[Dev] Go Live Billing Options

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Originally Posted by Quietus

This still leaves american players stationed overseas in a tough spot on how to pay. I can't go to wal-greens or 7/11 and pick these cards up, and honestly, why should I have to. Might as well play something I can just pay for from the comfort of my own chair.

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They really do need more options.

I feel fortunate that when I fill my gas tank at Sheetz, I can hop into the store and pick up an Ultimate Gamer Card.

Though, I have to say it ticks me off that I have to do that. I tried making an account with Click and Buy, but got stuck with the verified by visa BS. Apparantly, verified by visa doesn't like debit cards. (Guess I need to get off my lazy butt and get an actual CC lol.) After spending an hour and a half trying to get it fixed, whining and moaning to the boyfriend the whole time (God bless his soul.), I eventually gave up and went with UGCs and crysta. Such a ridiculous ordeal to play a game.

Also, I'm curious, why doesn't Crysta work for Australian players? (I'm in America.)

If this game goes p2p with current billing options I'll just go back to XI. I am not comfortable with click n buy and that alone is a deal breaker iny books. I really hope SE changes it up or I'll end up quitting a good game for no reason.

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Originally Posted by AnaviAnael

Also, I'm curious, why doesn't Crysta work for Australian players? (I'm in America.)

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Crysta is implemented, as I understand it, in different regions separately because of currencies, retail banking arrangements and differing financial legislation from Governments. SE would have to worry about exchange rates and also how to extract the money obtained through retail sale of crysta-sources, such as the Ultimate Gamer Card.

This is just pure speculation, but because Australia represents only a small percentage of the gaming population (we're talking in the realm of 2%-ish) they may have deemed the costs of introducing crysta in the Australian market as unviable, outweiging the returns they would get from the participation of our player base. This argument is often used to justify why some game titles themselves are never localized in Australia & New Zealand. eg: ATLUS does not localize in Australia without assistance from a third party with existing financial operations here, meaning games such as Devil Survivor or Radiant Historia will never hit our store shelves unless that store imports directly from the US.

Please don't take that as gospel - I may be off target, but it's the best explanation I've heard. Either way, payment options in general have simply not been implemented in Australia and thus, when setting up the game in the billing system only the one payment option appears - Euro currency ClickAndBuy.

I hope that helps on the "why not" front.

Much of this would be moot though if Australians could pay in US dollars and without the third-party ClickAndBuy Rubbish. With a very favorable exchange rate for us right now, it would make things cost LESS than what North American's will pay.
$1.00AU = $1.06US

SE need a better payment Options i like to pay them straight up my 25.95 a month for me and my GF, And the days i don't have money to pay i don't want to do 20 steps to cancel just to do 20steps the next day to get my account back due to not having the money in the bank. Bank take up at least 1-2days for your money to be in the bank -.- and sometime you have to pay the game right when the money is still waiting to be fund in your bank account.

So please SE better payment Options!!!

A single subscribe option, like every decent game out there, with 1/3/6 months options would be perfect. Give a name and a CC card, and you are all set. And a big button to unsubscribe.

Also no more country restrictions on the payment systems. We are in 2011, let us chose where we want to pay from, and in which currency.

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Originally Posted by Nipa

A single subscribe option, like every decent game out there, with 1/3/6 months options would be perfect. Give a name and a CC card, and you are all set. And a big button to unsubscribe.

Also no more country restrictions on the payment systems. We are in 2011, let us chose where we want to pay from, and in which currency.

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That a issue tho :) EU can pay in NA money and then the game would cost them less which then mean they lose money.

at least Paypal would be nice.

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Originally Posted by Zenaku

That a issue tho :) EU can pay in NA money and then the game would cost them less which then mean they lose money.

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You mean they will stop abusing Europeans wallets. And no, the VAT isn't at 40% in any EU country. And I'm pretty sure the Japanese have more or less the same problem.

When you want to have internationals servers, it's of simple decency to make everyone pay the same base price, and then to add the taxes.

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Originally Posted by Dargoth_Draconia

The Crysta design is kind of dumb but it just mimics the way Xbox and PSN store works where you buy money or funds to use for game time, but originally they was going to have other things you could use Crysta on.

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Exactly though. Crysta was intended for usage for other FFXIV-related stuff, and will be used to purchase other stuff I believe.

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Originally Posted by Vanguard319

Paypal isn't perfect either. Made an account with them, only to find they would not accept a debit card, wound up deleting said account within ten minutes.

