Adoption of in-app billing has been “slower than predicted”, according to mobile analytics and billing company Bango, which says that “less than 5 percent” of payments billed through its platform in 2010 were in-app ones. In-app billing, whereby the app download is free but continued usage of the app or particular features trigger a charge, has been vaunted by some in the industry as having great potential because it maximises distribution.  But Bango points to the technical limitations of app stores as a reason behind the disappointing take-up so far. “Most don’t offer the functionality to enable payments from within the app,” says the company. However, the trend is shifting. App stores have become willing to experiment in the search for additional revenue. RIM announced in September its support for the introduction of in-app billing in early 2011.

Hence, Bango’s optimism for next year. In fact the company forecasts that in-app billing will grow more than sixfold in 2011 to account for close to 30 percent of all mobile app payments. The forecast is based on “end-of-year trends from leading developers in the games, music and broadcasting segments”, says the company. It predicts that developers and publishers “who monetize regular user of the app – streamed video and audio, games, news and alerts – will most readily capitalize on in-app payment features”. The company is working with publishers who want to find models beyond simple subscription paywalls. “Here the ability to charge per play, per video or even per-page, open up many new possibilities,” says Bango.