Introduction
Listening to customers and making every interaction they have, whether in-game or out, easy and accessible is a constantly evolving and challenging goal we set ourselves. One of the ongoing developments outside of our games are the ways in which people handle payments. Because Wargaming is a global company, every region and every country within it handles these payment methods differently.
We take special care so that you are able to use what is most convenient, and our developments across Turkey are testament to our commitment to make gaming life as simple as possible.
Our Payment Department
The EU Payment Management Department is part of the Business Development team. They're responsible for the payment methods used in our EU region across all countries. When people make transactions in our titles, the team have examined the market and discovered what works best for consumers. The team negotiate with local providers, check that methods can be integrated, and optimize them for the community.
The Payment Management Department are also involved in cross promotion across all our brands, work on developing partnerships such as GameSultan and TTNET in Turkey or Paysafecard in Europe. They also handle sponsorship for our tournaments.
Knowing the Market
When entering any new market, there has to be a solid and researched foundation in place that we can work from. The team conduct their own analysis, utilize current studies and examine what is currently in place.
The Turkish market is its own entity, which means that it exists within its own economic zone. What works best for EU regions like Poland, France, and the UK (taking into account that each country has its specifics even though part of the EU) will not function the same for a country like Turkey.
When this data has been collected, it then falls to the department to decide the best method for company and consumer. Turkey is a growing market. As of 2013, the country has an estimated 36 million internet users, ten million online shoppers and there are around 54 million active credit cards. Combine this with an already stable logistical underbelly and you have a great environment for development.
For B2C, the most used payment methods are credit cards due to their inherent security. Secondly are epins, prepaid cards, or vouchers (dependent on the type of card), which are specifically used for the internet. They function like a debit card by allowing you to only spend the money you have on the card. Mobile payments are next, allowing small transactions to take place across the internet. Lastly, there's the online payment account so you can transfer money easily between e-wallet accounts. These are cheaper than bank transfers.
Inherent Problems
There are a number of issues that present when entering any new market. As previously mentioned, credit card transactions are the most pervasive for the Turkish market. International credit cards are not as widely accepted in the country, so local credit processors are preferred by consumers.
As far as payment methods go, a large issue is that each country and its local banks have their own acceptance protocols. Problems such as this can cause certain banks to be blocked from transactions. To combat this, we had to speak to the individual credit cards processors and companies we utilize. These companies would then communicate with local banks to resolve the problems encountered.
How We Do It
After examining the market and crunching all the data, we decided on several payment methods that currently work best for our gamers. Payby.me is a leading payment service provider in METNA (Middle East, Turkey and North Africa) and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). It provides seamless payment options for games, social networks and digital goods sellers. With Payby.me, users can pay with their phones, via their ISP/IP billing, and with prepaid credit cards, meeting the standards that both we and our consumers needed.
Another method available is ISP billing, processed by Payby.me, which adds transactions to your internet bill. You register your bank account and at the end of the month you receive your invoice as part of the overall bill. This is another growing integrated system that works really well for our customers.
Going forward, we're dedicated to providing the easiest and most accessible payment methods to our gamers. Because online payment methods are constantly evolving, our teams are always discovering new ways to make players worry less about tricky technical elements and more on just having fun.