PlaySpan has announced Monetization-as-a-Service (MaaS), a new seven-layer approach to providing a complete monetization platform. PlaySpan’s MaaS combines a global payment gateway with 85+ payment options; micropayments, subscription, and eCommerce capabilities; an analytics dashboard; and fraud management tools –– all in a PCI and SAS-70 compliant hosted service. GamesBeat has the details.

Visa has announced the launch of payclick by Visa - calling it "a new way to pay online, that is ideal for downloadable content such as music, games and movies. payclick was developed by Visa and Australian consumers are the first to experience this innovative transaction service." READ MORE »

SponsorPay, a virtual currency monetization platform in Europe, has announced that it has raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Hasso Plattner Ventures. Team Europe Ventures also participated in this round. The Berlin-based company says it will use the investment to accelerate growth in international markets and further expand its leadership role in Europe. READ MORE »

Vindicia has announced it is integrating InComm with its CashBox billing system to allow allows Vindicia’s merchants to expand the demographic mix that they can target for their online goods and services. CashBox now provides payment method options for both subscription and one-time transactions that support the unique requirements of digital merchants in diverse geographies throughout the world. READ MORE »

Danal has announced it is partnering with several providers of online games as the first participating merchants for its BilltoMobile payment service. Included are Nexon America , NHN, Perfect World, Ntreev, YNK Interactive, Fantage, Cyberstep, Gravity, Three Rings, Global Tongue, KBS World, MMOABC, Onnet, Planet Cazmo, Ray Flame, Thebroth.com, Uforia, Xivio, and Gamepot USA. According to Danal, these merchants are "featuring the BilltoMobile service on their eCommerce sites as a payment option, along with the traditional choices of credit card, bank card, PayPal and others. Collectively, these initial launch partners generate more than $1 Billion in annual global revenues." READ MORE »

BOKU has announced the launch of a global in-app mobile billing solution for the Google Android mobile platform. According to the company, "the BOKU Payments SDK is a toolkit for developers to easily enhance and monetize any Android app with in-app purchases via carrier billing. Developers interested in the alpha version of the SDK can sign up to request access on the BOKU website." READ MORE »

Zong has announced what it calls "the first one-click mobile payment solution for Android" and has opened a private beta for Android developers to integrate this payment option into their applications. According to the company, "the new payment solution creates a seamless experience for users who can now make a purchase within an application with just one click; no registration or log-in is required. The Zong platform automatically verifies the user, bills their mobile phone account and returns them to their application or game without delay." READ MORE »

Facebook and Zynga have announced entering into a five-year strategic relationship that "increases their shared commitment to social gaming on Facebook and expands use of Facebook Credits in Zynga's games. The agreement provides a solid foundation for both companies to continue to work together to provide millions of people with a compelling user experience for social games." READ MORE »

Based on results of a study that tracks Mother's Day campaigns conducted by social games on the Facebook Platform, TrialPay reports that Mother's Day generated a 5x boost in social games revenues, driving $1 million per day for publishers with 40% of purchasers being first-time buyers.

"According to TrialPay's research, in the week leading up to Mother's Day, about $1 million per day was generated by "gifts for mom" promotions that paired offers from online flower merchants and others with free in-game virtual goods and currency. TrialPay estimates that these promotions drove a 5x increase in social game revenues over normal daily revenue, and found that about 40% of purchasers were first-time buyers in these games. In addition to adding new buyers, the holiday also helped game publishers more than double their visitor conversion rates - meaning that twice as many players as usual made a purchase during the period."

To download the full research report (registration required), visit http://www.trialpay.com/go/mday_2010. READ MORE »

Digital River has announced it has acquired fatfoogoo, a Europe-based, in-game and online commerce service provider. According to the company, "the combined forces of Digital River’s e-commerce solutions with fatfoogoo’s technology will offer game publishers and developers an unparalleled, single e-commerce connection to manage their online product sales both in-store and in-game." Digital River paid approximately $10 million for fatfoogoo plus an additional earn-out opportunity tied to performance. READ MORE »

Offerpal Media has announced the beta launch of GamePoints.com - "a consumer Web site that rewards its members with virtual currency for use in their favorite online games when they shop at big-brand retailers, take part in offers from trusted advertisers, complete market research surveys, watch online videos, trade in unwanted gift cards or conduct other marketing actions." Points earned "can be exchanged for in-game virtual currency in more than 1,500 online games and applications across the Web's top social networking platforms, virtual worlds, MMOs and other gaming sites." READ MORE »

Plastic Jungle and Offerpal Media have announced an agreement to "allow consumers to convert unused and partially redeemed gift cards into a payment method for virtual currencies. Through this agreement, consumers will be able to exchange gift cards for purchasing power within thousands of the Web’s top online games, virtual worlds and social networks, tapping the estimated $30 billion unredeemed gift card economy." READ MORE »

Yesterday, at Facebook's f8 developer conference in San Francisco, Facebook Credits manager Deb Liu provided more details about Facebook's plans for Credits - "a virtual currency in games, which you play for free but pay for specific virtual items with the virtual currency, which you buy with real money."

