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Considering their volume, I find it hard to believe that Valve couldn't find another, more lenient payment processor with similar fees.
Considering their volume, I find it hard to believe that Valve couldn't find another, more lenient payment processor with similar fees.
Adult content has a high chargeback rate and high fraud rates so payment processing for adult content has higher fees.
Also that's not a reason to ban certain genres/kinks, which is what's happening here.
What can be done to loosen card companies' grip on this? It has been a constant problem now for decades.
Adult business is legitimate business in many parts of the world and companies using their monopoly to suppress it should be a case for an Investigation.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Adult content has a high chargeback rate and high fraud rates so payment processing for adult content has higher fees.
Which makes less sense when you consider Steam will refund you game if you dont want it.
if I was doing a couple of billion a year in transactions then the payment processor would be told where to shove it
What can be done to loosen card companies' grip on this? It has been a constant problem now for decades.
It's interesting that Valve sort of put themselves in this situation by opting not to police their store anymore. I'm personally a fan of fewer restrictions on content in video games and fewer "gatekeepers" but it's kind of inevitable that people would get upset when you chose to allow people to sell games like "Sex With Hitler" and "Pimp Life: Sex Simulator". Deciding to allow that content on your store and simultan…
The problem isn't some people being upset, it's that a single digit number of companies effectively control the ability for anyone else in the world to do business with them. Those companies get lobbied as much as politicians but with no accountability and any overreach being far less visible. And no freedom of speech rules.
What can be done to loosen card companies' grip on this? It has been a constant problem now for decades.
The permanent solution is a federal government operated electronic money system operated as a utility with constitutionally protected rights.
What can be done to loosen card companies' grip on this? It has been a constant problem now for decades.
Likely nothing. The simple fact is, Visa/MC don't want to deal with porn because the number of chargebacks and fraud from porn purchases is significant and a huge outlier compared to most other charges. Their crusade against processing charges for adult material isn't about purity, it's simply business.
VISA and Mastercard have been banning a lot of content that is not porn but has political values that are disapproved by certain billionaires and investors. There is a bunch of links I wanted to post about, such as US billionaires bragging he personally called VISA CEO to ban content on PH or japanese politicians mad at the censorship of japanese art with certain values because of these companies. But I am on phone walking home so if anyone else has such links please post.