During the trial, Facebook will analyze the demand for Credits as a payment method and the activity of users who pay using Facebook currency. If the feedback is positive, Facebook may expand the test including more virtual goods retailers. In addition, Facebook has made available a signup page for developers that want to try Facebook Credits for third-party websites if the test is expanded.
Online and downloadable games site GameHouse is the only partner of Facebook in launching the “Facebook Credits for Websites” pilot. Game players will only use Credits to pay for their games. Until now, GameHouse only accepted payments via credit card and PayPal. In case users decide to buy virtual goods or proprietary in-game currencies, Facebook Credits will be deducted from the same account that Facebook canvas and mobile games withdraw from. For the moment, this is a limited test and Facebook hasn’t revealed yet any plans of expanding Facebook Credits. It is also unclear if Facebook will ask developers to use its virtual currency exclusively in case the test shows a demand for Credits as a payment method outside of Facebook.com.
In related news, Facebook has added new payment methods for Facebook Credits. Some of the recent additions include: Axeso5 (Brazil), Join Card (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand), Malaysia OBT (Malaysia), MEPS FPX (Malaysia), MEPSCASH (Malaysia), PayEasy (Philippines), PaysBuy (Thailand), SafetyPay (Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Spain, Austria, Brazil), and WebCash (Malaysia). The social networking giant now supports over 80 payment methods in more than 50 countries around the world.
Facebook’s virtual currency which is now the mandatory payment method for all Facebook games has recently became available as a payment option to mobile app developers as well.
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