Social Payment Network Takes Ecommerce Offline

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February 24, 2010
By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Content Team

Shopping online is becoming increasingly popular ever year, as the cost of computers has come down dramatically and more people are able to obtain faster Internet connections. However, one of the key elements of ecommerce is that the payment occurs online, typically via a credit card or a paypal account that has been electronically funded. This process of online shopping is not so easy for some people as they do not have a credit card or bank account. One area where this scenario often occurs is in the realm of social games which often involve virtual goods that can be purchased with virtual currency. The only way to acquire virtual currency at most websites is to pay for it with real currency, although some use virtual goods ad platforms like gWallet, Offerpal, or SuperRewards. One new company dubbed Kwedit, is adding another option to the mix by meshing an offline component to the online virtual goods buying space.

Kwedit is is a social payment network which will give web publishers a better way to monetize their site and sell more virtual goods by giving them an alternative payment method. They have a product called Kwedit direct which has a multifaceted approach to solving the problem of people wanting to buy things online, but not having the means to do so. This could be because the person is too young to have credit, has bad credit, or perhaps just does not feel comfortable shopping online with a credit card. With Kwedit direct, you can now allow people to mail their payment, pay at a local 7-11, or even pay by asking a friend or family member to pay via their Pass the Duck solution. While this idea seems to be used more so for the virtual goods space, it could very well be adopted in some scenarios with real goods.

The site seems to have a clear focus on the virtual goods space because of the ease of retracting a virtual good if payment is not made. Users who pay back Kwedit in a timely fashion get points added to their Kwedit Score, a unique play on the FICO credit score. Only time will tell whether Kwedit will work or not, but for now it’s a very interesting solution to a consistent problem.