Social networking behemoth Facebook have their fingers in a lot of pies; aside from becoming the most visited site on the internet, their applications are available on almost every conceivable mobile device and now they’re taking a stab at the real world.
They have partnered with the micropayment group MOL to make their virtual currency known as Facebook Credits available in retailers throughout Australia and Asia. They can either be exchanged for cash/ credit card MOL’s own MOLPoints later down the line. There are further plans afoot for these virtual currencies throughout these markets as well.
Internet Marketing
Taking virtual currency out of the purely online field is certainly an interesting move. It’s not the first time that it’s happened of course; eBay is filled with a legion of video-game related ‘perks’ including levelled-up characters in World of Warcraft to custom-designed cars for a number of racing games. It’s also easy to see why the Australian and especially Asian markets are the first targets for this – these countries tend to rely more on pre-pay cards than credit cards for online transactions. In light of this and the MOL partnership, it should make things easier for members to buy Facebook Credits and thus put more profit into the social network’s pockets.
Related posts: