The company that launched the Kwedit alternative payment product earlier this year, to much controversy, is testing a new feature that lets users purchase Facebook Credits with cash.
The new product, called PayNearMe, allows people who don’t have or don’t want to use credit or debit cards to purchase Facebook credits with cash at nearly all of the 6,000 7-11 stores in the continental U.S. And it’s a heck of a deal.
Facebook Credits generally cost $0.10 each. PayNearMe is giving users a 10% bonus, so $1 buys you 11 credits. And most users will also get a 50 or 100 credit bonus (worth $5 or $10) as well.
Here’s how it works. You sign into PayNearMe using Facebook Connect. You set the number of credits you want to purchase and print out the final page (see image). Take that into a 7-11 and they scan it and you pay. Once you pay the credits are transferred to your account. In the future, the company says they’ll have a mobile application and the clerk can just scan your phone.
The bonus is paid every time a “shift” changes at each 7-11. So if you redeem a coupon first during a shift you get the 50 or 100 credit bonus. The program just launched moments ago, so the bonus is available at just about every 7-11 right now, and resets at the next work shift. The website also tells you which nearby 7-11’s still have the bonus waiting.
This will only run for a few weeks as the company tests out the system, CEO Danny Shader tells me. So grab those credits while you can.
Why is the company doing this? They want to test out the new system, says Shader. A big new product launch is coming shortly that will let people pay via cash at 7-11s for a variety of online and offline goods.
Meanwhile, if anyone wants to print out that image and take it to a 7-11, I’ll send you a nice virtual gift on Facebook. I have no idea how I’ll verify who you are though since you’ll be paying for cash.