Consumers worldwide will conduct some $300 billion worth of mobile payment transactions for physical and digital goods by 2013, says a new study from Juniper Research. Because of this, the firm forecasts a strong future for the systems, software and services that enable the transaction services, according to a Telecoms.com report on the research.

Juniper expects mobile ticketing services to account for some 40% of the mobile transaction total, driven by consumer purchases of train, plane and bus tickets as well as tickets to sports and entertainment happenings.

The Far East and Western Europe will be the leading markets, representing a combined 60% of the transaction total by 2013, not surprising since the purchase of physical goods over the mobile Web is already fairly common in those markets.

Juniper analyst Howard Wilcox says that retailers need to consider the benefits of using the mobile Web as a fourth commerce channel and "be mindful of the success of regular e-commerce sites in generating sales. They need to move quickly to exploit the opportunity presented, and ensure that they maintain ease of use for their customers who are already familiar with Web shopping from their PCs," he said.

Mobile payments and analytics firm Bango has brought its mobile billing service to South Africa.

Bango's agreements with top South African carriers MTN and Vodafone allow the operators to provide off-deck content and services and have the fees added directly to the subscriber's monthly cell phone bill.

According to Cellular-news, many consumers in South Africa can only access the Internet via their mobile phone, so services such as Bango's are key to industry growth. Some 42 million South Africans, or 85%-90% of the country's population, subscribe to a mobile phone service.

Seventy-one percent of consumers won't consider using their mobile phone for banking or shopping. Fifty-nine percent just flat-out don't trust that the device is secure enough for financial transactions.

These figures come from enterprise security outfit Unisys, which surveyed more than 13,000 mobile users in 14 countries. Reluctance to use the phone to make payments was highest in France (86%), followed by the UK (79%), Belgium (77%) and Italy (77%), according to a Telecoms.com report on the research.

Only 9% of the folks surveyed admitted to having conducted a financial transaction using a mobile phone. Usage in individual countries ranged from 1% in the UK to 21% in Germany.

In a separate study, Juniper Research forecasts that 612 million mobile users will conduct 41.5 billion mobile financial service transactions valued at some $587 billion by the end of 2011. Juniper sees what it describes as the "great unbanked," consumers without access to any other form of banking, as one of the key growth drivers.

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Nine million US consumers, or 3.6% of mobile users, have made a purchase using their mobile phone, according to new research from Nielsen Mobile. The data also show that 49% of mobile consumers plan to join the m-commerce party in the future.

Nielsen found that men are more likely than women to use their phone for commerce - 4.5% versus 3%. Also, a larger percentage of consumers in the 25-34 age group - 5.4% - have paid by mobile than the mobile population overall.

The most popular ways to make a purchase with a cell phone are mobile Web sites, of which eBay is the most popular, and via text messaging. Of the nine million who've participated in m-commerce, 6.5 million have used text messaging to purchase an item, Nielsen says.

So, why aren't more people trying it? Of the folks who have yet to make a purchase over mobile, 41% said concern for security is their biggest concern. Some 23% worry over airtime charges and 21% don't trust that the transaction will be completed.

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Bank of America is crowing that it has more than a million unique active customers using its mobile banking services. According to a FierceMobileContent report, the mobile bankers tend to be younger, with two-thirds under 35 years old and 80% under 45.

The bank's mobile service went live in May of last year across the US.
Customers can check their balances, pay bills, transfer money, view transactions and find nearby banks and ATMs from their handset.

Most of its mobile banking customers take advantage of the service on an iPhone, BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device.

SAXO.com, the online book store based in Denmark, just unveiled a new mobile shop based on Cellpoint Mobile's mPoint technology and payment system.

A company statement said that SAXO.com as a result "becomes the first bookstore using the mobile phone to reach its customers"—which is completely false, since Amazon.com has had one for over eight years. In fact, you can buy books with 1-click, with your iPhone, and with text messages as well as the regular Amazon WAP site. But who's counting?

Anyhoo, interested SAXO.com customers can access the new mobile store from any mobile phone by texting "saxo" to a Danish short number. The customer will then receive a text push message taking them to the mobile store where they can browse and purchase books from their handset.

Mobile commerce service provider Digby has officially launched its Powered by Digby m-commerce platform that lets retailers easily create a mobile storefront. The new branded platform uses the same infrastructure as the Digby Marketplace mobile portal where consumers can shop at a variety of retailers through a single location.

Godiva Chocolatier, the first merchant to launch a Powered by Digby mobile storefront, went live with its branded mobile site on April 30, in time to make buying Mother's Day gifts easier for last-minute shoppers. Online florist 1-800-FLOWERS.com plans to launch its own Digby-powered site this summer.

Sites built with the new platform use the retailer's brand identity and deliver a streamlined mobile shopping and checkout process for smartphone users. The platform also provides mobile browser access, which opens the retailer's catalog to consumers with handsets other than smartphones, as long as they can access the mobile Internet from their phone.

Powered by Digby is available immediately for BlackBerry smartphones, Windows Mobile smartphones and mobile browsers. iPhone and Android versions are expected by year-end.

OnePoint Surveys has unveiled a new program that rewards consumers with cash for participating in mobile surveys.

With the new OnePoint Reward system, market researchers can use integrate incentive schemes into their mobile surveys, which should lead to higher response rates. Unfortunately, OnePoint Reward is only available to companies in the UK so far.

The reward is sent to the participant's phone as soon as the survey has been completed. Consumers can redeem the reward at some 19,000 retail outlets across the UK.

Bookseller extraordinaire Barnes & Noble has launched a new mobile commerce site where customers can peruse the more than a million new books, DVDs and CDs that are available on the flagship BN.com.

The new mobile site is optimized for viewing on the BlackBerry, iPhone and Windows Mobile handsets, but it works with any mobile device with a Web browser. Visitors can search, browse and make purchases, find local stores and events, check to see if a local store has a particular item in stock, track previously placed orders, sign up for or renew their Barnes & Noble membership and update Wish Lists.

It's a bookstore junkie's dream come true.

Telefonica is bringing mobile banking to upwards of 175 million consumers in Latin America who have no access to banking services but do have a cell phone, Cellular-news reports. The initiative will roll out in July in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).

"Building on a number of other major Telefonica initiatives aimed at reducing social and economic exclusion, the project's principal aim is to improve financial access in Latin American markets by providing an m-banking solution to some of the most vulnerable in society - those groups that do not currently have access to banks or financial services," the article quotes Telefonica Europe CEO Matthew Key as saying.

Telefonica has worked over the past few years to bring mobile phones to rural communities and lower socio-economic groups in Latin America.