It’s shouldn’t be news to anyone that the gaming industry is a lucrative market — and growing rapidly. In fact, by this year, consumers are predicted to spend $137.9 billion on games.
Online and mobile gaming are a healthy slice of this big gaming pie, with mobile gaming now a whopping $46 million industry.
If you’re an online gaming merchant, this is all great news. Except, of course, if you’re not capitalizing on it properly. Forget the old stereotypes about who are gamers. Women are now one of the biggest gaming demographics, spending more time and money on mobile gameplay than men. It’s also not just teenagers playing these games: 59% of mobile gamers are making $75,000 a year. It’s not just young men that are ready to break out their wallets, and if you’re ignoring other potential customers, you’ll be losing out.
However, there are some things that every online gamer has in common: they want to be immersed in their gameplay, and they’re willing to shell out for the full experience. This is where streamline online gaming payments are key. Mobile games in particular are ripe for this kind of upselling. If you want to take full advantage of the gaming market, you should be providing lots of opportunities for your customers to pay extra for more in-game perks. And, perhaps most importantly, you’ll need to make sure want their transactions are seamless. It doesn’t matter if they’re freemium mobile customers or subscription online gamers, people are willing to pay for the best gaming experience. But if you make it hard to complete those transactions, you’ll lose customers. It is vital to create a seamless, simple, and secure method for players to complete purchases with minimal friction. Streamlining your online gaming payments and in-app purchases can help you grow your business, and the right merchant account provider can help with that.
Flexible payment methods
That little plastic card in everyone’s wallet might still be the most popular method for gamers to pay for purchases, but 51% percent of all online gaming transactions are through alternative payment methods like e-wallet, mobile carrier billing, and direct debits. In some international markets, these transactions are actually overtaking and becoming more popular than cards. Even if international customers are paying with a card, it’s important that the merchant account processes international currency.
It’s simple: if a gamer doesn’t see their preferred payment method as an option, they’re not likely to pay for something. And if they’re shut out by currency restrictions, you’ve lost a customer. Having the right payment processor can help you optimize online gaming payments, retain customers and grow your base.
Simplicity is key
On the same topic, gamers don’t want to spend a ton of time checking out. They want to get back to the game! Having a long transaction process turns them off from wanting to keep playing and could even mean lost conversions. Your payment solution should have options for simple, flexible recurring billing, and secure one-click payments. This makes it quick and easy to make purchases. The more frictionless the process, the more likely gamers are to keep buying. Your merchant account provider should be able to help smooth the transaction process, so your customers have a hassle-free check-out experience.
Security
Every customer purchasing something online wants to make sure their information is safe and secure. They need to trust the merchant and feel that their sensitive payment info is protected, otherwise they will simply not purchase anything. For any online merchant, account security should be a high priority. That doesn’t change for gaming. You still need a payment gateway that is secure and easy to use. You should make sure that your payments processor’s gateway is PCI-DSS (Payments Card Industry Data Security Standard) Level 1 compliant, a contractual obligation between merchants and the major credit card brands. You should look for a provider that allows authorization of credit card payments directly from your website.
Just as essential as a secure payment gateway are fraud prevention tools. Card not present (CNP) fraud is up, and merchants should be cautious on behalf of both their customers and their business. Gaming companies should be on extra alert: the low-value, high-frequency nature of gaming means it’s a ripe target for fraud. Merchant accounts should have the tools to help you feel secure about your transactions.
Security
There are just a few simple rules to make sure that you’re maximizing game-related purchases, either online or on mobile. You want to make sure you’re giving gamers payment methods that are trustworthy and easy to use. If you offer subscriptions or recurring payments, they should be simple and flexible. And finally, you want to make sure that when your customers check out, it’s easy, not disruptive, and secure. Keep these criteria in mind when you search for a payment processing account.