You can use an alternate payment method than the one that is stored during the checkout.

Originally posted by rawWwRrr:

You can use an alternate payment method than the one that is stored during the checkout.

Doesn't change the stupidity of it, I don't want to keep my credit card attached and have to keep manually entering my debit card info every single time.
Also the risk of accidentally purchasing on the credit card instead.

I don't want my credit card attached to my Steam account, I simply wanted to verify and switch my primary payment back to debit. The fact Steam just magically 'forgets' I verified the moment I switch back to debit shows they rushed this out and put no thought into it.

This is the most spastic update Steam has ever done.

+1 for this being incredibly stupid on Steam's part. My account is over 18 and so am I, WTF. Credit cards are a massive con, which sensible person would sign up for 25%+ interest? They need to provide alternative means of verifying as even if I signed up for a credit card, it would get revoked for lack of use (has happened once already when I was a student) and apparently they need to keep one on file.

Originally posted by Derleaf:

+1 for this being incredibly stupid on Steam's part. My account is over 18 and so am I, WTF. Credit cards are a massive con, which sensible person would sign up for 25%+ interest? They need to provide alternative means of verifying as even if I signed up for a credit card, it would get revoked for lack of use (has happened once already when I was a student) and apparently they need to keep one on file.

My credit card doesn't have interest that high. I don't even know anyone personally that has one over 10%.

25% is on the low end of typical UK credit card interest rates.

You are supposed to pay your credit card bill in full when it is due. The interest rate only applies to the balance of what you didn't pay and is still usually less than you would typically be charged for an overdraft with a regular bank or a short term loan.

If you keep your money in a high interest easy access savings account until needed, which you should be doing anyway, spending on a credit card and paying later earns you money.

Plus you get some extra statutory consumer protection.

You should always have an alternate payment method anyway, you never know when your bank will be having problems and you can't buy food for your starving hypothetical children.

I do agree only having one option for age verification is poor. I see this being the least development time required option. Maybe they will add something else in the future.

They'll eventually add a different method in the future. Options are being looked into.

Originally posted by jason:

25% is on the low end of typical UK credit card interest rates.

You are supposed to pay your credit card bill in full when it is due. The interest rate only applies to the balance of what you didn't pay and is still usually less than you would typically be charged for an overdraft with a regular bank or a short term loan.

If you keep your money in a high interest easy access savings account until needed, which you should be doing anyway, spending on a credit card and paying later earns you money.

Plus you get some extra statutory consumer protection.

You should always have an alternate payment method anyway, you never know when your bank will be having problems and you can't buy food for your starving hypothetical children.

I do agree only having one option for age verification is poor. I see this being the least development time required option. Maybe they will add something else in the future.

What I don't understand is why everyone doesn't just have the credit card set up to be automatically paid off immediately. Surely it's possible?

Most card providers will encourage you to set up a direct debit to take payment from your bank account automatically when due.

It is still your responsibility to make sure you have enough money in the account to pay out.

I don't know, but my guess is that the rule about it staying on the account is Ofcom not Valve.

If I were you, what I would do is apply for a new credit card and set it up with the bank to be paid in full every month. That's a standard option. Then reduce the limit to something safe, in case the account is hacked, and use that one card for all online purchases.

But yes, it is absolutely stupid. It significantly increases the risk of fraud.

Support.

Absolutely. I'm in my 60s, have never had or wished for a credit card (would be an unwanted distraction to me, and has been the downfall of many), and though few of the games that interest me fall foul of this restriction I'll be reluctant to buy anything at all here while it's in place.

i don't want even more private data being on different sites as it can pose a major problem if we get hacked and such they would then know what our credit card etc. is so it would increase their chance of getting into our banks etc. and stealing our money
and it doesn't matter how strong the security is because it can be made so it can be broken as well so then making us store private info to buy games will also get people to get them on illegal sites more common instead of paying for it on steam
and did you know that ways to prove your age by showing their face can be used for AI without permission and its not like they are just gonna tell us they are using our faces around so we wont know if they did remove them
and there has been a increase of hackers in the country i am in and because of that spreading private info can be a major problem and in more then 1 country i heard children and teenagers have been able to bypass the ID verifcation
so its pointless to have as the ones its said to be for wont work anyway

Exactly what OP said. Steam, the UK government will accept an AI guess at our age for goodness sake, heck my account is old enough to drink anywhere in the USA (21), of course I'm old enough. A credit card that has to remain primary on your account is NOT the only option, and is not even a tenable solution. If this is intended as an interim solution, then you need to be clearer and tell us what the roadmap is, but it is not a long term solution.

Steam cant help you. Complain to UK government

Originally posted by Princess Luna:

Steam cant help you. Complain to UK government

Steam, as in Valve, can help him, Valve can offer other forms of verification.