How many years have I been waiting for micropayments to become the norm on the internet? The buying and selling of product in fractions of a penny.

It looked like PayPal would be the future … at one time.

But PayPal was purchased by Ebay. And never fulfilled the potential I envisioned. Many don’t like PayPal. Ebay does not know how to build the company.

People do like buying from the Apple iTunes store. It’s insanely easy and convenient to one click a $.99 purchase of a music track.

What if Apple extended their payment system to third party companies?

If I could buy a product on the internet, relaying the transaction via the iTunes store.

Speculates Narendra Rocherolle:

… Apple is in the catbird seat to dominate micropayments. Their “batch and bill” implementation in iTunes, which boasts perhaps the smoothest online purchasing UI ever, now serves as a foundation for the App Store …

I would be spending a lot more if Apple extended the API to allow for the ability to transact within apps. It would give real viability to virtual gifts, currencies and goods across the myriad of apps out there by allowing pennies and dollars to change hands in a frictionless way. As both a developer and a consumer, that is exciting. …

GigaOm – Apple’s iPhone Offers the Ideal Micropayments Platform