Sparkasse offers an “in-game calculator”.

The business of in-app and in-game purchases is booming like never before. In order to get a better overview of these purchases, the Savings Bank Group now offers a kind of “exchange rate calculator”.

Nowadays, many games have their own currency. For example, Fortnite uses V-Bucks while you can earn GTA Bucks in GTA. Each of these currencies has its own exchange rate, which can make it easy to lose track. Moreover, there is no legal regulation requiring game providers to announce in advance whether the user can spend money. Free-to-play games in particular use microtransactions as their main source of income. You can buy various cosmetics there or even buy perks and progress in the game. again and again Criticism of consumer advocates This approach.

This poses special problems for young people. When payment details are stored on a smartphone or even on a computer, there are no further hurdles; Payments are automatically posted to the next statement. Cost traps are set, especially when in-app purchases are required to progress in the game. The use of virtual currencies often obscures the perception that they are spending real money, especially among children and young people. In addition, most in-game currencies are designed very attractively, which can quickly tempt you to spend more real money than necessary. For example, there are always offers and packages advertising that you can save money if you buy more.

More transparency and education in the gaming sectorH

In order to combat this problem, Sparkasse is now introduced “In-game calculator” before. This tool aims to provide more transparency and education in the gaming sector. The tool provides exchange rates for the 30 most popular gaming currencies in Euros, including Fortnite, League of Legends, Roblox, EA Sports FC 24, Candy Crush Saga, Valorant, Minecraft, and Forge of Empires. The tool can be used for free as a microsite, as an app, or as a browser extension.

This is how it works: When using the application, you can take a screenshot and the conversion will be displayed directly on the smartphone screen. However, if you use the browser extension, the Euro value of the in-game product will be displayed directly there.

source: Savings bank