Facebook Credits: harder, better, faster, stronger

Facebook has announced three updates to the payments and reporting features of Facebook Credits: faster payment schedules, improved reporting, as well as expanded currency support and payment options.

Starting this month, Facebook will issue payments to developers twice per month: one payment for activity between day 1 and day 15, and a second payment for activity between day 16 and the last day of the month. The company will issue payments 21 days after the end of each bimonthly period.

This week, Facebook is also rolling out updated reporting mechanisms to all developers, which will include two new e-mail reports that cover the previous day's activities. The first e-mail is a summary report showing totals for all Facebook Credits activity from the previous day, including any refunds and chargebacks, and the second e-mail shows individual line-by-line transactions. The same two report formats for the entire bimonthly reporting period will also be sent when developers get paid.

Facebook Credits currently supports 15 currencies, along with more than 20 alternative payment methods covering 95 countries. Over the next six weeks, Facebook will be expanding its currency support with the addition of the Taiwan dollar, the Malaysian ringgit, the Thai baht, the New Zealand dollar, and the Singapore dollar, as well as adding support for the following alternative payment options:

• Europe: Ukash, Carte Bleue, cashU, iDEAL, EPS, Mister Cash, Giropay, Direct Debit
• North & South America: Interac, DineroMail, Todito Cash
• Asia: MyCard, Gash, OneCard, 郵便振替/払込, 銀行振込み

Facebook is still planning on requiring social game developers on the Facebook canvas platform to process all payments through Facebook Credits starting on July 1, 2011. Developers will, however, still be able to offer their own in-game currencies. Under the new terms, applications will be able to reward their users in the following ways:

• Giving users virtual currency or virtual goods in exchange for them performing an action that does not involve a third party, such as watching an ad for a game by the same developer or installing another app offered by the same developer.
• Giving users virtual goods when they take an action involving a third party, as long as the user is not required to share personally identifiable information. Examples include watching a video, playing a mini-game or taking a poll.
• Giving users virtual currency or virtual goods via Facebook's approved offer partners.

Developers may not, however, offer rewards in the following instances:

• Giving users virtual currency for any action that involves a third party, such as watching a 30-second video ad or signing up for a subscription. This feature is available through Facebook's approved offer partners.
• Giving users virtual currency or virtual goods for actions that involve them sharing personally identifiable information with a third party, or downloading an app from a third party.

If you want to learn more, there's an 18-page  Facebook Credits Integration Guide (PDF) and a Facebook Credits for Developers page on the Help Center website.