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Guest Post: The Impact of Facebook Credits on Platform Payments
Inside Facebook —
... Editor’s Note: Earlier this week, Facebook confirmed to Inside Facebook that it is planning to launch an alpha test of its virtual currency, Facebook credits, with Platform application developers in the next few weeks. Under the test, application developers will be able to accept Facebook credits as payment for in-app features and items, and be reimbursed by Facebook in cash for the credits spent inside their applications. Obviously, news of a universal Facebook currency has major implications for application developers, Platform payment companies, and the ...
Tencent’s virtual goods revenues keep growing during recession
VentureBeat —
... , mostly through virtual goods, as we and Inside Facebook have reported. Facebook, and other companies like MySpace, have yet to make serious money from the virtual economy. Facebook only has a gifts store, and MySpace doesn’t have anything — yet. But both companies are working on forms of virtual currency that could tie in with third-party applications, and let them get in on the action. ...
Facebook Begins Testing Payments System
WebProNews Feed —
... Facebook will reportedly begin testing a payments system in the coming weeks. This will start with a few developers, exploring ways for users to use Facebook credits with third-party apps on Facebook. ...
More Industry Comments on Facebook’s Virtual Currency Alpha Test
Inside Facebook —
... As Facebook plans to launch early tests of its virtual currency, Facebook credits, with Platform application developers in the next few weeks, developers and virtual currency and payment providers alike are considering how Facebook’s move to participate more directly in Platform monetization efforts will affect the Platform economy. ...
Why Facebook Wants A Virtual Currency
InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs —
... Facebook is clearly going to test some form of virtual currency in the next few weeks, in the hopes of finding new ways to monetize its more than 200 million active users. ...
Social Games Mafia Wars and Texas Hold’Em Have Facebook Pages With Over a Million Fans
Inside Facebook —
... . In Mafia Wars, players run a Mafia family with their friends and work their way to the top by engaging in criminal activity. In Texas Hold’Em, players join a virtual table and enjoy casual poker with friends or strangers. Both games incorporate virtual currency into the experience, inviting users to display their competitive energies in the context of a social experience. ...
Payment Industry Perspectives: Q&A with Twofish President Lisa Rutherford
Inside Facebook —
... CurrencyStarter. Like Jambool, it helps you get money into the system and your currency set up, but it’s different because you can brand your own currency across platforms, have separate exchange rates in different countries, etc.
EasyElements users can access data in a custom Google Analytics integration:
The CurrencyStarter allows you to turn on, sell, and track virtual currencies:
What challenges might Facebook face in launching its own a virtual currency system?
It’s smart ...
Payment Industry Perspectives: Q&A with Twofish President Lisa Rutherford
Inside Facebook —
... CurrencyStarter. Like Jambool, it helps you get money into the system and your currency set up, but it’s different because you can brand your own currency across platforms, have separate exchange rates in different countries, etc.
EasyElements users can access data in a custom Google Analytics integration:
The CurrencyStarter allows you to turn on, sell, and track virtual currencies:
What challenges might Facebook face in launching its own a virtual currency system?
It’s smart ...
Payment Industry Perspectives: Q&A with AdParlor CEO Hussein Fazal
Inside Facebook —
... So, it’s confirmed that Facebook is launching its own virtual currency test for applications. Thoughts? ...
Facebook Testing Bundling Credits with Branded Virtual Gifts on the Home Page
Inside Facebook —
... Facebook is clearly moving aggressively to test expansions to its virtual currency. Last week, Facebook confirmed to Inside Facebook that it is planning on launching tests integrating its virtual currency into Facebook Platform applications soon. Under such a system, Facebook users would buy currency from Facebook and spend it in applications, whose developers would then get reimbursed by Facebook (less a “transaction fee,” of course) for their work. ...
Facebook to Adjust Exchange Rate for Facebook Credits
Inside Facebook —
... amount of credits is meaningful.”
“Now by accumulating as little as 10 credits, you can buy a gift to add more significance to a friend’s birthday, celebrate a special occasion or simply have fun,” Facebook says.
