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Is there a reason steam hasn't just changed policy so that adult games can only be purchased with store credit? They already have systems in place to load a ste
by dehugger 1y ago
Is there a reason steam hasn't just changed policy so that adult games can only be purchased with store credit? They already have systems in place to load a steam balance, which isnt refundable, and then buy games with it. Just lock these games to only use that payment type...
- qualeed 1y agoVisa/Mastercard can, conceivably, just tell Steam "if X content is available on the platform at all, regardless of payment method, we will no longer process your payments."
- toomuchtodo 1y agoStablecoins and FedNow instant payments are options. Walmart is about to offer Pay by Bank using FedNow instant payments rails to avoid credit card interchange fees, for example. Does Coinbase offer payment processing yet? Could be the next Superapp competing against PayPal’s global digital wallet.
- qualeed 1y agoCoins, maybe. FedNow is US-specific, though. In any case, as it stands right now, Steam losing Visa/MC processing entirely would be catastrophic to their business.
- toomuchtodo 1y agoVisa and Mastercard are for profit companies. Harder for commercial banks and the Federal Reserve to block payments unless you’re straight up breaking the law or KYC/AML. (payments are adjacent to my day gig, and I have to talk to FiServ and other FIs occasionally on the topic of moving money at a fintech)
- qualeed 1y ago>Harder for banks and the Federal Reserve to block payments That will vary by country, and the Federal Reserve is also US-specific. There are gamers in more countries than just the US :). But yes, I certainly agree that the duopoly of Visa/MC needs to go.
- toomuchtodo 1y agoHow does this work with UPI and Pix?
- qualeed 1y agoI'm not sure. I live in Canada, we have a system called Interac, but it is not an accepted payment method on Steam the last I checked.
- toomuchtodo 1y agoDo they have any history of gating or censoring payments?
- tracker1 1y agoGiven how Canada interprets a few things, and the actions the govt took to protesters, I'd be more surprised if they didn't.
- jmb99 1y agoYou're welcome to be surprised then. Only cases I've heard of Interac blocking accounts is KYC/AML and actual fraud. E-transfer (the Interac's name for bank-to-bank online transfers between different people) is about as close to handing somebody cash as you can get, albeit with amount limits varying between $2k and $20k.
- qualeed 1y agoI am not aware of any situations, no. But this is getting a bit into the weeds, I think. The point is that as it stands right now, today, Visa/MC is what Steam runs on. It would take a long time (months, if not years) for Steam to roll out support for every country that has their own system (Interac, Pix, etc.). We also can't forget that not every country has systems like that. The most reasonable course of action today is to hope that Visa/MC can be forced into providing payment processing for all legal goods and services. Meanwhile, Steam will hopefully roll out other payment methods, other countries will adopt non-Visa/MC systems, and the duopoly can slowly be broken.
- deepsun 1y agoWell, if they block whole Steam, it will create way larger outrage. I am sure they will dare not.
- catlikesshrimp 1y agoWhy would Steam die on the hill of adult content?
- pixxel 1y ago[dead]
- nemomarx 1y agoIt would also basically shut down steams income for a while, so neither one of them really wants to test it right?
- nenxk 1y agoThey could still accept crypto/other methods as far as I’m aware steam has a low upkeep for the amount of profit they generate. Gaben has a whole fleet of gigantic yachts I’m sure they could stay a float for awhile ( pun unintended ) but now they gave them an inch and the next time a payment processor doesn’t like something they will take that down aswell until visa just becomes a second moderation team if they aren’t already.
- qualeed 1y agoIt would mean some bad PR for Visa/MC for awhile, and it would absolutely decimate Steam. If I were Steam, I would not call that bluff.
- mrweasel 1y agoI'm sure they do. Who would last the longest, VISA or Valve? The court proceedings would drag out long enough the kill Valve. Afterwards VISA and MasterCard would just ask "How else would you pay?". As long as VISA and MasterCard are only targetting adult content they are pretty much free to do whatever they want because no politician is going to go out and defend pornography.
- crvdgc 1y agoThe problem of Visa/Mastercard blocking Steam is not the loss of revenue per se, but a potential viable alternative could capture this niche market and use it as a base to displace them entirely. To buy games, we have to set up GamerPay, then why not use it for the next online shopping? In China, where more than two competitors exist, many are willing to subsidize their customers just to have their service used.