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Facebook calls for payment apps testers

Caroline McCarthy CNET News

Published: 16 Jul 2009 11:00 BST

Facebook posted a set of announcements on its developer blog on Wednesday, most notably a call for alpha testers for the Facebook Credits virtual currency platform it is launching after much speculation.

"We are currently conducting an alpha test in which select applications can accept Facebook Credits from users," said the post. "Our 250 million users can now buy Facebook Credits in 15 currencies and we believe that as Facebook Credits become more broadly available on the platform, they will meaningfully improve developer monetisation and provide a great experience for users."

Interested developers are encouraged to contact Facebook.

Facebook also announced that developers who want to advertise the applications they build to run on its platform, which it launched more than two years ago, now have another option — they can target ads to users who are (or are not) already connected to one of their applications — to encourage existing users to try a new app from the same developer, for example, or to court new users.

Larger businesses have been built atop the developer platform. In fact, some reliable assessments have concluded that at least for now, the apps on the platform combined make more money than Facebook itself.

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