I have a bunch of issues with this post, regardless of the feasibility of micropayments. First off, saying that people didn't go for the $0.xx/kB data plans on

I have a bunch of issues with this post, regardless of the feasibility of micropayments. First off, saying that people didn't go for the $0.xx/kB data plans on cellphones due to 'mental accounting' that people have when the price is <$1 is bogus. People didn't go for it because people don't have a clue how many kB the websites they visit or the email they download are. It would have been too much of a task to keep track of that information. This had nothing to do with the cost, and everything to do with the amount of micromanaging that people would have to do. In addition, people have no gauge on the amount of kB they use in a day, a week, or a month. So they have no way of knowing if this price is a deal or a rip-off. This in no way reflects on people's willingness to make a bunch of <$1 purchases against their credit card. Second, the proliferation of prepaid credits has less to do with people getting over some mental hurdle to spending money in <$1 increments. It's the hurdle of effort. Whenever I go to a website that is selling something at <$1 prices, I possibly have to sign up, fill out a bunch of forms, pull out my credit card, etc. If this is presented in a way where the purchase is one-click (i.e. I already have credits with this seller or service) then that barrier is broken down and people are more likely to make the purchase. The mental hurdle that people have isn't some difference between spending $0 and spending $0.01. It's the difference between not getting something and spending 5 minutes going through a process to spend $0.01 on something.