We've long been taking about the potential of Nokia, Microsoft and Windows Phone to become a solid third place ecosystem behind iOS and Android.

Maybe the brand streamlining that will see the retirement of the Nokia and Windows Phone names - replaced with the straight Windows 8 moniker - will help.

Some developers are finding decent traction on the platform, however, and Estonian payment system Fortumo is looking to help them out.

Its new developers program will reward companies who integrate its carrier billing SDK to their Windows Phone or Windows 8 games and apps with $5,000 in advertising credits for campaigns in emerging markets through the AdDuplex advertising network.

The only gotcha is that developers have to be already generating at least $2,000 a month with Fortumo.

Emerging opportunities

The move follows the completion of Fortumo's previous $1 million program.

"The biggest revenue opportunity for Windows Phone developers comes from countries like India, Turkey, Brazil and Poland where Windows Phone has a strong, growing market share," said Fortumo COO Martin Koppel.

"These are also the markets where mobile payments beat credit cards when it comes to in-app transactions. Combining carrier billing with improved app discovery can significantly increase developer income from Windows Phone."

"We are extremely pleased with our partnership. The integration was straight-forward and fast. Most importantly, our Windows Phone and Windows 8 revenue have both increased," said Paul Baldwin, CEO of Doodle God developer Joybits.

For Windows Store, Fortumo provides mobile payments in 81 countries and over 300 mobile networks.

For Windows Phone Store, Fortumo extends Microsoft's existing mobile operator billing reach by adding a number of emerging markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle-East and Africa with low credit card penetration.