Growing mobile use, and the lack of monetization of mobile users were highlighted in the Risk Factors section of Facebook’s IPO filing. Essentially, it could harm Facebook’s business if too many of its users spend too much time accessing Facebook from mobile devices without being properly monetized.

That’s why you’ll likely start seeing sponsored stories in your mobile news feed, and will probably eventually see more mobile ads. That is likely also why this deal with Bango has been made.

The press release is short and sweet so here it is in its entirety:

Bango has signed an agreement to provide payment services to Facebook.

Bango’s board believes it is too early in the relationship to accurately forecast the level of business which it may generate.

It’s hard to say just what all uses for Bango Facebook will find, given Facebook’s increasing integration with the web at large, but app payment is an obvious use.

Slashgear reports that the download requires that an AT&T SIM be loaded into the phone.

Google has made it clear in the past that it has big plans for Google Wallet, so any blocking by carriers is a huge pain in the butt for the company. For one, Google has already rolled Google Checkout into Google Wallet. It’s also an important product to the expansion of Google Offers, the company’s Groupon clone, which continues to frequently launch in new markets. This could turn into a significant provider of revenue for the company.

Verizon had blocked Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus, though they didn’t like to use the word “blocking”. Verizon put out a statement that said:

Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false. Verizon does not block applications.

We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.

Still, there has been healthy skepticism about that explanation, given Verizon’s investor role in ISIS, a competing payment service, which AT&T and T-Mobile also invest in.

Since then, hacks have been revealed to get Google Wallet on Verizon, but nothing official.

In fact, while the app has reportedly appeared in the Android Market on AT&T, there hasn’t been any official acknowledgement of this by either Google or AT&T, interestingly.

According to Dorsey, only 8 million merchants in the U.S. even accept credit cards. That’s some pretty good progress on Square’s part.

Dorsey tweeted out:

Square is only available in the U.S. so far, so that million merchant milestone is pretty significant. On the company’s website, it says:

We are beginning to look into other markets, though at the time we can’t officially support banks, cards or merchants outside of the 50 United States and DC. There is no specific timeline for international availability, but rest assured that you’ll be among the first to know when it does happen. This includes US territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam.

Square can process non-U.S. cards as long as they come with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover logo. There are, however, some caveats. Merchants who process international cards can’t do so through the manual entry feature. Processing the cards is subject to issuer approval, and cardholders may be charged for currency conversion.

Square does not support payment processing outside of the United States.

If you’re not familiar with Helium otherwise, WebProNews readers may remember the site being discussed in the wake of Google’s Panda update. It’s a user generated content site (perhaps considered a content farm to some) often mentioned in the same breath as Demand Media, HubPages, Suite101, Associated Content, etc.

It was hit by the Panda update early in the year, but like many other Panda victims, soon began making a lot of changes to its site, and was able to raise $10 million in funding back in May.

Now, it appears some writers are seeing erroneous negative balances in their accounts. Today, Helium’s Steve Singer posted an update on the company blog:

We are aware of a problem that many writers have reported today, 12/1/11 regarding negative balances to their account. Helium’s tech team is currently working to correct this. We do know this is only an issue with the display and that the correct balances are in our database. Please do not contact the help desk — we’re working to fix this as soon as possible!

An update to the post later said:

The tech team believes they have isolated the problem and are working on a fix. Once the fix is coded, it will need to checked. So we don’t yet have a specific delivery time.

Helium has also been tweeting updates:

From the sound of it, it’s not going to be anything to worry too much about, but it’s likely been an inconvenience for some.

Update: Singer has made a couple more updates to the blog post:

Update 12/1/11 12:15 PM Eastern Time –We’ve come up with a fix, that worked properly in our test environments, and then deployed it to production. However, apparently once in production it’s appearing only as a partial fix. So while your earnings may come up, it’s not fully complete. We are still working towards full resolution of this issue.

Update 12/1/11 3:15 PM Eastern Time – We are continuing to investigate this issue, with the assistance of several helpful members.

First off, new payments methods that have been added include:

• ELV (Germany)
• MyCard Mobile (HongKong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan)
• Visa Electron (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand)
• WebBilling Online Bank Transfer (Austria, Germany, Spain, Switzerland)

The product supports over 80 payment methods in 50 countries so far.

The new policy prohibits routing Credits from one app to another without prior authorization. Facebook explains:

You may not accept Credits in one application and deliver or transfer the purchase to the user in another app without our prior authorization. For example, an app solely designed to facilitate transactions is not permitted.

Under this policy, an app should not invoke the Pay Dialog with an app_id different from that of the app that the user is making the purchase in. Exceptions to the policy are given on a limited basis and will not be granted to apps that serve solely as a payment portal. This policy is meant to protect the ecosystem by adding a level of transparency to the source of Credits transactions. Apps that are not compliant by January 1, 2012 run the risk of having their Credits disabled shortly after.

The updated documentation, found here, has more details, and is sectioned into multiple documents for easier reading.

Documentation for callbacks is here. Daniel Shultz explains the specific changes on the Facebook Developer Blog.

Finally, Facebook reminding companies to provide their company info to get payout. You have to provide the required info by going to the Developer App, clicking “edit settings”, going to the Credits tab and clicking “register your company.”

It makes sense when you think of it that way. Why have different payment platforms? Go with the one that you’re betting on for the future. Just make the transition easy.

Google says it is taking all of the functionality of Google Checkout and merging it with Google Wallet, so it shouldn’t be too drastic a change for users, at least in theory.