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Weird, I've been able to use a check card with Paypal before I believe.

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Originally Posted by Quietus

This still leaves american players stationed overseas in a tough spot on how to pay. I can't go to wal-greens or 7/11 and pick these cards up, and honestly, why should I have to. Might as well play something I can just pay for from the comfort of my own chair.

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Is this Quietus from the formerly-Fairy server?

Thanks for the info, Catapult. You guys are stuck between a rock and hard place. :( Perhaps if this topic gets enough attention, SE will do something. (Hey, here's hoping.)

Free to play with options of buying content i like better for this game. That way i only pay for what i play not by the month.. No trolling please about it, i know alot of people dont want this to happen =p

I just remembered, I seem to recall that Wada gave an interview after the release of next year's projections, in which he commented on the possibility of hiring people to develop their own in-house billing system. I may be misquoting though, or have the source wrong. Anyone remember this? Or know the source?

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Originally Posted by origamikitsune

I just remembered, I seem to recall that Wada gave an interview after the release of next year's projections, in which he commented on the possibility of hiring people to develop their own in-house billing system. I may be misquoting though, or have the source wrong. Anyone remember this? Or know the source?

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If this is true, YES PLEASE! I'd rather pay them than some company that has a spotty reputation.

Well, I don't remember for sure, which is why I'm asking if anyone can confirm. Perhaps it was an article in nekki? Nikki? Something like that. Fail brain is failing.

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Originally Posted by Keith_Dragoon

If this game goes p2p with current billing options I'll just go back to XI. I am not comfortable with click n buy and that alone is a deal breaker iny books. I really hope SE changes it up or I'll end up quitting a good game for no reason.

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I'm in the same predicament, except I wouldn't be going to FFXI. I love playing FFXIV and would like to continue doing so for the next 5+ years, so I would be very disappointed if I have to stop playing because of the rediculous billing options. I have no intention of using the broken crysta system. It's really the ONLY deal-breaker for me.

Click and Buy is a no go for me as well for sure

I opted for the Click and Buy account.
I had to update my credit card details for the account; stupidly tried to do it at work thinking I knew which password I had used but it ended up that I couldn't remember it, so I contacted them for a password reset to my registered e-mail address.... it took them 6 hours to send a simple password reset so that I could access my account.
Yes, it was my own fault, I fully accept that, but I did not expect it to take them that long to do something so simple. Makes me worried for the time ahead when they are actually charging me.... Fingers crossed that it was just a one-off. Oh, and I'm pretty sure at the time that I could not find a telephone number to contact them on (e-mail correspondence only ><).

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Originally Posted by AnaviAnael

Thanks for the info, Catapult. You guys are stuck between a rock and hard place. :( Perhaps if this topic gets enough attention, SE will do something. (Hey, here's hoping.)

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This topic already should have enough attention, sadly tho the Devs seem to be ignoring this one and concentrating on something less important liek adding missing genders to the game... Seriously WTF... Content, Optimization, and Billing should be at the forefront of everything SE is doing in this game. Hi were going to release 4 MMO next year and have crap for a billing system, yeah the brilliant Managers behind this one truly never thought things through, please explain to me how they even currently have there jobs.

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Originally Posted by Dragon

Is this Quietus from the formerly-Fairy server?

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Yea, who's this lol?

I went to walmart and bought a $20 ultimate game card, scratched the back of the card and redeemed the code under my se account was as simply as that. I didn't have to signup with click n buy or anything thought it was a really simple solution. Now I did all of this when the game was first released and I still have the 2000 cysta still sitting in my account.

They should scrap the payment system while the game is still F2P. Let the players enter their game key on the website, and that should be it. A lot of people have been giving their card numbers for nothing, or even worse, have paid for an useless virtual money.

Nipa the issue is not just that, it is what is going to happen when the game is no longer F2P, then what ppl have to go with a 3rd source noone seems to trust, or they have to buy useless virtual currency just to play a game. SE needs to remember the first basic rule of marketing KISS - Keep it Simple Stupid. They have failed on such regard.

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Originally Posted by Elkwood

This topic already should have enough attention, sadly tho the Devs seem to be ignoring this one and concentrating on something less important liek adding missing genders to the game... Seriously WTF... Content, Optimization, and Billing should be at the forefront of everything SE is doing in this game.

