Technological solutions like mobile gaming, 3D graphics, and Artificial Intelligence are revolutionizing online gaming. Not so long ago (2000), most people thought mobile gaming would never come to fruition. Now, mobile gaming is bigger than both PC and console gaming.
Artificial Intelligence is the biggest innovation in the world of gaming today. Every developer, marketer, and manager is leveraging AI to create, market, and manage the next generation of video games.
While AI is great, let’s not forget about the role of digital payments in advancing online gaming. The Fintech industry is constantly creating solutions to advance the gaming industry. Below are some of these solutions:
Electronic Checks
We know. Checks aren’t so popular anymore. Paper checks have lost 63% of their dominance since 2000. Despite that, Americans love checks. The average American writes 40 checks every year.
Lately, Americans are switching how they write checks. Precisely, American buyers are replacing paper checks with electronic checks. The latter option is faster and cheaper.
Similar to digital wallets, you can pay for gaming using an eCheck instantly. All you need is to find an eCheck online casino or a gaming platform that accepts this means of payment.
The beauty of eChecks is that businesses love them. Unlike paper checks, electronic checks do not bounce. If a bank approves an eCheck, it’s because you have money in your bank account.
That means businesses can’t lose money by accepting checks. Also, they get to receive their money fast. On the other hand, customers using electronic checks benefit from low fees and quick transactions.
Microtransactions
Ninety percent of online gaming purchases are small payments. The explanation is that mobile gaming dominates 78% of the industry. And as you probably know, in-game products for most mobile games cost $100 or less.
While making small in-game purchases, you probably worry about three things—fees, speed, and limits. If a payment app charges too much for a small payment, you’ll be losing money. If it takes too long to complete the transaction, it’s inconvenient.
Crucially, you want a payment app with low minimum transaction limits. That way, you can buy loot boxes, subscribe to remove ads, or pay for game passes hassle-free.
Today’s payment providers all support low limits. However, they differ in their benefits. For example, wire transfers take too long and cost too much to justify using them for microtransactions.
Digital wallets and cards are more suitable for small gaming purchases. If you must use crypto, choose a coin with low fees. Alternatively, pay via a card with little or no payment fees.
Real-Time Payments
Every forward-thinking payment provider now supports real-time transactions. It doesn’t matter whether you want to pay using a card or payment wallet. Real-time payments make gaming convenient.
You could be playing Minecraft and spot a nice, cheap skin. If it’s a time-limited promotion, you need a fast payment app to help you purchase it. Luckily, there are plenty of fast payment methods today.
Google and Apple have two of the fastest payment solutions for gamers—GPay and Apple Pay. These two payment apps allow you to buy anything gaming-related instantly using your card.
Of course, you can buy lots of stuff using either payment company. You’re not limited to gaming-related products. That said, Apple Pay and GPay are not yet available in every corner of the world.
Depending on where you live, you might need to use PayPal, Skrill, Trustly, Visa, MasterCard, or a local payment solution for online purchases.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies have one major benefit over all other payments—decentralization. Unlike banks, cards, and digital wallets, no one makes all the important decisions about crypto.
Bitcoin is decentralized, meaning there’s no owner to close it down or restrict payments in certain countries. With crypto, you can pay for gaming content from every part of the world.
If you live in a country where access to banks is difficult, you’ll love paying with Bitcoin. Not only does it support borderless transactions, but also it processes transactions fast and at low fees.
How fast are crypto payments? The short answer is it depends. Bitcoin and Ethereum—two of the most popular coins—process transactions within five and 10 minutes, respectively.
By comparison, Solana and Ripple, speed-focused cryptocurrencies, process payments instantly. Both of these coins are also much cheaper than BTC and ETH.
Decentralized Finance (DEFI)
Decentralized Finance is a branch of Blockchain technology that explains the various financial innovations in the world of crypto. While DEFI seeks to advance multiple industries, it’s particularly prevalent in the gaming sector.
Think about Play to Earn Games. These blockchain-based games aim to make gaming profitable for everyone and not just the developers. With P2E games, you can make money by playing your favorite games.
At the peak of Bitcoin’s last bull run in 2021, play-to-earn games were so popular that people were quitting their jobs to become full-time players. Axie Infinity was the most popular P2E game at the time.
The game challenges you to buy, breed, and sell in-game characters called Axies. You can sell your Axies for up to $1,500. You can also earn another SLP token while playing the game. These coins are also worth real money.
Decentralized Finance transcends play to earn games. It also includes Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Sure, the NFT hype died down. But in a world where gaming assets can be turned into NFTs, gaming would be incredibly profitable for players.
Subscriptions and Donations
Another way gamers benefit from financial innovations is through payment subscription models. Let’s say you want to start a career on Twitch. The best way to make money is through subscriptions and donations.
Twitch and YouTube subscriptions work thanks to financial technology. Without innovation, streaming would probably not be profitable. Streamers need to make money.
And to make money online, you need to sell something or get paid by someone else. Fintech solutions make it possible for gamers to sell merchandise, trade skins, and earn from subscriptions made by their fans.
