Amazon Introducing Amazon Coins a new virtual currency
In May, Amazon will roll out its own virtual currency, Amazon Coins, for purchasing apps, games, and in-app content on Kindle Fire in the U.S. To entice users, the company will hand out “tens of millions of dollars in Amazon Coins” for free.
App developers will get their standard 70 percent revenue cut on content purchased with Amazon Coins.
Developers of Amazon apps don’t need to do anything to use Amazon Coins. Developers whose apps aren’t in the Appstore yet have to get their app approved by April 25 to be ready when Coins officially launches.
Amazon Coins will vie with other forms of online currency, most notably, Facebook Credits.
Amazon Coins are also not discounted over regular dollars: “One Amazon Coin is worth one cent, so if an app costs $2.99 it will cost 299 Amazon Coins.” It’s unclear how Amazon will sell the coins to users (and how many they’ll have to buy at once) when the free giveaway period is over, though the release says the company will “make it quick and easy for customers to buy additional Amazon Coins using their Amazon accounts.”
Source: Amazon