Though PayPal is the most recognised name in the sector, the race to serve up a de facto standard in-app payment system for Android is hotting up, with start-up Boku today entering the race with the launch of its Payments SDK for the OS.

This enables developers to integrate Boku's Paymo-branded system - which lets users pay by carrier billing with just one touch - directly into their Android apps enabling micropayments.

Rather than entering in credit card details or registering a thirdparty account, users simply have to enter in their phone number and confirm their identity via SMS to enable the transactions being added to their phone bill.

Carrier crazy

Boku, which bought Paymo in 2009, has arrangements with more than 200 carriers in over 60 countries across the globe, with the firm itself authenticating all the transactions and dealing with carrier billing in-house.

"This is a huge step for the Android development community which, until recently, had no way to easily monetise downloaded apps and generate revenue while maintaining an outstanding user experience," said Boku CTO Erich Ringewald.

"Boku is the largest and first global carrier payment platform with an Android SDK for in-app purchases. With our in-app Android payment solution we are bringing increased conversion to merchants, and a seamless, secure purchase experience to consumers."

Its SDK is not without competition however. PayPal launched its own in-app billing system on Android last month, as has MasterCard.

You can see a video of how Boku works below.



[source: Boku]