In an article titled "How Facebook plans to fuel the app economy with Facebook Credits", Dean Takahashi writes for VentureBeat about Credits.

In an article titled "A Look At The Future of Facebook Credits", Jason Kincaid writes for TechCrunch - in particular about App2user Credits - "a set of promotions that allow users to earn Facebook Credits in ways that don’t involve paying with their credit card."

Offerpal Media has announced that it has integrated several new direct payment options into its platform in order to help social developers and online game publishers accept payments from users who do not have or are unwilling to use credit cards. The new payment options include pre-paid debit cards, phone cards, e-payment systems, parent-approved payments and more, from such partners as Zeus Research and STi Prepaid, paysafecard, MyCard, Rixty, BillMyParents, ClickandBuy and others—covering nearly 200 countries in all. READ MORE »

Vindicia has announced the addition of two game publishers, HitGrab and Arbopals, to its customer portfolio providing on-demand billing solutions in the online gaming industry. According to the company, "with these additions, Vindicia's CashBox continues to expand its reach into a wide variety of game genres, such as MMOs, casual games, social games and virtual worlds. With the online game market expected to reach $24.8 billion in 2013, according to Strategy Analytics, publishers who seek to stand out from the pack must establish a business model that is fine-tuned to monetize their games, regardless of genre or style." READ MORE »

Globe Telecom, a mobile operator in the Philippines through its wholly owned mobile commerce subsidiary G-Xchange (GXI), is partnering with BOKU to expand acceptance of the Globe GCASH service internationally. The deal opens the BOKU mobile payment platform and growing international merchant community to Globe’s GCASH subscribers. READ MORE »

We spoked yesterday to Danny Shader, founder/CEO of Kwedit. During our chat, Danny commented that Kwedit Promise was getting all of the press attention - but that Kwedit Direct might ultimately be even more successful.

Kwedit Direct allows consumers without payment cards to participate and buy online - by payment with cash:

• At a local 7-Eleven convenience store (print our a Kwedit Slip, take it to the 7-Eleven and pay)
• By sending greenbacks through the US mail using a prepaid mailer that you print out, fold, insert bills, and drop in the mail. Having a unique identifier, each envelope is tracked by the USPS as it moves through the postal system to Kwedit.
• By "Passing the Duck" - you can forward your obligation to pay to a friend or family member.

Here's a video about how Kwedit Direct works for payers:

If you're a publisher wanting to receive funds via Kwedit Direct, here's another video with more information:

As previewed yesterday, Kwedit has announced the launch of Kwedit Direct and Kwedit Promise - two new services for consumers who have been unable to purchase digital content or virtual goods because they lack credit or debit cards or would prefer to pay with cash.

Kwedit Promise enables consumers to receive goods immediately in exchange for Promises to “Play Now. Pay Later.” Kwedit Promises can be paid off using any of the mechanisms provided by Kwedit Direct.

Kwedit Direct allows consumers to make payments at participating retail stores— starting with 5,800 7-Eleven stores in the United States— or by mailing cash or asking a friend or family member to pay on their behalf through a unique social payment network called Pass the Duck.™ READ MORE »

Danny Shader has launched his latest venture, Kwedit. See Michael Arrington's TechCrunch post "Kwedit Launches: The First Completely Unreliable Payment Network" for a quick overview of what Kwedit is up to.

For payments professionals, Kwedit is yet another example of segmentation in action. Remember the unserved? They'll accept something less than a perfect solution. Virtual goods merchants don't have a cost of goods sold that matters.

Here's a quick overview. To get started, you simply promise to pay. You can then choose to either pay within a few days - or default. In the meantime, you've bought whatever you wanted to buy from your favorite virtual goods merchant.

If you default, your Kwedit (get it?) score goes down - and you may not get new credit in the future. If you want to pay, you can put cash into the system in several ways - including at your local 7-Eleven store. Or, you can mail-in cash in a Kwedit mailer. Or, you can pass the buck to a friend or family member and ask them to pay. There's more to it - but you get the idea. See you in Farmville!

BOKU has announced that it has raised $25 million in series C capital led by DAG Ventures with continued participation from Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. The company says that "this round of capital builds on the strong success and momentum BOKU has experienced in the last year and stands as a strong vote of confidence for the company’s future." READ MORE »

THQ*ICE has announced a new partnership with PlaySpan, a provider of monetization solutions for online games, virtual worlds, and social networks. According to the two companies, "Dragonica™ Online adventurers are now able to purchase ICE Cash using PlaySpan’s more than 85 global payment methods. In addition, PlaySpan is providing comprehensive credit card processing and fraud risk management services." READ MORE »