Creditnet News Story
Facebook to expand online payment service
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
By William Davis
Spurred by fears that revenues could soon flatten, social networking giant Facebook has expanded its Credits service to brick-and-mortar Target stores and will soon branch out online as well.
According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, Facebook will now sell Credits gift cards at Target stores nationwide starting September 5, and they will be available in denominations of $15, $25 and $50. The new venture could make Facebook hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and may total as high as a third of its revenues.
Similarly, Facebook is exploring the option of allowing consumers to use Credits with approved third-party ecommerce sites. This way, consumers can pay with money they've already given Facebook in lieu of taking on credit card debt. The social networking company would streamline the process, giving consumers added convenience by not having to enter their credit card information into the site.
Facebook has over 500 million users worldwide, many of them young. That type of customer base could prove a boon not only to the website, but also to companies it partners with for online sales.
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