Jennifer Schulz is the global head of commerce at Visa.

Nearly one in 10 Americans has purchased a digital good in the past year. Today’s gamers have an unprecedented range of platforms, payment options and preferences to choose from, and there is little doubt that the digital goods economy will continue to grow.

If you’re an online game developer or publisher, there are a lot of questions to answer to determine how to best monetize game content — what platform is best suited to the game environment, how to attract and convert players in different countries, what types of goods will gamers purchase and what fee should be charged for these items? While there’s no single answer, the recent growth of global and local payment options have at least made transactions easier to facilitate.

With this in mind, PlaySpan took a deeper look at four key payment trends that will have a positive impact on the future of game development.

1) Gamers are using multiple channels to make payments

In a recent Magid survey sponsored by PlaySpan, gamers purchasing virtual goods indicated using a wide variety of payment methods. Traditional payment options like credit or debit cards continue to be popular, but alternative payments have increased in popularity and are now being used by a much wider audience of gamers. It’s not surprising considering how “global” online games have become and the myriad of payment options that people are comfortable with around the world.

In the survey, closed loop prepaid game cards, smartphone payment apps, and electronic transfers from personal bank accounts proved to be equally popular to traditional payment methods with more than 10 percent of respondents. In-game credits and virtual currency were also popular payment methods, ahead of services like PayPal.

The data shows there’s no single alternative payment method that stands above the rest. With such broad payment preferences among gamers, developers should be careful not to limit themselves to a single currency type. Without multiple payment options, publishers risk turning away gamers who might not have access, the means or desire to pay with a particular tool.

2) Alternative payments offer appealing features and benefits to gamers

There is already a significant number of gamers who are using alternative payment options, but that number is expected to increase sharply.

The survey data indicates gamers prefer to use alternative payment methods that allow them to pay without entering credit card information each time they make a purchase. Some of the advantages uncovered in the survey results include: alternative payments gave gamers easy access to perks such as loyalty points and rewards, they eliminated the risk of lost or stolen cards and offered easy access to tickets for things like movies, buses and airlines.

More than half of all respondents to the survey revealed they were either “interested,” or “very interested” in these features, which bodes well for greater adoption among mainstream consumers.

3) In-app purchases dominate the growing mobile platform

When smartphone and tablet games began to move into the mainstream, mobile apps fundamentally changed the pricing structure of the gaming industry. In many cases developers could earn more charging $1.99 for a single game than they had charging $10 in the past. However, this model is quickly eroding.

Currently, on the iPhone App Store, of the top 10 highest-grossing games, only one (Angry Birds) is not free to play. And according to Newzoo, a gaming industry market research firm, in-app purchases make up a staggering 91 percent of Android and iOS game revenue (not counting advertising).

Thanks to the growth of the mobile games market, it’s projected that revenue from in-game purchases will increase from the 2011 global total of $2 billion to almost $5 billion by 2016. By then, integrating in-app purchases will be a necessity for any developer wanting their game to succeed financially.

4) Digital wallets gain acceptance, but there are strong differences between genders

Along with other forms of alternative payments, gamers are showing a growing acceptance towards digital wallets and payments made by smartphones. In fact, research shows that 77 percent of gamers are now open to the idea of using digital wallets like V.me by Visa, whether for purchases online or at the point-of-sale.

There are notable differences however when it come to the sexes and the appeal of digital wallets. Awareness of digital wallet payments is almost 50 percent higher among men, and among non-digital wallet users, men showed that they were much more likely (41 percent) than women (31 percent) to adopt them in the future.

What do these trends signify for game developers?

Mobile, PC and console platforms are converging, and there’s no longer a single, one-size-fits-all solution. As consumers move between games, devices and environments, they need their payments to move seamlessly with them and work reliably from any device. Preferred methods of payments are as divergent as players’ interests and tastes in games themselves. As player behavior evolves, so too must developers tailor their games to target these users. In the adoption of new technologies, gamers have historically offered a fertile testing ground for developers. Now developers have the power to capitalize on this trend and provide the choices necessary to help more effectively monetize game content.

With alternative payment methods and digital wallets growing in acceptance, especially for those games with a global appeal, it’s important for game developers and publishers to consider adapting an open payment platform approach.

Jennifer Schulz is the global head of eCommerce for Visa, responsible for the strategic direction and management of Visa’s global eCommerce business and driving Visa’s product innovation strategy.   

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Nobody wants to attend a concert or a sporting event alone, but buying tickets for a number of people is a hassle. PayByGroup has added a “fixed price” feature today to make it easier to collect funds for group ticket buying.

PayByGroup is payment platform where people can pool their money to make a collective purchase. Users create a “PayByGroup” for a specific purpose, dictate the amount that each person needs to pay, invites participants to join. No money is charged until the goal has been reached, at which point the initiator can collect the funds. The new fixed-price option specifically targets occasions when every participant throws in the same amount.

The fixed price feature is also useful for merchants who can implement PayByGroup’s technology to create a group checkout option. Any business, from a theater to a vacation rental site, can use the platform to lower friction during the payment process and increase conversions. PayByGroup has formed partnerships with “marquee merchants”, although it has not yet revealed who these partners are. It distinguishes itself from crowd funding site Crowdtilt in this way, which does not currently work with vendors.

PayByGroup was founded by a team of “group organizers” who were consistently frustrated while planning parties or orchestrating trips. Their ultimate mission to have fun was tainted by the awkwardness of asking friends for money and the sting of never getting paid back. Rather than relegate themselves to a lifetime of passive aggressive text messaging and check collecting, they built a better alternative themselves.

PayByGroup received investment from 500 Startups and is based in Mountain View, CA.

