Mobile Payments Sometimes Overlaps With Mobile Banking

The retail mobile payments business is conceptually distinct from online payments or mobile remittances (sending money, from one person to another) or mobile banking (people sending money to retailers, or using mobile as a way of getting account status and information from a mobile, including conducting transactions).

But sometimes there are areas of overlay. Zong, for example, has made a business of supporting "buying" activities by online gamers. Zong recently conducted a survey that found about 24 percent of Zong users do not have a bank account or credit card.

On the other hand, 34 percent said they used mobile payments rather than online from a PC because “it’s fast and easy.” Another 22 percent said they used mobile payments, instead of online payments, because “it’s fun.”

The possibly important observation here is that mobile payments are used, even when other alternatives are available, because it is "fun," not just because it might be fast or easy. That might hold some implications for the further development of mobile payment systems. "Saving money" is never unimportant. But "fun" might be enough, even when the costs are able the same as using credit cards, debit cards or other online mechanisms.

the Zong blog - Mobile Payments, and web apps monetization