Word is starting to trickle out about Facebook’s updated mobile site and platform codenames Project Spartan, which appears to be a substantial reboot of Facebook mobile. For example, Facebook mobile will allow users “to authorize and use third-party mobile apps from within the mobile site … accessed through bookmarks shown alongside Facebook’s in-house apps,” according to Inside Facebook.

However, the redesigned Facebook mobile apparently will not include Facebook Credits, at least not initially. Here’s how Inside Facebook described it:

There’s no mention in the documentation of Facebook Credits spotted earlier this year, so it’s still unclear how payments will be processed within mobile apps. A big part of why Facebook needed to create the mobile platform was to allow it to earn money from app sales and in-app purchases, which can’t happen if its is merely a social layer within apps sold through Apple or Android’s mobile app stores.

Launching the Platform without Credits support could attract some developers who don’t want to pay Facebook’s 30% tax. However, punching credit card details into a mobile device can be especially difficult and lead to significant drop-off, so developers may actually want Facebook Credits support because it could increase sales volumes. Third-party mobile payments companies could also step in here to facilitate developer monetization.

This is a significant change in direction for Facebook. Credits was a centerpiece to Facebook’s monetization play, but it apparently is feeling the backlash from its 30% Credits tax. And to take that punch on the mobile side is particularly painful for Facebook, I believe. It is on mobile that PayPal has made such great strides over the last 24 months. With apps galore on the new mobile platform, Facebook would seem to have a great opportunity to monetize mobile on par with PayPal. However, that doesn’t seem like it will be the case — at least for the time being.