Facebook said Thursday it will close its online gift shop, where subscribers could purchase virtual cards and other gifts to send to other Facebook members. Though Facebook will close its operation on Aug. 1, the social-networking site said it will continue offering items for sale to subscribers through third-party providers.
Despite the closing, Facebook’s plans to offer credit-based purchasing will become even more formidable. Earlier this week Facebook struck a deal with MOL Global under which the Malaysia-based payment system developer expects to make it easier and more convenient for Asians to purchase virtual goods such as online games and applications on Facebook.
“We view this agreement as a major opportunity to broaden the availability of a simple, unified currency that can be used in games and applications,” said Vaughan Smith, director of business and corporate development at Facebook.
Leveraging Third-Party Infrastructures
The deal suggests Facebook is looking to grow its online sales and credit system faster than it could achieve on its own. Under the new agreement with MOL, Facebook members in Asia will be able to buy credits using MOLPoints on Facebook as well as on MOL’s own web site.
MOL is well positioned to make purchasing Facebook credits significantly more convenient in Asia — a region where consumers rely heavily on offline prepaid cards rather than credit cards to purchase digital goods and services. The Malaysia-based group of companies has more than 500,000 outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, India, Australia and New Zealand.
“Working with MOL means we can offer the benefits of Facebook credits to millions of people in Asia using a payment system that is already widely used and trusted,” Smith said.
The recent performance of MOL provides an indication of how fast credit-based sales can grow under the right infrastructure. “Over the past few quarters…