San Francisco , California ( CNN ) -- To bolster its digital currency , Facebook is deepening ties with digital purchasing provider PayPal , the two companies said at an event Tuesday . After a flurry of partnerships announced at the PayPal Innovate conference , the Web 's linchpin payment platform said it will provide a new option for buying inexpensive virtual goods from the largest social network . Facebook currently allows its users to buy Credits , the site 's proprietary currency , with a PayPal account . Facebook will add the ability to buy virtual items individually , rather than in increments of $ 15 , thanks to PayPal 's new digital goods platform , which was unveiled at the conference . Credits are used to purchase virtual gifts for friends or power-ups in games . Developers making Facebook applications powered by Credits -- such as the Zynga Game Network , which makes FarmVille -- will soon have the option of receiving payments through deposits to their PayPal accounts . `` The gaming industry is often an indicator of what 's to come , '' Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said during the announcement . `` More people play games on Facebook than on the top three consoles combined . '' These features will roll out in the next several months , said Osama Bedier , PayPal 's vice president of product development . `` PayPal is already one of the main ways to buy Facebook Credits , '' Sandberg said . `` PayPal took the pain out of transactions . '' Facebook also accepts credit cards and payments via cell phone from some wireless carriers . Gift cards containing Facebook Credits can be found at stores such as Target , Walmart and Best Buy . Although PayPal had a partnership in place with Facebook in February , PayPal President Scott Thompson said these new features are a step toward expansions between the two companies . `` Today 's announcement was a refinement of our product , '' he said . For Facebook , the Credits product may also need refinement . Sandberg took a moment during her announcement to poll the sizable audience about whether they had purchased Credits . Few people raised their hands . `` Try it ! '' Sandberg urged the audience . `` You 'll like it . '' Facebook has drawn a million developers to make software and widgets that run within or connect with the social network , Sandberg said . `` The games and stuff that have happened on this platform are just amazing , '' Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said last week during a panel at his company 's headquarters in Palo Alto , California . `` Five years out , I think the world is going to look a lot more like Zynga . '' But Facebook 's platform is n't quite mature . That could have something to do with a flimsy relationship with developers , PayPal 's Naveed Anwar said . `` Facebook has done a really good job building out their platform , but one area where they have n't really done a good job is paying developers , '' said Anwar , who is senior director of PayPal 's developer network . `` And that 's where this partnership comes in . '' PayPal announced a number of other agreements , including new ways to use the service to buy things within smartphone apps ; using that phone in lieu of a credit card at a few stores in San Francisco ; and buying memorabilia using software made for televisions . Next year , PayPal will launch an app marketplace to showcase websites and products that tie into its services .
PayPal and Facebook deepen corporate ties . Facebook users can pay for inexpensive goods incrementally using PayPal . Comment: