Accepting RL Credit Cards in SL Vendors?

For some reason that comment hit a chord with me. Very good point.

Personally I wouldnt use it because like to keep my RL/SL lil more seperate. That and the idea of logging out SL and going to one the IGEish sites keeps my impulse buys in check

My oppinion is against it, but if enough people want it then good luck Hank Though I seriously think your setting yourself up for a neverending chargeback nightmare hon.

That's not quite what I was driving at. If you have someone click on a prim that then opens paypal.com, they can then pay you, and then paypal can instant payment notify your web server, which can then xml-rpc into SL, which can then give goods to the customer.

From their point of view, they click on a prim, pay paypal, and get their goods, all in about 30 seconds. Makes a pretty tight ship. And you could make the prim take someone to a custom paypal pay link, all set up for the item they're about to purchase, so you can get damn near credit cards in world, without sacrificing any security.

Actually, that is one of my plans once 1.6 comes out. But I'd like to stick with the certificates for now since they are totally secure since no RL to SL comms are going on.

Interesting...

Hey Foolish, when you step into the middle of a Pissing Contest, better wear a raincoat.

Buster

My reluctance would be amount. I just don't see using a credit card for purchases ranging from $0.50 to $5.00 US.

yes, surreal, that was my first reaction as well.

Hank -- what is the impact of using this service for micro-transactions?

I thought most stores do not want to use credit cards for purchases under $5 because of the fee to the processing companies?

and no, i did not think this was an infomercial -- you raise an interesting and challenging issue, part of which is driven by the fact that many users are still too nervous about purchasing L$...

Hi Hank

I have a question. It is not aimed as a slur on you at all. I know you are trustworthy.

But... What is Paypals policy on transactions regarding virtual goods or currancy?

Last I heard, if it all goes wrong, the buyer had no 'Protection' what so ever.

That would be my concern

Inflation? in THERE? What are you talking about? I mean.. 23K for a pair of dull colored shorts was fair and square...

It's the other way around, the Seller has no protection.

Anyways, certificates are great idea because no one really has any motivation to defraud Hank or anyone else. Who's going to risk fraud so they can pick up bunch of free virtual items?

I don't think so..

Hank, I think this is a great idea. I can see how and why some would have concerns regarding protection of information but for I like the idea of bringing this additional means for acquiring funds (as well as goods and services) to be beneficial.

I would be highly unlikely to ever use a credit card to purchase SL items with the exception of land. If I found myself using RL dollars to purchase a piece of virtual furniture or clothing, hair style, shoes, etc... then I think I would need a hiatus from SL as I would be blurring the line between fantasy and reality just a tad too much. But, then again that's just me.

You pretty much have it. Myself, as the merchant, have no protections whatsoever. It's a risk I'm taking by providing the service. However, I'm taking steps to reduce the risk of fraud (you can never eliminate it) by...

Restricting withdrawls to established players (30 days or older)
Restricting purchases to virtual goods to any player.
Only dealing in relatively small L$ exchanges, L$10k per day and less.

All I, GOM, Anshe, or IGE can do is to earn enough to combat any losses, and to work with Linden lab to go after people comitting the fraud (if they are willing to do so, not sure of the extent that they'd help).

One thing I'm doing is not directly taking credit cards for purchases. What you'd do is to purchase a block of L$ you are comfortable purchasing on my website. You then redeem that L$ at either one of my inworld ATMs (restrictions to newbies, they can't use them) or at a vendor using my plugin. The benefit of using the vendor to purchase a virtual good (you get the balance of the L$ certificate as change) is that the vendor absorbs part of the fee I charge to run the service and it allows newbies to buy L$ as long as the transaction is tied somewhat to a virtual good purchase.

For example, you'd purchase a L$2500 block, and redeem it at a vendor while purchasing L$500 in virtual goods. The vendor would absorb 1% of the transaction fee on the L$500 purchase, and then you'd get 1% of the transaction(L$5) plus the L$2000 change back, for a total of L$2005 paid back to you after the transaction is done and the vendor being paid L$495.

You are then free to use the L$2000 cash anyway you want! This helps to avoid the inevitable USD$0.30 per charge fee that makes acceptance of Credit Cards problematic.