Kwedit, a service that lets people without credit or debit cards acquire digital content and virtual goods by making a 'promise' - that can not be enforced - to pay later, has launched in the US.
Kwedit is targeting the millions of teenage Americans that do not have debit or credit cards, but may want to buy digital content, through two new services.
The first, Kwedit Direct, lets users make a purchase online via three different methods that do not require cards or bank accounts.
Customers can print a "Kwedit Slip" at participating sites, which can then be taken to a 7-Eleven store where its barcode is scanned and the payment accepted. The payment is posted to the customer's account early the next morning.
Users can also print out a Kwedit payment slip and send it in the mail along with cash. Once the payment is received and processed, Kwedit notifies the customer and they get their purchase.
Alternatively, customers can "Pass the Duck", asking a friend or family member to pay on their behalf using a credit card or other Kwedit options.
The other service, Kwedit Promise, allows consumers to obtain digital content and virtual goods immediately in exchange for promises to pay for them later.
Customers can pay later using the various Kwedit Direct methods but they are under no legal obligation to do so.
However, there is an incentive to pay up because users are given a "kwedit score" which falls if they do not make payments they have promised and rises if they do. Users' scores determine how much "kwedit" participating sites will give them.
Kwedit is currently available on around 100 social game sites and is also an option on the Social Gold micropayments platform.