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Agreed, I want to see someone comment in this and tell us if the payment options are going to stay, or if they are going to give us other options. As I said before, when I played FFXI I never had one issue with their in-house billing system. Why can't they use the same in-house system and hire some more people for the FFXIV side?

Would love to see a response to this Devs/SE. Seeing that the game is improving, and I think some of us are expecting for the game to go P2P at least by the end of the year, this NEEDS to be addressed and figured out or all that work fixing the game is going to be for nothing. People will leave because they don't trust the company that is set up to take the payments, or because there is no option for them on how to pay.

I'm also worried about this as well, I would like to see the PayPal option for NA/Caribbean Users as well, This is a major concern for me since I've been unable to pay SE for FFXI since 2006, I've had to use another payment method other than my own till 2009, and now I can no longer pay for that game anymore.

I will be pretty much stuck dead in the water as well when the game finally rolls over from F2P to subscription. I would love to subscribe to this game if possible. Click and Buy, is my only available option, and I don't like click and buy, I really hope they inplement PayPal, as I've had no problems with PayPal.

I really hope SE addresses this in a timely manner.

Just buy Crysta through pay pal (Have a extra few K from going through them when game was released, so will have some free time when game goes P2P^^)... or do you guys not trust Paypal too? o.O LoL ... either way it beats Playonline by far!

Edit: Oh and Nipa you Do NOT have to give out card info to register for game... all you NEED is the gamekey in fact >.< Then just click pay with crysta (even though you'll have 0) And it'll come out to 0 crysta cause of the free month and F2P^^

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Originally Posted by Misha

Just buy Crysta through pay pal (Have a extra few K from going through them when game was released, so will have some free time when game goes P2P^^)... or do you guys not trust Paypal too? o.O LoL ... either way it beats Playonline by far!

Edit: Oh and Nipa you Do NOT have to give out card info to register for game... all you NEED is the gamekey in fact >.< Then just click pay with crysta (even though you'll have 0) And it'll come out to 0 crysta cause of the free month and F2P^^

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Buying Crystia the craptastic system it is now is not available in all billing regions FYI

You would think with this many posts about the payment options that Square Enix would pull their heads out of the sand and actually reply or address this issue in some way.

Do they seriously think people will cave and risk their credit card info with Click and Buy? (I put my CC info into that site and i was unable to remove it) Since Click and Buy wouldn't let me delete my CC info, i canceled my card and got a new one(specifically asked for a different number, which my bank graciously gave me).

I've been a Square fan since the days of Final Fantasy for the NES. My faith as a fan is definitely not as strong as it used to be.

C&B is under review by two banks in the US, and has a F rating with the BBB. SE thinks we should use it for payment. I'll pass.

I'll for sure use Crysta when the time comes, 85+ different payment options such as Paypal and Paysafecard (which I trust) make the decision easy for me.
I don't really get people complaining about buying a "useless currency"(Crysta), because it's not useless if you can use it to pay your FFXIV account with?

On the other hand, I'd never use C&B, heard too much bad stuff about it.
I don't want an option where I can give my credit card information directly to SE either, because that would be even worse.
What I think is really needed is that Crysta becomes a payment option ANYONE can use!
I already heard from many, many people that they only have C&B as an option because of the country they live in.
If it's not possible to give everyone Crysta, at least give them a less shady third company like Paypal >,>

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Originally Posted by MajestacaL

I went to walmart and bought a $20 ultimate game card, scratched the back of the card and redeemed the code under my se account was as simply as that. I didn't have to signup with click n buy or anything thought it was a really simple solution. Now I did all of this when the game was first released and I still have the 2000 cysta still sitting in my account.

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You still have to use a third party though.

Also, in my experience, PayPal isn't much better.

Pay has the ability and has used the ability to put a hold on your bank account (if you link it) over payment disputes. They also have the ability to arbitrarily resolve those disputes by taking money out of your account. There are other options that, while no more legal, are definitely more service friendly and have better business practices. Still, pay-pal at least is relatively trustworthy.

Click and Buy is like Fort Knox guys. Chill the f-ck out.

I don't understand what the Sony hack has to do with Click & Buy in fact you could make an argument that the entire fiasco with game companies being hacked is directly related to them using their own payment/account systems that have less protection than professional companies like click & buy.

Click & Buy is such a hassle specifically because of its protections, protections for both users and the companies so that people can't issue charge backs (which was a serious problem especially among RMT in FFXI and in most MMORPG's).

