Is Microsoft now playing with credit cards too?
The Redmond giant launches a line of credit cards designed for those who spend on games and DLC for the PC and Microsoft Xbox console ecosystem
A move made by Microsoft that is difficult to predict. While everyone's attention was on its attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard , the Xbox division formed an alliance with Barclays US Consumer Bank to enter the credit card business. Thus the Xbox Mastercard was born, in a clear attempt to build user loyalty through various advantages for Xbox players but, above all, to keep a foot in a new market.
WHY MICROSOFT IS INTERESTED IN CREDIT CARDS
Xbox Mastercards will launch soon, on September 21st for members of the Xbox Insider program and during 2024 for everyone else. And, at the moment, it will be a "regional" activity, i.e. addressed only to the United States. But nothing rules out the possibility that Microsoft will soon enter into agreements with other institutions in the Asian and European markets as well. Much will depend on the success of the pilot initiative.
Microsoft highlighted the absence of payments for annual membership, the flexibility of use with contactless payments and digital wallets, and free access to the Fico credit rating service.
THE ADVANTAGES FOR XBOX USERS
Credit cards branded with Microsoft's Xbox logo will have a sort of cashback for the benefit of gamers: the more they are used in expenses, the more points will be forfeited in the console store which can then be used to obtain free or reduced-price software and apps.
Furthermore, other bonuses have been announced if these credit cards are used for the purchase of Microsoft and Xbox products (therefore video games, software, DLC, microtransactions…), for streaming services such as Disney+ and Netflix or, again, in the field of home catering, with Grubhub and DoorDash.
To push the offer, Microsoft credit card holders will initially enjoy a credit of 5,000 points, for a value of 50 dollars, after the first purchase and three months of subscription to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with the possibility of give the latter away to third parties if you are already a subscriber to the service.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia-on-demand/microsoft-ora-giochicchia-pure-con-le-carte-di-credito/ on Sun, 17 Sep 2023 10:40:25 +0000.