Entering international business with games and skins: legal and payment system setup
Game development is very popular and promising business area for young entrepreneurs. World-known games such as CS:GO, Dota2, PUBG have raised an army of fans and moreover, inspired prospect businessman with an idea for own startup. The huge number of gaming universes with different mechanics is attracting more and more users, and this causes excitement and competition among them.
Modern gaming products strive to work internationally to acquire new users and increase their revenues. However, for a successful entry into the international business, game need not only to be of a high-quality and engaging with gaming content, but also take care about legalization of its activities and connecting reliable payment systems.
In this article, we will consider how new gaming project can enter the international market and, most importantly, connect payment systems that will allow accepting payments for high-risk. After all, exactly this category gaming products most often belong, since the banking system is not always open to new things and adheres more traditional views. The difficulty of compliance and KYC in payment systems is also connected to the fact that some game mechanics are difficult to understand for traditional banks. But with the right approach to building a business and clear set of documentation, nothing is impossible.
How to start development of gaming startup
Of course, the journey starts from development of a game itself. However, when this is done, first and foremost you have to think about legal grounds of operation and how start up a company for future business activity. An important point here is choosing the right jurisdiction in which the company will be registered and then go through the registration process itself. The entire choice of jurisdiction depends on many factors. The main one to look at are: tax legislation, licensing requirements for games, and ability to work with foreign contractors. Each country has its own specifics of doing business, and the choice should be made considering at least the most important ones.
You have to be just on the wave, which means that the country for company registration should be prestigious. However, prestige alone will not cover all the needs of a young business, so we evaluate it based on several parameters. First of all, tax costs and attitude towards non-resident businessmen, and then the payment potential of the country. For example, the United Kingdom has a sufficient number of banks and payment systems that operate online and are ready to work with gaming, which we cannot say about Armenia, for example. Although the operating costs in the latter will be significantly lower.
After you register your international company for gaming business, you sometimes will be required to go through the licensing process for your games. Game licensing is an important matter so you want to have experienced legal partners on your side. You would need to prove that your products and games are in line with legal requirements of the country and receive the permission to offer them publicly.
Payment systems for games and skins
Once a company is open and the product is ready for market launch, the next important step is to connect payment systems. In order for a game project to function successfully in the international and even local market, it is necessary to connect reliable and efficient payment systems.
How to choose payment systems for a game project?
Focus on the needs and features of your specific product. Payment system can include various payment methods, such as bank transfers, payment cards, electronic wallets, and more. At the same time, for gaming websites and high-risk projects, support for high-risk electronic payments is important. Not all payment systems support all types of businesses, and this point should be taken into account from the very beginning. Only some particular providers will be ready to cooperate with gaming companies, and it is among them that you can choose.
Payment integration is an important step in connecting payment systems. It can be carried out using API integration, payment modules, payment gateways, and other options. The choice of integration method depends on the needs and technical features of your software. Based on these components, you can choose the most convenient integration option that will meet your needs.
When choosing payment system and before integration, it is important to pay attention to global payments and support for different currencies to ensure comfortable use of your website for users from different countries. Often, the same payment system does not allow you to cover the whole world with the necessary payment methods, so a startup will need several payment providers that can achieve this together. We recommend that when choosing a payment system, you search specifically by country of operation, because despite the fact that many global payments work all over the world, they are not equally good everywhere.
Choosing reliable and proven payment systems, as well as proper integration, will allow your game company to accept payments from users from different countries and significantly increase your audience, and subsequently your income. Do not be guided by competitors in everything and choose the same partners for payment processing as they do. Despite similar business ideas, the starting points can be completely different, as well as the needs. The key to successful cooperation with a payment system is the correct choice of this system.
How to choose payment system for games
When choosing payment systems and connecting them to a game project, it is necessary to take into account a number of nuances and features that can affect the success and security of payments.
We would set apart the main points to consider:
- Audience geography — the choice of payment systems directly depends on the countries your users come from. Consider the popularity and availability of different payment methods in different countries, as well as the legal requirements for accepting payments.
- Required currencies — payment system must cover currencies that the business needs. For example, if one of your target countries is Poland, and payment system does not support the Polish zloty, this is not the best choice. Despite the fact that EUR is an equally accepted currency throughout the EU, and Poland is a member of the EU, Poles do not pay for purchases in euros in their everyday life. Instead, they use only their own currency. Therefore, processing payments on your website in euros will lead to additional expenses for your users, which may not be the best option for customer retention. By providing user with his local currency, you simultaneously increase his loyalty and confirm that your website is created for his country.
- Payment options — when choosing a payment system, do not forget to ask about all supported payment methods. Consider the popularity and availability of payment methods in the countries you need and you will be able to make the right decision about cooperation with payment provider.
- Fees — of course, one of the most important matters to consider. Fees have to be on the real market level, not too high or too low. Yes, we mean it. Fees should not be too low, because this may cover some drawbacks of payment system behind. The most often, too cheap payment fees come together with problematic workflow and low quality of the service. Try to keep in the market price and get discounts based on your processing volumes. This way you can be receiving quality service and be an important partner for your payment provider. But at the same time also you will not be overpaying for the payment processing fees.
- Security of payments — don’t miss this point and check the security level of your prospect payment provider. You need secure and reliable payment processing company that uses advanced technologies to protect your and your user’s data along with payment security. In other case, you are at risk of leakage of personal information that can negatively influence your reputation or even result in business interruptions. This is the most important in countries where fraud levels are particularly high, such as Brazil and India, for example.
If to dig deeper, we can discuss more important points to consider when choosing a payment system for your gaming website. However, even if you stick to these ones — you will still greatly increase your chances to get a good payment processing partner. Money is about security, so this is what you have to keep in mind. How secure is to turnover your funds via selected PSP? Is it safe for you and your users at the same time? If you get these questions answered, then it’s easier to choose.
Game projects require special attention due to their specifics and dynamic nature. In addition, the world of fintech does not stand still and changes in turn. To keep up with all the changes and get timely help in choosing payment systems and even opening new legal entities, contact Monoup. Specialists with extensive experience in this field will be able to help in this area and make life easier for businessmen. If you are looking to set up a company for your business idea or need to cover payment needs — both are possible with Monoup.
