Miami-based Mentez runs the Paymentez network, where users can go to a retail store or internet cafe and buy a PIN number that they can use to purchase virtual goods in a social game online.
Juan Franco, chief executive of Mentez, said in an interview that very few players use credit cards in Latin America, with fewer than 1 credit card in circulation per person. But they do buy prepaid cards, especially if they are available in small currency values.
Prepaid cards are popular in Latin America due to low banking/credit card penetration in the region. According to Mercator’s study, Brazil and Mexico are two of the 10 prepaid markets around the world with the largest market opportunities for prepaid cards (excluding the US market). In 2009, potential prepaid card opportunities were estimated at about US$85.8 billion in Brazil, and US$63.3 billion in Mexico. Other major prepaid opportunities in the region include Argentina (US$23 billion), Columbia (US$20.4 billion) and Venezuela (US$20.3 billion), among others.
Read more about the Zynga/Mentz story here: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Venturebeat/~3/-CAGz18-cHw/
