The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking input from various parties as they consider a potential new regulation focusing on in-game currencies and transactions. This proposed rule aims to extend the safeguards provided by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) to certain video game businesses, ensuring consumer protection in these digital marketplaces.
Previously, the EFTA was designed to safeguard consumers from illegal transactions and mandates financial institutions to rectify errors and examine and correct fraudulent transactions. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposes extending similar regulations to gaming companies, whose products bear resemblance to “consumer asset accounts,” enabling the conversion of in-game currency or goods into real money.
Interpreting it this way means that the proposed rules would pertain to games such as Roblox, where players can exchange Robux for U.S. dollars, but exclude games like Fortnite, where in-game currency or items cannot be converted into real money or traded between users. This could also extend to platforms such as Steam, where users can sell in-game goods such as weapon skins and other cosmetic items for cash.
Regardless of the specifics, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is inviting a wider range of participants to discuss their experiences related to purchasing digital goods or services within games. They’re seeking stories about any problems encountered while using in-game currency, the assistance (or lack thereof) received when something has gone awry, and preferences for safeguards they’d like implemented to secure their game transactions and accounts.
Yearly, Americans invest a vast amount in video games and digital realms, as stated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when soliciting opinions from gamers. A significant chunk of these expenditures involves buying gaming currency, which is kept in players’ accounts for in-game transactions such as purchasing items, services, or engaging in peer-to-peer transfers. As explained in our report on the financial risks associated with video games and virtual worlds, the functionality of these gaming currencies and accounts is rapidly changing, increasingly resembling banking and payment systems.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) points out that presently, gaming companies follow a policy of “let the buyer beware,” meaning that users who face problems with currency conversion, account hacking, or theft of virtual goods typically receive minimal assistance from these companies. Many users find their refunds rejected, get banned from the game linked to their account, or become trapped in endless customer service issues as they seek solutions, according to the CFPB.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), gaming companies that come under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act may break federal consumer financial laws if they neglect issues faced by players with their accounts. The CFPB encourages everyone, especially gamers themselves, to share opinions and experiences related to this proposal.
The public will have until March 31 to submit a comment by emailing the CFPB.
The assistance you provide will aid us in revealing similarities between the gaming sector and traditional banking and financial transactions, as stated by the CFPB.
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2025-01-10 23:08