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Originally Posted by Atoli

I don't really get people complaining about buying a "useless currency"(Crysta), because it's not useless if you can use it to pay your FFXIV account with?

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You can't pay for an entire number of months with Crysta.

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Originally Posted by Carver

You would think with this many posts about the payment options that Square Enix would pull their heads out of the sand and actually reply or address this issue in some way.

Do they seriously think people will cave and risk their credit card info with Click and Buy? (I put my CC info into that site and i was unable to remove it) Since Click and Buy wouldn't let me delete my CC info, i canceled my card and got a new one(specifically asked for a different number, which my bank graciously gave me).

I've been a Square fan since the days of Final Fantasy for the NES. My faith as a fan is definitely not as strong as it used to be.

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With 2 topics on the issue both having over 60 posts nah why respond people don't care enough about it and SE and the Devs would probably rather wait until they go live to address the fact that everyone just quit because they refuse to use click and buy.

SE decisions are just driving away more and more of the playerbase rather then looking at the issue and developing or at least acknowledging that Click and Buy is a major issue.

Honestly idk what it is maybe with the hackings SE is afraid to take direct billing info idk.

[QUOTE=Misha;240423]Just buy Crysta through pay pal (Have a extra few K from going through them when game was released, so will have some free time when game goes P2P^^)... or do you guys not trust Paypal too? o.O LoL ... either way it beats Playonline by far! QUOTE]


Issue is not that people don’t trust Paypal and I don’t care if I have extra Crysta, the issue is not everyone has access to buying Crysta. In some countries their only option is Click & Buy and some countries don't even have any payment options at all.

The Billing System over all is a total mess.

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Originally Posted by Cidolphus

Click and Buy is like Fort Knox guys. Chill the f-ck out.

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Click and buy is very shady and many European banks have told people not to use it due to that fact. Also as someone said a few posts up:

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Originally Posted by Eunys

C&B is under review by two banks in the US, and has a F rating with the BBB. SE thinks we should use it for payment. I'll pass.

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This conversation is also going on over at:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...Payment-System

Many have said they had issues with C&B, or don’t have any payment options at all once the game goes P2P.

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Originally Posted by Elkwood

With the sheer size of SE why can they not accept a CC or Debit Card directly, why the need to go through a 3rd party to accept a CC/Debit Card? Can SE Not afford the $0.35 per transaction fee that Visa or MasterCard would charge just to have the service? I find this hard to believe considering most companies can easily do this especially one of SE size and magnitude, using Verisign to verify all is ok.

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I haven't read through all of the responses, so this may have already been addressed.

As a software engineer who works on a web application with a billing component to it, I feel I can shed some insight into this issue. The process for handling a credit card transaction is more complicated and involved than simply "paying the service fee" associated with running a charge against a card. There are verification and security issues to be addressed, in addition to having to support multiple different credit cards, currency exchange (particularly in international markets, as SE is), etc. this is why most companies do not perform the actual processing of a credit card directly but rather they rely on what are called a payment gateways--which more often than not tend to be financial institutions or companies with ties to a financial institutions.

Click and Buy, like PayPal have the financial infrastructure to process, charge, and credit various debit and credit cards. Click and Buy is an international organization supporting different currencies for payment and processing.

The odd thing that we see with SE and FFXIV is that they expose Click and Buy to the customer, something most companies don't do. Most companies interface with their payment processing partner and have a front-end that makes the process of paying for goods and services appear seamless and well integrated with the company offering said goods and services. For SE, this would have (should have?) been a web interface that integrated their payment services (e.g. Click and Buy) seamlessly so that the consumer (us) would never know what company was responsible for actually handling and processing all of the credit card transactions, unless we read the fine print.

Plain and simple SE isn't really doing anything different from a better majority of service and retail vendors out there, they just haven't obfuscated the process as much as others have.

Edit: I'm not going to get into the reputation of Click and Buy, others have already addressed that, I have my own opinions of SE's choice of payment gateway service, but that isn't relative to the part of the question you asked which was "why can't SE process the payments directly."

Short and Sweet.

Billing now is terrible mistake. The idea isn't to start billing so it APPEARS as if FFXIV is good, but to start billing when FFXIV is ACTUALLY good.

Meaning 1.20 at the earliest or the PS3 Release +30days.

KaiKatzchen, you shouldn't waste time to reply to a child like Cidolphus. His mom, and dad pay for his things. He has no clue how bad it can be to put your money into a company with a bad reputation and proven shady billing practices.