Amazon launches its own virtual currency called Coins and gives 'tens of millions' away for free to US Kindle owners

• One Amazon Coin is worth one US penny
• Coins can be bought in batches of 1000 and Kindle Users have been given 500 Coins for free
• Plans to launch Coins in the UK and for non-Kindle users have not yet been announced

Amazon has launched its own currency called Amazon Coins.
It's currently only available in the States for Kindle Fire owners, but the Coins can be used to pay for games, apps and in-app purchases from the Amazon Appstore. 
One Amazon Coin is worth one US penny, and Kindle Fire owners are getting 500 Coins ($5) for free as part of the launch.  

Amazon has launched its own virtual currency called Coins in the US. It is only available for Kindle Fire users, for the time being, but can be used to buy games, apps and in-app purchases from the Kindle Appstore, as well as buy items from Amazon's retail store

MICROSOFT POINTS

Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, Xbox Music and Video online stores.
Points can be used to buy content from the respective stores.
They can be bought using a credit card and the credit card can then be removed.
This means parents can buy their children Points to spend on games and upgrades, and control how much they spend without adding a credit card to the account.
However, in October 2012, Windows 8 began support local currency in the Xbox Video Store instead of relying on Microsoft Points.
This suggests that Microsoft may move away from its virtual currency, in the same way Facebook did with its Credits scheme last year. 

The Coins will also be able to be used on the company's retail site when they become more widely available.
Amazon has not yet confirmed when the scheme will be launched outside of the US, or if it will be available to non-Kindle users.

Amazon Coins can be bought in batches of 1000, 2500, 5000 and 10,000. 
The more you buy, the bigger the discount and 10,000 Coins costs $90, for example.
Customers will also get a 10% discount on items bought using Amazon Coins.
Amazon isn't the first company to introduce it's own currency; Microsoft Xbox and Windows Live customers can use Microsoft Points to pay for games, upgrades, bonus levels and so on. 

Amazon Coins are only currently available in the US. The company has not yet confirmed when the scheme will come to the UK. All Kindle Fire users in America have been given 500 Coins worth $5 for free, to spend in the Kindle Appstore

Nintendo similarly has Nintendo Points that can be used in the Wii Shop Channel.
Facebook launched Facebook Credits in 2009, which could be used for apps and games on the social network site, but scrapped the scheme last year in favour of local currency.
Amazon has said it has launched its Coins program as a way for developers to make more money by making it easier for shoppers to buy apps and games.
It hopes Coins will make it easier for customers to pay for items because they can buy and store Coins in their Amazon Appstore accounts to use as and when. 
It can also be a way for parents to control how much children spend, negating the need to have a credit card attached to the account.
Amazon already accepts card payments and gift cards for Kindle purchases and has said that these payment options will remain.
Amazon developers had until April 25 to submit their app if they wanted it to run on the new Coins currency.
Developers will continue to get 70% revenue share for any apps or in-app purchases bought using Coins.