Check out this video about the fixed-price feature below:

Tomorrow, the Paris-based company that built MasterCard’s PayPass SDK and counts McDonald’s and Reebok among its mobile commerce clients will release the Airtag Kit, a full collection of everything developers need to start building mobile payment apps.

MasterCard’s PayPass technology already enables swipeless credit card use: tap the card on the reader and go. Now the credit card giant, with the help of Airtag, is extending the same technology to NFC-enabled phones.

“The Airtag kit is the second part of our partnership with MasterCard, and contains all of the hardware and software needed to build and test PayPass apps, including resources for the developer community,” Airtag chief executive Jérémie Leroyer, who has moved to the company’s New York offices, told me this morning.

The hardware in the Airtag Kit includes a Samsung Galaxy S III, a USB contactless card reader which simulates an NFC point-of-sale terminal, five SIM cards (UICCs) that include EMV chips similar to those in secure PIN-enabled credit cards, and two demo sales tags to simulate NFC-enabled merchandise. In addition, tutorials, manuals, and forums are available to help developers get started.

Source: Airtag

The Airtag mobile payments developer kit

The kit retails for $4,550, which includes one year of access to the developer program. The developer program alone is $3,250, which suggests the hardware is valued at around $1,300.

With the kit, a developer will be able to create apps for mobile payments incorporating NFC technologies, such as the capability to order online and pick-up in-store without having to use a credit card, or simply payment at point of sale. But at those prices, not every startup will be able to afford one — certainly not on Y Combinator-type money.

Whenever NFC comes up, the inevitable question also arises: What about the iPhone?

“It’s very difficult to guess what is going to be in a new version of the iPhone,” Leroyer said, accurately. “But we didn’t expect NFC in the iPhone 5 … usually what Apple does is let others go into the market, see what they’re doing, and then bring out a version of the technology a year later.”

However, Airtag likes what Apple is doing with Passbook — especially the geofencing — and uses it in the Go McDo product the company built for McDonald’s. NFC does enable better security, Leroyer told me, and the company does expect Apple to add NFC capability in iPhone’s next major iteration.

And he welcomes Apple’s entry into the market:

“NFC is very powerful, but very complex. We need players like Apple to simplify the ecosystem, and simply NFC development. That’s where we want to go, and we share this ambition with MasterCard.”

Some, including Seth Priebatsch, founder of SCVNGR and mobile payments company LevelUp, might say be careful what you wish for.

photo credit: 401(K) 2012 via photopin cc

“ZenCash helps you manage your payment plan of attack and manages the plan for you,” said ZenCash founder Brandon Cotter in an interview with VentureBeat, ”[With ZenCash] you don’t have to be the bad guy, you can let someone else do the dirty work.”

Startup owners and freelancers usually rely heavily on payments from their customers and clients to keep themselves in the black. ZenCash founder Brandon Cotter found that many startups and freelancers he talked to were encountering problems with getting paid, so he sought to do something about it.

ZenCash offers services that reward clients for making payments and go after those that don’t. The company will send out thank you notes and/or gift cards to customers who process payments on time. For customers who delay payment, ZenCash will make phone calls, send letters, and eventually send your dispute to a collections agency on your behalf. Each service has a price attached to it, and you pay per phone call or email sent out. If your invoice has to go to a collections agency, ZenCash takes a percentage cut of the payment amount.

The service integrates with existing accounting software such as Clio, Harvest, and QuickBooks. ZenCash accounts are free for now, but because Intuit charges for access to the QuickBooks API, the company may charge a subscription fee in the future.

Cotter started ZenCash because as a business owner, he found it a hassle to devote time to resolving payment disputes. He also realized that many businesses want to maintain positive relationships with clients and didn’t want to get involved with payment disputes and collections calls.

ZenCash faces competition from accounting services such as Freshbooks that can send out payment reminder emails. Freelancers can get support from sites such as Elance, which will facilitate payment disputes between contractors and clients. And of course, startups can make calls, send out thank you cards, and contact collections agencies themselves.

The company’s founders have invested $500,000 to launch the company. ZenCash is made up of a team of six, scattered across the U.S. and Europe. Its main headquarters is in Dallas, Texas.

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The company, which was founded in 1849, is now establishing a Silicon Valley office to stay on top of the latest developments in mobile and finance technologies.

The new office and fund will be led by Harshul Sanghi, the former head of Motorola Mobility Ventures.

“As we enter the next chapter in our history, we recognize the need to work with emerging technology companies to inspire change, encourage innovation, and ultimately deliver the best products and services to our customers,” said the company’s group president for enterprise growth, Dan Schulman, in a release.

American Express has for sometime been hip to the jive of tech scenesters and mobile-minded whippersnappers. The company has thrown its weight into new initiatives from almost every front-running social network and mobile payments platform for the past year or so.

Over this past summer alone, Amex partnered with Facebook for a deals program and with Foursquare for checkin discounts. The company also got in bed with Isis, a mobile payment network started by three of the four big mobile carriers, during this time.

American Express also had a busy fall, courting new users for Serve, another mobile payment system, at a San Francisco rock festival in August; acquiring Sometrics, a social gaming and virtual currency company, in September; and hopping on the Google Wallet bandwagon in October.

If we didn’t know better, we’d say American Express was employing the tried-and-true “spray and pray tactic”, aiming its vast resources at every buzz-laden startup and platform it can see on the technological scene and praying that one of its bets will shape up to be a real winner in the mass market.

The American Express fund will invest in such verticals as loyalty and rewards programs, mobile and online payment platforms, security, fraud detection and data analysis.

We’ll be keeping an eye on Amex’s Silicon Valley funding and acquisition activity from our perch in San Francisco’s Financial District, so stay tuned for more.

Image courtesy of whiteafrican.