Different options to make payments inside an Appli

Question

I am exploring options which would enable the user to make payments from within the Application.Right now i am aware of 2 options through which a user can make payments from within the App.

1 In-App Purchase (Already implemented).

2 Pay Pal (Exploring).

So is there any other way to implement purchases. Any links , APIs ,advices will be welcomed...

PS: I intend to release this app on US App Store.

Cheers.

Answer 1

In app purchase is the only (reliable) way to do 'feature purchasing' and if you want to be in the App Store. If you want to accept donations, you can use in app purchase or PayPal in a UIWebView. There really isn't a whole lot of choice for it on the iPhone.

The reality of the situation is that you are going to want to use in app purchase. Users are going to be more willing to pay if they can just press a button and have it show up on their bill. If you use any other service, they're going to have to go get their credit card, etc... It'll just be ugly.

Answer 2

Another alternative is accepting funds through SMS. This may only be appropriate for donations to charities/non-profits. There are services for supporting SMS giving such as mGive (http://www.mgive.com/), Give on the Go (http://www.giveonthego.com/), or giveByCell (http://www.givebycell.com/).

Answer 3

I can tell you, that for an in-app purchases PayPal is most definitely a no go, but you will find this out by yourself :)

Apple will only accept payment for such activities through in app purchases, no other methods of payment are allowed.

There is a workaround for these type of purchases (especially PayPal); do them not within your app but from mobile Safari. That will work and is (for now) an accepted method used by more applications.