Facebook Credits
Encyclopedia
Facebook Credits is a virtual currency
that enables people to purchase items in games and non-gaming applications on the Facebook Platform
. One U.S. dollar
is the equivalent of 10 Facebook Credits. Facebook Credits are currently available in 15 currencies including U.S. dollars, pound sterling
, euros, and Danish kroner. Eventually, it's expected Facebook will expand Credits into a micropayment
system open to any Facebook application, whether a game or a media company application.
Facebook Credits went into its alpha stage in May 2009 and progressed into the beta stage in February 2010, which ended in January 2011. At that time, Facebook announced all Facebook game developers would be required to process payments only through Facebook Credits from July 1, 2011.
Facebook retains 30% and developers get 70% of all revenue earned through Credits. Credits is a single currency that can be used in multiple games and applications, and its introduction led former PayPal
executives to comment on whether or not Credits could soon replace PayPal as the leader in virtual payments. By the end of 2010, it was expected that Facebook users would purchase Credits to pay for the majority of virtual goods sold on the social network.
In March 2011, Facebook has created an official subsidiary
to handle payments: Facebook Payments Inc.
(FarmVille
, FrontierVille
), CrowdStar
(Happy Aquarium, HelloCity), and PopCap Games
(Bejeweled Blitz
) as well as Playdom
, Playfish
, RockYou
, and 6waves.
In September 2010, it was announced that Facebook Credits would become the exclusive payment method for all games developed by Zynga and hosted on Facebook. Zynga is the number one Facebook application developer and was expected to earn $500 million in 2010 from virtual goods.
It was announced in April of 2011 that Facebook users will be able to use Credits to purchase vouchers that can be redeemed for real goods and services by using the "Deals" offering.
Virtual currency
Virtual currency is used to purchase virtual goods within a variety of online communities; which include social networking websites, virtual worlds and online gaming sites....
that enables people to purchase items in games and non-gaming applications on the Facebook Platform
Facebook Platform
The Facebook Platform provides a set of APIs and tools which enable third-party developers to integrate with the "open graph" — whether through applications on Facebook.com or external websites and devices...
. One U.S. dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
is the equivalent of 10 Facebook Credits. Facebook Credits are currently available in 15 currencies including U.S. dollars, pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, euros, and Danish kroner. Eventually, it's expected Facebook will expand Credits into a micropayment
Micropayment
A micropayment is a financial transaction involving a very small sum of money and usually one that occurs online. PayPal defines a micropayment as a transaction of less than 12 USD while Visa prefers transactions under 20 Australian dollars, and though micropayments were originally envisioned to...
system open to any Facebook application, whether a game or a media company application.
Facebook Credits went into its alpha stage in May 2009 and progressed into the beta stage in February 2010, which ended in January 2011. At that time, Facebook announced all Facebook game developers would be required to process payments only through Facebook Credits from July 1, 2011.
Facebook retains 30% and developers get 70% of all revenue earned through Credits. Credits is a single currency that can be used in multiple games and applications, and its introduction led former PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
executives to comment on whether or not Credits could soon replace PayPal as the leader in virtual payments. By the end of 2010, it was expected that Facebook users would purchase Credits to pay for the majority of virtual goods sold on the social network.
In March 2011, Facebook has created an official subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
to handle payments: Facebook Payments Inc.
Using Credits
Currently, over 150 developers use Facebook Credits in more than 650 Facebook games and applications, which represents over 70% of virtual goods purchased on Facebook. Developers offering Facebook Credits include ZyngaZynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
(FarmVille
FarmVille
FarmVille is a farming simulation social network game developed by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to Happy Farm, Farm Town,, and older games such as the Harvest Moon series...
, FrontierVille
FrontierVille
The Pioneer Trail, formerly known as FrontierVille is a simulation, role-playing video game available for play on social networking sites such as Facebook. It is developed by Zynga and was launched on June 9, 2010...
), CrowdStar
CrowdStar
CrowdStar is a developer of Facebook & mobile games, based in Burlingame, California, United States. One of its most popular titles is "Happy Aquarium" and "Happy Pets". Founded by Suren Markosian and Jeff Tseng, it is ranked 4th among developers with the most monthly active users for Facebook...
(Happy Aquarium, HelloCity), and PopCap Games
PopCap Games
PopCap Games is an American video game developer and publisher, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka, and currently employs about 400 people...
(Bejeweled Blitz
Bejeweled Blitz
Bejeweled Blitz is originally a Facebook application which is developed and published by PopCap Games. It soon expanded into a downloadable game, based on the then-in-development Bejeweled 3 engine, due to popularity of the differences from Bejeweled 2 and its new graphics. As with the Bejeweled...
) as well as Playdom
Playdom
Playdom is an online social network game developer popular on Facebook and on MySpace; it is currently the largest social game developer on MySpace and one of the larger ones on Facebook. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area by University of California, Berkeley graduates Ling Xiao...
, Playfish
Playfish
Playfish, currently a property of Electronic Arts, is a developer of free-to-play social network games. Playfish was founded in 2007 by Kristian Segerstråle, Sebastien de Halleux, Sami Lababidi and Shukri Shammas. In October 2008, they secured USD$17 million in venture capital funding from Accel...
, RockYou
RockYou
RockYou is a developer of social games and advertising solutions for social media. RockYou is focused on the development of social game titles, including Gourmet Ranch and the Zoo World franchise...
, and 6waves.
In September 2010, it was announced that Facebook Credits would become the exclusive payment method for all games developed by Zynga and hosted on Facebook. Zynga is the number one Facebook application developer and was expected to earn $500 million in 2010 from virtual goods.
It was announced in April of 2011 that Facebook users will be able to use Credits to purchase vouchers that can be redeemed for real goods and services by using the "Deals" offering.
Obtaining Credits
In addition to purchasing credits within Facebook, there are a number of online and offline channels for earning or buying Facebook Credits. These include the following.- Gift cards - In the U.S., TargetTarget CorporationTarget Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, Walmart, Best BuyBest BuyBest Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Radio ShackRadio shackRadio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
, GameStopGameStopGameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
, and SafewaySafeway Inc.Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
sell Facebook credit gift cards in their stores. Facebook Credits gift cards are sold in TescoTescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
and GameGAME (retailer)The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
shops in the U.K. Facebook Credits gift cards are also sold in over 500,000 outlets in five Southeast Asian countries, India, Australia, and New Zealand. - RixtyRixtyRixty is an alternative payment platform that makes it easy for youth and others without credit cards to make online entertainment purchases by converting their cash into online credits at more than 20,000 Coinstar kiosks and retail locations nationwide...
lets users get Facebook Credits by buying a prepaid Rixty giftcard with coins or cash at stores and then converting it to Facebook credits. - Shopkick allows users to earn Facebook credits by checking in to stores with an iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
or Android application. - ifeelgoods enables online retailers to offer Facebook Credits as incentives for making purchases, signing up for e-mail newsletters, and other actions.
- AppDog awards users with an Apple or Android mobile device with free Facebook Credits in exchange for downloading apps. Downloaded apps can be free or paid.
- Bing Rewards Preview allows you to obtain Facebook credits
- (TrialPay) issues Facebook Credits as an incentive for users to sign up for advertiser services (ie. sign-up for a Netflix account), complete market research surveys or interact with brand-sponsored videos/engagements. Users can access TrialPay on the Facebook platform through a variety of ways including in-game icons DealSpot or an 'earn credits' tab within the game environment.