In its recent IPO filing, Facebook admitted that its mobile offerings (on smartphones and the iPad) don’t generate meaningful revenues. It has over 425 million monthly active mobile users and is yet to reveal its mobile ad platform.
This week the social network struck a deal with UK mobile payments firm Bango to provide ‘payment services’ to Facebook. Facebook said it is “too early in the relationship to accurately forecast the level of business which it may generate”. However, a quick look at what Bango is good at – payments systems for phone bills and credit cards, as well as back-end analytics – suggests Facebook will use Bango’s services for app payments, virtual goods and perhaps mobile transactions (wave and pay).
Facebook’s mobile offering has enormous potential and the company will be keen to show investors its financial promise ahead of its IPO. Watch this space.

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