“We’re committed to upgrading our payment solutions for merchants while ensuring they’re able to process payments without interruption during the holidays — so shoppers using Google Wallet will be able to make purchases seamlessly on merchant sites that accept Google Checkout,” says Google Wallet Product Manager Ben Lee. “Early next year, we will work closely with our merchant partners to switch to the Google Wallet logo and share details on new and upcoming features.”

Discussing the consumer side of things, Lee says, “When you shop with merchants that accept Google Wallet or Google Checkout, just use your Google Wallet username and password to complete your purchase — there’s no need to pull out your credit card or enter your shipping address with every transaction.”

Starting today, you should be able to add a Citi MasterCard to the Google Wallet mobile app, which will also be available for use when you show with Google Wallet online.

Current Google Checkout users can automatically transition their accounts to Gogole Wallet the next time they sign in or make a purchase online. Purchase history info is available here.

We’ve been testing it extensively, and today we’re releasing the first version of the app to Sprint. That means we’re beginning to roll out Google Wallet to all Sprint Nexus S 4G phones through an over-the-air update—just look for the “Wallet” app.

When we announced Google Wallet, we pledged a commitment to an open commerce ecosystem. We appreciate Citi and MasterCard for being our launch partners. And today, Visa, Discover and American Express have made available their NFC specifications that could enable their cards to be added to future versions of Google Wallet.

Google Wallet is launching today, it would seem. Google hasn’t made the official announcement just yet, but it’s expected anytime now.

MG Siegler got ahold of a document that were reportedly sent to partners. In the document, which he provides a picture of, it says:

Google Wallet is launching September 19, 2011. Google Wallet is a smart phone application (app) that allows owners of the Sprint Nexus S Android phone to use their smart phone as a wallet. This application or app will transform the way clients pay. Once Google Wallet is installed, the Sprint Nexus S phone may be used as a contactless (Tap and Pay) device at all PayPass enabled merchant terminals. Google Wallet is currently only available with Nexus S Android phones running Android Operating System (OS) 2.3.4 (Gingerbread).

Here’s the video Google provided back when they announced Google Wallet:

Here’s a teaser they put out a few days ago, featuring George Costanza from Seinfeld:

GigaOm found a Google Wallet logo on a MasteCard PayPass NFC reader at Peet’s Coffee in San Francisco, seemingly providing more confirmation that Google Wallet is launching.

More when the official announcement comes.

Until then, here are 43 things you should know about Google Wallet.

“With the launch of Diablo 3’s public beta, gamers around the world will jump into Blizzard’s dungeon crawling masterpiece that, with its auction house system, promises to allow players to buy and sell virtual items from the game using real money,” a spokesperson for PayPal tells WebProNews. “PayPal will be the payments solution for the auction house service in several regions of the world and PayPal will also be added as a payment option on Blizzard’s Battle.net platform.”

The announcement comes just after PayPal’s recent announcement with Microsoft that will see Xbox 360 users be able to pay with PayPal directly on their Xbox consoles.

The announcement on Blizzard’s Battle.net blog says:

We’re pleased to announce that in most regions, PayPal will be our payment-service partner for the Diablo III auction house, allowing players who trade with real-world currency the ability to cash out the spoils of their battle-torn adventures via a PayPal account.

We’ll share region-related specifics, as well as further details on everything mentioned above, in the near future.  Stay tuned!

“Gamers want to focus on gaming and prefer an in-game payments solution that’s convenient, easy and secure,” says PayPal’s senior director of emerging opportunities, Carey Kolaja. “Last month we told you that our research has shown that over 70% of gamers are PayPal users, and we believe that’s because we understand that central principle.”

Now, Isis is getting a new injection of funds to the tune of $100 million from the three mobile carriers, as it aims to take on Google Wallet, according to a report from Bloomberg.

“Our mobile commerce network, through relationships with merchants, will provide an enhanced, more convenient, more personalized shopping experience for consumers,” Isis CEO Michael Abbott said back when it was announced.

“While mobile payments will be at the core of our offering, it is only the start,” he said at the time. “We plan to create a mobile wallet that ultimately eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes.”

Google introduced Google Wallet in May as an app that turns your phone into your wallet:

“A key benefit to retailers will be the integration of coupons, or offers, into Google Wallet. We’ve been testing a variety of offers – from discounts directly within search ads to check-in offers to offers in Google Places,” said Google Director of Commerce Partnerships, Spencer Spinnell. “Over time, consumers will be able to save each of these offers directly to their Google Wallet. That means consumers will get the benefit of carrying their offers with them at all times, bringing retailers targeted foot traffic.”

With Google trying to acquire Motorola Mobility, it will be quite interesting to see how all of this plays out. Remember that Google Wallet will likely be integrated with Google Offers and Google+.

“Integration is simple with just a few lines of code. And pricing is set at just 5-percent,” says Product Manager Amit Fulay.

The feature works through Google Checkout – Google’s payments platform.

While In-App Payments work for web apps in general, Google is hoping the feature will drive commerce through apps in the Chrome Web Store, which would serve to fuel growth of not only the Chrome web store, but the Chrome platform, Chrome browser, and Chrome OS.

Google CEO Larry Page announced in the company’s earnings call last week that Chrome has 160 million users.

Only developers with U.S. bank accounts can use In-App Payments at this point, but Google says it looks forward to expanding into other locations as quickly as possible. Buyers can use them in over 140 countries.