Business & Tech

Facebook Will Be Using Real Money Soon

The Menlo Park-based social media company announced it is phasing out Facebook Credits.

Facebook announced Tuesday it will be accepting real money starting in July, eliminating the virtual currency it has used since 2009.

The Menlo Park-based social media company will be rolling out a new payment system that enables people to enter their debit or credit card numbers directly onto the site. Users will also be able to store their payment information on Facebook, a move that will let people buy anything from the site with one click.   

Facebook Credits, the virtual currency used on the site now, will be phased out by the end of the year.

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Prashant Fuloria, blogger for Facebook’s development team, said any games or applications that sell virtual items will be required to use real money by the end of 2012. He said it would be beneficial to businesses that use Facebook.

“By supporting pricing in local currency, we hope to simplify the purchase experience, give you more flexibility, and make it easier to reach a global audience of Facebook users who want a way to pay for your apps and games in their local currency,” Fuloria said in a blog post.  

Soon, the price of items will appear in the local currency of wherever the user is logged in. Facebook will also be letting people subscribe to services that charge people every month, instead of restricting transactions to one-time payments.  

Any existing Facebook Credit balances will be converted to real money. 

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