“Gamers shouldn’t need to rely on a calculator anytime they want to make an informed decision on how much they want to spend. The money they spend should be displayed in real money and deceptive practices must be stopped.”
Intercoin is designed to make this part simple.
They identified the following areas of concern:
- Consumers cannot see the real cost of digital items, leading to overspending: the lack of price transparency of premium in-game currencies and the need to buy extra currency in bundles pushes consumers to spend more.
- Companies’ claims that gamers prefer in-game premium currencies are wrong.
- Consumers are often denied their rights when using premium in-game currencies, tied to unfair terms favouring game developers.
- Children are even more vulnerable to these manipulative tactics. Data shows that children in Europe are spending on average €39 per month on in-game purchases. While they are among the ones playing the most, they have limited financial literacy and are easily swayed by virtual currencies.
Intercoin is looking to power helpful applications of complementary currencies, instead of exploitative ones. Existing economies and businesses can use them, in order to strengthen their internal economies, nudging people to buy local and businesses to hire local: