Comments on: Facebook payments: Think virtual

It looks like Facebook will be launching a virtual currency instead of a transaction platform. The reasons are complicated, but the goals and possibilities for the social site are much loftier.

[ElizabethMoressi]

Oh, so payment providers like Spare Change and Social Gold beware! Facebook is going to dip deep into your pool.

Well on the other side of the coin, it will infuse the overall market and Facebook has the ability to run with this, make millions and increasing the trust levels between users and applications.

Trust is tricky though, this payment system needs to present the most robust security like extended validation ssl in order to retain users and boost transaction fees. They can?t afford security slip-ups during their first year after rollout. We all remember Amazon?s first Christmas shopping/shipping season fiasco.

[hellerjeff]

I want to go long the "Buddy" aka, the Facebook Dollar!

[megustansalchichas]

"if anyone can do this, it's Facebook" ? right.
like "if anyone can do an electric car, it's General Motors"
don't count your chickens before they hatch...

[cube3]

Before Facebook creates ANOTHER paypal/ebay dynasty that every day nickels and dime users, holds money hostage, and provides no relief, i strongly suggest the FTC force these "new" money holders to some standards of the old FDIC insured banks that were the ONLY ones not to rape the entire countries wealth this year.

the techno blind refuse to see that these systems run my your code and belief DO NOT work- they are crappy beta-, and that without careful democratically controlled human oversight, your systems will keep destroying individual financial lives.

trust.. are you kidding... trix are for kids.

[blurble]

no, trix are for prostitutes

and i wouldn't trust FB with the job of murdering an old lady. Their customer support is in the crapper as it is, and was NEVER good from the beginning. I've been on there since the founding in dang near 2005. And ya, paypal is in the crap too. Hate them. Use my online bank instead.

[Alexander_Ainslie]

@ Lisa Rutherford:

- What do you think of the #OpenSocial Virtual Currency initiative? See: http://bit.ly/iPT0K

- Do you not think that a new, specialist, entrant like Steve Case's www.RevolutionMoney.com could crack this Virtual Currency nut in a secure, scalable and accountable manner? Or VISA or Monetise in the UK for that matter.

Please comment here or on twitter to: @AAinslie

[mykick22]

LOL, who would waste money on this??

[rdarylh]

It's just good business. And good business means happy customers on facebook, right?

[PigSpigot]

Just because the idea is complicated doesnt mean it's not great. Facebucks (as I hope they'll be called), like Lindens, will have real value and will eventually be used to buy real products (like apps) instead of just superpokes and mafia poisions. Plus, FB wont have to pay for transaction costs like they do with CC stuff now, and, via the magic of FB Connect, the Facebuck could eventually be a currency that all developers (regardless of whether they have a fb presence) can use.
David

[Sam Papelbon]

weeee let's all spend our facebucks on little icons for our friends! instead of saving the image, uploading it to imageshack, and posting it on their wall for free! i mean come one, just how cute is the word 'facebucks' anyway? you would buy some just to say 'i have facebucks!'

[Dahlgren]

The Taxman cometh! If these virtual currencies are used to buy real world value/goods it's inevitable. There were already rumblings over taxing Second Life's Lindens in the US.

[sting7k]

Facebook can create money systems all they want, how are they going to get people to actually spend for it?

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