Facebook Plays Monopoly With PayPal

Yesterday, PayPal announced a strategic partnership with Facebook, giving users of the service another payment method for ads, as well as their Facebook Credits, a site-specific virtual currency. The partnership will help small international businesses profit from ads, while the actual benefit to users lies in the implementation of PayPal Credits, which are being tested in a small number of apps on Facebook, as a virtual method of payment.

Facebook will still push for a seamless integration of Facebook Credits into their platform, making it a payment provider for virtual goods, but don’t expect to check out with them with your preferred e-commerce provider. Facebook will target smaller transactions like purchasing gifts for your friends’ birthdays.

Osama Bedier VP, Product Development elaborates on PayPal’s new relationship:

We’ve always been an important part of the developer ecosystem on Facebook and with today’s news, we’re really excited to expand our relationship directly with Facebook to help grow their advertiser and developer businesses.

[via All Facebook and The PayPal Blog]