Social Gold Launches In-Flash Payments API for Social Games
Flash has become an increasingly popular platform for social game developers over the last two years. These days, almost all of the most popular sims and virtual worlds on Facebook are Flash-based. However, for social game developers monetizing through virtual goods, there has been no good way to process microtransactions securely in Flash, until now.
Today, Social Gold, which raised $5 million this August to build out its virtual currency payments platform for social apps and online games, is launching the first API for secure in-Flash payments. With the API, developers of Flash apps can integrate a payment flow that keeps users in the game instead of sending users off to a payments page.
CEO Vikas Gupta tells us that the company has been focused on building the new service for months, largely focusing its efforts on a new security model designed to overcome Flash’s inherent security limitations. Because Flash SWF files can be decompiled, anyone can see secret keys that are placed in the Flash code, Gupta says. As a result, Social Gold is only putting session keys in Flash, and keeping a secret key on the server. Second, Gupta says that the company has created mechanisms that ensure that even if the Flash application has malicious libraries compiled in, they will not be able to intercept the user payment data that the Social Gold client library collects to sends to its servers.
“Data exchange between our library and our server always happens on a secure https channel,” Gupta says.
For now, users will only be able to pay with credit cards in in-Flash payments, but Gupta says mobile payments will come next. Once users enter their payment information once, it’s saved for 1-click purchases in the future. The service is now live in the popular Facebook game BarnBuddy by TheBroth.
“We really care about engagement, so we have always bemoaned the fact that users have to leave our game to buy virtual currency. The Social Gold API is the first API we’ve seen that allows users to make the purchase in Flash,” TheBroth CEO Markus Weichselbaum tells us. “This means the currency can be immediately available. With other payment gateways, users have to go to other pages, and in some cases other sites, and then come back and load the Flash. We’re hoping this will translate into higher conversions and revenue.”
Social Gold is part of a burgeoning industry in the US focused on virtual currency monetization and payment solutions optimized for social applications and games. It was founded by Gupta and Reza Hussein, who led the payments and web services groups at Amazon. We estimate the total size of the US virtual goods market to be just over $1 billion this year, according to our Inside Virtual Goods report.
Here’s a video demo of how it works:
October 29th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Entering credit card payments into Flash is not secure. There’s a reason other providers send you to another web page. Your credit card information can easily be stolen by a malicious party. It’s relatively easy, too.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:15 am
[...] SocialGold Ha da poco soppiantato i concorrenti su diverse applicazioni famose (Happy Aquarium, ad esempio), lanciando la sua API per i pagamenti sicuri all’interno delle app in Flash. [...]
November 11th, 2009 at 11:03 am
[...] CrowdStar itself has actually been around for a year and a half, having originally launched a trivia game called Know-It-All Trivia. This year, the company decided to focus on high-quality games that monetized using virtual goods. Happy Aquarium was launched in September and it has spread because people liked it, not because it made heavy use of Facebook’s communication channels, Lee says. “We didn’t even implement notifications at first,” she adds, “users were actually calling their friends and family to talk about it.” If users want to buy more currency for things like new fish or fish food in the game, they can purchase it directly through Social Gold’s monetization service. [...]
January 13th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Ryan Stewart (Platform Evangelist for Adobe) just put up a post on his blog about the Social Gold in Flash Payments API: http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/2010/01/in-game-flash-payments/
March 9th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
[...] the implementation information here. Other companies that provide in-Flash payment services include Jambool and its Social Gold product. We should note that social games on Facebook that use Flash normally include offer walls on [...]
April 16th, 2010 at 7:44 am
you owe me a sum of 120.00 dollars that you screwed me out of on facebook.I never confirmed for anyone to charge my credit card acct. for any of this.my lawyer is now aware of this transaction that took place,and will go forward with action if this is not resolved.
thanks. michael dirie
April 16th, 2010 at 7:47 am
very sorry,i’m trying to contact jambool.com who did this to me.
May 24th, 2010 at 2:17 am
on 21st may i tried to twice buy chips twice i was sent an email saying the purchase was declined yet my account is showing social gold net has drawn on my account the amount of $51.68 twice i want my money back or the chips otherwise i will take further action this is my 2nd email to your organisation i want a reply a.s.a.p regards anthony
July 4th, 2010 at 10:54 am
I was purchasing for Fish World and accidentily purchased $4.99 twice, which was ok, my fault. On my bank acct it shows that I purchased $4.99 4 times! Please take care of this immediately!
September 12th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
i being conned by your people they took out over £200 in 4 separate occassions for gambino poker and perfect poker no chips delivered over 16 billion chips were owed to me the bank customer services told me u took the money maybe its fraud if no chips are delivered or money returned by tonight have to inform the police its fraud by you guys
September 21st, 2010 at 3:43 pm
It would be nice if this actually worked! I have been trying to purchase coins for the price is right game for the past 3hrs and am still not able to.
October 7th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
i buy 2000 ameba gold in ameba pico then i dont reseved it so sad :(
October 8th, 2010 at 4:23 am
i tryd to bye some chips for perfectpoker 1 billion for 15 $ you took the money but you did not give me the chips i bye on the 4 of october whit a visa card. i bye a 50$ visa card i bye chips for my mother that one worked but the other two you took the money but no chips please give me back my money or my chips ty merci beaucoup
October 29th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
you sent me an e-mail saying my account has been released…but it hasnt. so please release it so i can buy some coins….thank you
November 5th, 2010 at 9:00 am
I was charged $4.99 twice on 11/4/2010, for coins that I only received 1 time. Can you please credit my account, or give me the coins I paid for? Thanks
November 9th, 2010 at 10:43 am
u are rip offs u will be sued….i will tell people to stay away
January 14th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
WHAT THE *********? Where’s my $50? or my credits to play games? HELLLLLLLOOOOOOOO!
January 25th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
I just want to purchase chips to play with my friends…can’t do it!!
January 29th, 2011 at 7:10 am
my account has been froze for over a week. Please fix it so I can buy some chips.
February 9th, 2011 at 11:55 am
i would like to know what this iwould like to why you tooh 200.48 out my account i dont know what this is