Since migrating to a credit-based currency system last fall, Facebook has been testing a variety of initiatives with its virtual currency, including credit gifts, branded virtual gift credit bundles, and soon, it will launch tests with third party Facebook Platform applications.
In many virtual ...
Industry Perspectives: Q&A with Sometrics CEO Ian Swanson
Inside Facebook —
... What are some demographic trends that you’ve noticed across different online platforms?
It’s well known that the demographic on MySpace is younger, and we tend to see more completions on MySpace. With Facebook, we see more paying completions (e.g., Netflix). There are more offer completions on MySpace, but each completion has a lesser payout; thus, higher conversion rates on Facebook have greater value.
How will Facebook’s entry into virtual currency affect your company? ...
Hiring Signals: Facebook Looking for Someone to Lead Its Payments Initiatives
Inside Facebook —
... direction. Under this approach, users would pay Facebook for virtual currency (called Facebook “credits”), which they can spend in the Facebook gift store or in any Facebook applications which have integrated Facebook credits. Facebook confirmed to us two weeks ago that it will start running virtual currency integration tests with application developers soon. ...
Facebook User Files Suit (Then Drops It) for Not Protecting Users Against Viruses
Inside Facebook —
... Facebook was smart to hold firm with this lawsuit, which sounded, at best, gimmicky. But we do think this news is important for the mere reason that the stakes for protecting Facebook’s users could increase as people start making more monetary transactions over the platform through Facebook credits (which Facebook says it will start testing soon). ...
Facebook’s New Payment Terms Confirm New “Merchant” Program
Inside Facebook —
... that confirm the coming new developer “merchant” program. Just two weeks ago, Facebook told us that it was beginning an “alpha test” to integrate its virtual currency with Facebook Platform applications. ...
Facebook Platform Celebrates 2nd Anniversary
Inside Facebook —
... Now, the Facebook Platform economy is estimated to be doing close to $500 million annually, and a robust ecosystem of developers, ad networks, and virtual currency monetization and payment services has developed to service the ...
Facebook Turns On Another Revenue Stream - Now You Can “Pay With Facebook”
Inside Facebook —
... Now that Facebook is starting to roll out its virtual currency payment service to platform applications, demand for Facebook credits should increase dramatically - which would mean substantial revenue increases for Facebook. With the Facebook Platform economy estimated to be potentially as high as $500 million in total transaction values this year, Facebook could potentially add several million dollars to the bottom line simply by capturing a small piece of the overall market. ...
Will Facebook Take a Cue from Apple on Payment Fees for Developers?
Inside Facebook —
... And fill the void they have - a robust ecosystem of advertising networks, virtual currency monetization platforms, and payment providers have pounced on the opportunity. Industry executives estimate the Platform e-commerce market could reach between $300 - $500 million in 2009. ...
A $ign of Things to Come? Facebook Ads and Credits Can Now be Purchased in 14 New Currencies
Inside Facebook —
... Facebook is currently testing a Facebook credits payments program for Facebook Platform developers in a few applications in an effort to create an additional low-friction payment option. So far, many developers monetizing their applications through payments have expressed interest in testing the system out, though only a few are actually live now. Given that over 70% of Facebook users live outside the US, the addition of new currency support should make Credits an increasingly viable option for users in those countries. ...
Top Facebook Application Developer Slide Building Virtual Goods Business, Payment Platform
Inside Facebook —
... - or the social networks themselves. (Facebook recently started testing a payments program for developers, and MySpace has said it plans to do the same later this year.) ...
Facebook’s Big Advertising Experiment Drives New Revenue
Inside Facebook —
... In general, from what we understand, any sort of large-scale payments system or virtual goods expansion is likely a year or two off, if not longer. Facebook has no doubt been watching the explosion of this revenue stream among developers on its platform — we have separately heard virtual goods revenues could account for more than $300 million in platform revenue this year, money Facebook isn’t seeing any of. ...
