Corporate America Discovers Payments - Digital Transactions

payments, Google may yet turn thingsaround for Checkout. One thing is forsure: its moves in payments will beclosely watched in 2010.Facebook And theBottom-up ApproachAsk payments experts what’s the connectionbetween payments and socialnetworking, and most are left scratchingtheir heads. That’s why Facebook’sentry into e-payments has beenso perplexing at first glance. A deeperlook, however, reveals Facebook isnot just following a flight of fancy.Earlier this year, Facebook allieditself with Milwaukee-based processorFiserv Inc., which began rollingout its MyMoney personal financialmanagementapplication to Facebook’smore than 300 million users.MyMoney allows Facebook users thatbelong to a credit union supportingthe application to view account balances,review account history, andtransfer money between accounts.When a Facebook user whobelongs to a credit union offeringMyMoney adds the application to herFacebook page, friends within hersocial network will be notified andgiven the opportunity to join theirfriend’s credit union.Fiserv sees the affiliation withFacebook as a way for credit unionsto reach new customers that they areunable to reach through traditionalmarketing tactics. “Credit unionshave to find a way to attract Gen Xersand Gen Yers and younger generationsthat value the use of technologyin their daily lives, and Facebook isa marketing channel through whichthey can achieve that goal,” says ScottBowen, business development managerof MyMoney for Fiserv.It is also an entrée to initiatingpayments through credit unions,which like banks, offer the transactionsecurity consumers trust. Bowensays that Fiserv is looking at addingperson-to-person payment capabilitiesto enhance the value end users receivefrom MyMoney.While Facebook users can accessMyMoney through their Facebookpage, the application resides inFiserv’s secure data center, which iskey to developing trust that the applicationis secure. Users enrolling andlogging into their account are authenticatedagainst information on fileat their credit union through severalquestions to which only they wouldknow the answer.Facebook, which received a$240-million equity infusion fromMicrosoft in 2007, has also begun testingmobile payments for its FacebookCredits virtual currency through PaloAlto, Calif.-based processor Zong Inc.Other payments-platform providerssuch as Boku Inc., which providesmobile payments, Social Gold, anintegrated credit card enabler, PayPal,Amazon, and Google Checkout havelaunched efforts to accept FacebookCredits, according to Inside Facebook,which follows the massive network.The PayPal application can be usedto collect money from other Facebookmembers, such as membership dues oran individual’s portion of a team entryfee in a recreational sports league.“This is a pretty easy opportunity toset up,” says Jacob Jegher, a senioranalyst for Boston-based Celent.Spending CreditsFacebook did not respond to requestsfor interviews. But payments expertssay the site is aggressively pursuingnew ways to spend Facebook Creditsas a way to monetize its content,which is posted by end users.Facebook Credits in the beta versioncan reportedly be sent to a friend’saccount as a way to show appreciationfor the content they post. The idea isthat the when Facebook members arerewarded for posting content, they willbe induced to post more content, such asvideos or listings of upcoming events.“Facebook is a popular place forpeople to interact with others, but whatis ultimately going to keep them comingto the site is the ability to transact,”says BetterBuyDesign’s Mott. “Theyneed to have lots of ways and places tospend their Credits on the site.”Currently, Credits can be used tobuy points to play Facebook gamesdigital29