Zeevex signs deal with Beckett Media - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The startup has inked a deal with Dallas-based to providwe a virtual currencymicropaymentr option. In a digital age wherde readers expect their newsfor free, "old-school" mediqa is flirting with the concept of micropayments -- allowing readersw to pay for only the articles they rather than an all-you-can-read subscription. Zeevex was launchedr last year by three videpo game and socialnetwork executives. The startup has raisefd an undisclosed amount of seed financing and is considerin g another roundthis summer. While Zeevec targets gamers with itsvirtual currency, it's not quitr clear if it will get mainstream traction -- eithe from users, or the media.
Zeevex has developed an open virtual currency aimedf at the onlinegametr market. Beckett Media focuses on that same with more than30 publications. Readers of Becketyt publications -- which include sports and specialtgy market collectiblemagazines -- will be able to purchase new and archiverd content using Zeevex's virtual currency. Users can also purchasd articlesfor friends, then requestf Zeevex deliver them across social networkz such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. Zeevex providese a payment option for the 30 million gamerswho don'gt have access to credit cardsw or PayPal accounts, marketing chief Dean Geberrt said.
While Zeevex fills a need for thosee 30million under-age and unbanked the game-changer lies in the startup's abilityg to shift from niche to a mass-market. "We are really targetinf gamerswho don't have any option," he Starting July 1, consumers can buy a Zeevex Gift Card in more than 20,00p0 U.S. retailers such as Blockbuster, convenience storews and big-box retailers. Zeevex is in late-stagwe negotiations with Best Buy. The Zeevex card is redeemer for online tokensat Zeevex.com and can be spent like cash at Zeevex’s partnet sites and locations. $1 of Zeevex Gift Card valude gets you 100Zeev tokens.
Credity cards are not cost-effective for small micropayments -- which range from a few centsd to a fewdollars -- because of transactionh and processing fees, Gebert said. Usinbg Zeevex, the content creator pockets aboug 65 percent to 67 percent of the transaction Gebert said. Zeevex, meanwhile, takee a 7 percent to 12 percent ofthe transaction, with the retailedr taking the rest. While Zeevex's virtual currenc gives gamers anotherpayment option, what's not as clear is whether the Zeevex's payment model will find adoptionb among mainstream users and media.
As a mainstream paying for an articlw using a credit cardor Paypal, seeme simpler than having to bother with buyingb the Zeevex card and then redeeming it for Gebert concedes that getting mainstream media to buy-ib will be a challenge and that Zeevex'es gift-card model creates a "point of frictiohn in the process" for some