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Pre-Authorization policy prevents use of gift cards to buy Zen
smi3th
Member Posts: 218 Arc User
I recently had an billing issue that I was dealing with the support staff over, and though the support guys said they would pass my feedback onto the higher-ups they suggested that I bring up the issue for discussion on these forums. So here we go.
I normally use gift credit cards for online purchases, and have done so for many years, after a customer at my work explained how they were of value in that type of transaction. They are easy and simple to get, and if you lose one, have it stolen, or have money fraudulently taken from it, your liability is limited to the amount of money you put on the card. Gift cards are therefore much more secure for the customer, particularly for online transactions where viruses and malicious code could potentially steal your information. I now use gift cards for all my online transactions, including Amazon, Skip the Dishes, and GOG.com.
I have used gift cards here to buy Zen too, but recently Perfect World has instituted a policy where all new credit cards used on their site will receive a $1 authorization charge for "security purposes." The problem is that gift cards cannot support pre-authorizations.
I work in a hotel and we use pre-authorizations all the time, mainly for processing reservations. How they work is that the card is charged for the specified amount, but the funds remain in "limbo" for a fixed period, usually a day or a few days. If the vendor files a separate "completion" transaction within that time, then they get the money charged, but if they cancel it or the time expires the money is refunded to the card. The problem is that gift cards either come with a fixed value or are loaded once at purchase and either way funds can never be added to the card later. Since a pre-authorization could potentially return the amount to the card a pre-authorization will be declined on a gift card.
When the sale went on I tried to to buy $100 worth of Zen on my gift card and it was declined, and when I called the bank they explained that Perfect World had tried to set up a pre-authorization.
I asked the support guys if there was a way of waiving the pre-authorization, but they said it was "not an option under our control and is implemented by our billing system for security purposes." But this doesn't really make sense a pre-authorization provides no additional security. Pre-authorizations use the exact same network and security protocol as ordinary credit card purchases, and a card that can support them will approve or decline one as easily as the other. There is no extra level of security on pre-authorizations and overall this policy provides the same level of security as charging the card twice. All it really achieves is that you can no longer use gift cards to buy Zen.
Pre-authorizations are normally used in one of three circumstances:
i) You are setting up a recurring charge like a monthly fee on a card.
ii) You are charging for a deposit which will later be refunded to the customer.
iii) You need to verify that a card is valid without charging any money.
Perfect World no longer sells monthly memberships for Star Trek Online (I don't know about other games), and they don't charge deposits for things that are refunded later. But they also never need to verify that a card has money without charging the card, since the only way that this would occur is when someone is actually buying something, in which case you can just charge the card.
So, overall my request here is that this policy be removed, as it provides no additional security for the company and merely prevents some customers from buying their product.
Anyone else have this problem?
smi3th
I normally use gift credit cards for online purchases, and have done so for many years, after a customer at my work explained how they were of value in that type of transaction. They are easy and simple to get, and if you lose one, have it stolen, or have money fraudulently taken from it, your liability is limited to the amount of money you put on the card. Gift cards are therefore much more secure for the customer, particularly for online transactions where viruses and malicious code could potentially steal your information. I now use gift cards for all my online transactions, including Amazon, Skip the Dishes, and GOG.com.
I have used gift cards here to buy Zen too, but recently Perfect World has instituted a policy where all new credit cards used on their site will receive a $1 authorization charge for "security purposes." The problem is that gift cards cannot support pre-authorizations.
I work in a hotel and we use pre-authorizations all the time, mainly for processing reservations. How they work is that the card is charged for the specified amount, but the funds remain in "limbo" for a fixed period, usually a day or a few days. If the vendor files a separate "completion" transaction within that time, then they get the money charged, but if they cancel it or the time expires the money is refunded to the card. The problem is that gift cards either come with a fixed value or are loaded once at purchase and either way funds can never be added to the card later. Since a pre-authorization could potentially return the amount to the card a pre-authorization will be declined on a gift card.
When the sale went on I tried to to buy $100 worth of Zen on my gift card and it was declined, and when I called the bank they explained that Perfect World had tried to set up a pre-authorization.
I asked the support guys if there was a way of waiving the pre-authorization, but they said it was "not an option under our control and is implemented by our billing system for security purposes." But this doesn't really make sense a pre-authorization provides no additional security. Pre-authorizations use the exact same network and security protocol as ordinary credit card purchases, and a card that can support them will approve or decline one as easily as the other. There is no extra level of security on pre-authorizations and overall this policy provides the same level of security as charging the card twice. All it really achieves is that you can no longer use gift cards to buy Zen.
Pre-authorizations are normally used in one of three circumstances:
i) You are setting up a recurring charge like a monthly fee on a card.
ii) You are charging for a deposit which will later be refunded to the customer.
iii) You need to verify that a card is valid without charging any money.
Perfect World no longer sells monthly memberships for Star Trek Online (I don't know about other games), and they don't charge deposits for things that are refunded later. But they also never need to verify that a card has money without charging the card, since the only way that this would occur is when someone is actually buying something, in which case you can just charge the card.
So, overall my request here is that this policy be removed, as it provides no additional security for the company and merely prevents some customers from buying their product.
Anyone else have this problem?
smi3th
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