microtransaction

/ˈmaɪkroʊtrænˌsækʃən/

Other forms: microtransactions

When you pay a very small amount of money for something online, it's a microtransaction. Buying virtual sardines to feed your virtual pet cat in your favorite game is an example of a microtransaction.

The tiny payment a musician receives whenever their song is played on a streaming service is another kind of microtransaction. The amount of money each time is extremely small, much less than a penny per download. Micro- is from the Greek smikros, "small or trivial," and transaction has a Latin root meaning "agreement." It takes millions of microtransactions to add up to anything valuable.

Definitions of microtransaction

1. noun

   a small online purchase, often for virtual items or features within a game or application