Developers will have to wait for Windows Phone 8.
The Verge reports that Microsoft has started to put out info on the Windows Phone Dev Center, which gives developers guidelines on app submissions and monetisation options.
But it looks as if in-app micropayments will not be enabled on the interim version of the OS – WinPho 7.8. Instead, that option will arrive with the launch of Microsoft's transformative WinPho 8 platform later this year.
Micropayments will be made possible through the forthcoming Wallet Hub feature, which stores payment information that can be accessed through a PIN entered during in-app transactions.
The implication therefore is that Wallet Hub will not feature in 7.8 either.
Of course, Wallet Hub is about far more than micropayments. The feature, unveiled by Microsoft in June, is a 'control centre' for NFC contactless payments, deals, loyalty cards, in-app purchases, and credit and debit cards.
Users can pre-load pretty much any bank card, PayPal account, loyalty card etc on there, and use them to pay for things via NFC. They can also access a list of suggested location-aware local discounts, which are redeemed in multiple ways including QR code.
WinPho 8 can't come quick enough for Microsoft, one assumes. WinPho may support 100,000 apps, but in a freemium-dominated space, the lack of an in-app option is holding it back.
Earlier this year ABI Research estimated that WinPho represented just two per cent of the 36 billion apps that will be downloaded this year.
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