Facebook first opened its API to third-party developers way back in 2007. In doing so, the social network helped create one almighty ecosystem that helped it grow much faster than it otherwise could have.
Indeed, whilst Facebook has created a multi-billion dollar business off others building on top of its platform, one small but notable facet of its offering was missing – the ability to access a user’s preferred currency and the conversion rate to credits. This meant that games, for example, couldn’t display the actual price of an item in the local currency of the buyer.
Now, however, Facebook has announced that it’s launching a new API to let developers do just that. So, if a user visits a store to buy something priced at 100 Credits, at $10, you’ll be able to show what it costs in euros, pounds or whatever the local currency may be.
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It’s worth noting here that items will still be priced in Facebook’s ‘Credits’ payment system. But this means you can also choose to display prices in the equivalent amount of their preferred currency.
Granted, this means that the offered price won’t be a nice round number a la the dollar equivalent, but it will help users know exactly what they’re spending. But this is a not-insignificant step in Facebook’s efforts to make its platform more internationally friendly.
Developers can read more about the preferred currency API here.
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