Spare Change Payments
| Company type | Private (formerly) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Online payments, Micro-transactions |
| Founded | 2007 in Cupertino, California, United States |
| Founder | Mark Rose, Simon Ru, Lex Bayer |
| Fate | Acquired by PlaySpan in April 2009; PlaySpan acquired by Visa Inc in February 2011 |
| Successor | Visa Checkout (via PlaySpan) |
| Headquarters | Cupertino , United States |
Area served | Social media platforms (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo) |
Key people | Mark Rose, Simon Ru, Lex Bayer |
| Products | Micro-payment system for social networking applications |
| Owner | Visa Inc |
| Parent | Visa Inc |
Spare Change Payments was a company focused on online payment solutions, specializing in facilitating micro-transactions within games and applications on platforms such as Facebook and other social media networks. Currently, it operates under the ownership of Visa, Inc.
Shortly after the introduction of the Facebook Platform, Spare Change became the pioneer in providing a micro-payment system tailored for developers of social networking applications. Its platform enabled users to load funds into a unified Spare Change wallet, which could be used across various games and apps, effectively serving as an early model for Facebook Credits.
The company played a key role in transitioning app developers away from reliance on advertising revenue toward monetization through micro-payments and virtual goods commerce. By March 2009, Spare Change had facilitated $30 million in transactions spanning 700 applications on Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo, with its user base exceeding one million wallet holders.
Company history
Established in 2007 by Mark Rose, Simon Ru, and Lex Bayer in Cupertino, California, Spare Change was acquired by PlaySpan in April 2009. Subsequently, PlaySpan was bought by Visa Inc for $190 million in February 2011. The integration of Spare Change's technology and personnel with PlaySpan’s resources contributed significantly to the creation of Visa Checkout, a streamlined online payment solution optimized for mobile devices that requires only a username and password post-registration. In September 2017, the original founders of Spare Change were awarded a patent titled "Method and system for authenticating online transactions."