win market share from players such as PayPal who have hitherto dominated the space.
Consumers will love this approach as it gives them visibility over what is being billed. Merchants and operators will love it as it provides detailed billing information, such as what was billed, who it was billed by and how much. As the bill clearly shows that the payment is for a third party, the operator is not involved in the brand value of the transaction. There is a clear split between the content brand (Facebook) and the payment service provider (the operator).
New revenue channels will also be opened for operators, who will find themselves with a place in Facebook’s content value chain. The sheer ease of direct operator billing will mean it has a massive impact on how often consumers buy goods from Facebook. The high volume of payments on the operator’s networks will allow them to drive up revenues for themselves as well as the content provider. In the future, it is even possible that through DoB operators will be able to extend their e-commerce credentials into physical goods and services. It is possible that any online payment could be charged to the phone bill rather than to another payment mechanism. If this situation arises, then the potential benefits to operators will be significant and may fundamentally alter their role for years to come.
Michael de Jongh, Sales Director, Mobile Billing & Payments, MACH
Michael de Jongh Jun 12th 2012 at 11:59AM
0 2This is great news. We at Bango are delighted to be helping deliver this important initiative.
Two other points:
(1) In many - big - countries like Indonesia, India, Sourth Africa, Brazil, the mobile bill is the only real payment instrument fo rthe mass market.
(2) In developed countries, Mobile operators are improving thei rpayment systems and even moving to wallet models (Oscar, Isis etc.) that will reduce transaction costs for payments yet have the broader reach of the MNO systems.
Bravo Facebook.
Ray Anderson, CEO, Bango
Ray Anderson Jun 16th 2012 at 5:24PM
0 1