On Aug. 21, Baidu (BIDU 0.98%) told Bloomberg that it is expanding its investment in "lite apps," or Web-based apps that don't require downloads. Any execution on the mobile front is generally good news for Baidu investors, who have recently watched the company's R&D expenses skyrocket, but there was one particular note in the report that's also deserving of some limelight.

"Baidu is also offering mobile payment services for developers to commercialize their applications," Baidu Vice President Li Mingyuan told Bloomberg.

In the following video, Fool contributor Daniel Sparks says this is an important move for the company because it's monetization that will encourage third-party investment in the app marketplace.