In a bid to enhance its India focus, Facebook India, the India arm of

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the social networking site now plans to transact in Indian currency instead of US dollars. The move is expected to make the medium more accessible for small and medium advertisers in the country while giving a big fillip to e-commerce which is pegged to be a $ 5 billion industry by 2014.

“The move comes as a response to the strong urge among Indian advertisers to allow transaction in Indian currency. This will benefit the whole spectrum of big and small brands active on Facebook,” said Kirthiga Reddy, director Online Operations and Head of Office India. Till now Facebook has been transacting only in US dollars. The new plan will be implemented in a few months. Reddy declined to share the exact date.

Kunal Bahl, founder and CEO, Snapdeal.com, a 14-month old Rs 100 crore e-commerce firm said the move would make it easier for online customers to complete transactions without shifting to the company’s home page, which is the current practice. “This is going to have direct tangible impact on our business. As this gets applied, we can sell our deals within a Facebook page and it will help increase the conversion rates at least by five times. Till now each time our Facebook fans wanted to do a transaction, they had to exit the Facebook page and do it through our website,” said Bahl.

Amit Bhartiya, business head - ViziSense, an online audience measurement platform, at Komli Media India, which has Facebook India as one of its clients, said the move will make Facebook a more accessible for several medium sized and smaller advertisers. “It will also help cause saving in terms of foreign exchange transaction cost for some advertisers,” he added.

Facebook India has 25 million users, up from 8 million in six months since it started its India operations. With the rising consumer base, Indian brands are increasingly using Facebook for advertising. Reddy indicates that sectors like telecom, FMCG, retail firms are the most dominant players on Facebook. Companies like Tata Indicom, Airtel, PepsiCo, and retail majors like Shoppers Stop, Future Group are leveraging it to connect with their clients.