Global premium SMS payments for services and goods made have totalled USD 40 billion in 2008, according to a report.

The micro payments segment is the largest and fastest growing in the mobile payments market, a segment led by micro payments for mobile content services, the research reveals.

Also, research points out that people from various countries are making increasing use of fixed and mobile telecommunications services to pay for goods and services. Today, premium SMS payments are used on social-networking sites, for value-add directory services, in charitable-giving, as payment for some public services and for a host of mobile personalisation services. The data was published by IARN, the International network of regulators of phone-paid premium telecommunication services.

According to a report titled ‘Mobile Content and Services, 7th edition’ produced by research firm Informa, global mobile content and services market will reach USD 240 billion by 2012. The forecast includes spending on web-browsing and texting but the Informa assessment indicates that around USD 60 billion will be spent in mobile payment for services and goods. Still, in 2002, market experts predicted that EUR 55 billion would be processed through mobile payments by 2006. However, the mobile payments market is reported to be at EUR 2.2 billion, only 4 percent of that prediction. The same experts currently believe that the market is to reach EUR 10 billion by 2010.