DLsite, a major platform hosting digital content like games and doujinshi, introduced a new, semi-in-house payment method on October 6, following suspensions of international credit card brands like Visa and Mastercard on the platform. The new alternative, dubbed “Minna no Ginko Payment” is being presented as a seamless, instant payment service tied to the Japanese digital bank called Minna no Ginko.
The announcement comes in the wake of escalating pressure from payment processors regarding adult content hosted on DLsite. In April 2024, DLsite publicly announced it would temporarily disable Visa and Mastercard payments, and to this day, the domestic JCB is the only credit card brand supported on the site. Prior to suspending transactions via international credit card brands, DLsite attempted to reclassify or reword certain tags related to adult content (like “loli”), but these efforts were deemed insufficient.
Likely in response to these circumstances, DLsite’s parent companies viviON and Eisys launched the new Minna no Ginko Payment method. This new system permits direct payments to DLsite by linking a user’s Minna no Ginko bank account with a viviON account ID, thus bypassing the need for intermediaries.
To encourage users to adopt the new payment method, DLsite is offering a bunch of discounts and rewards, but sadly, the option will likely not be available for users outside of Japan. According to Minna no Ginko’s official homepage, opening a digital bank account from overseas is not possible, and they do not guarantee the app’s operation when accessed from outside of Japan.
On a related note, back in 2022, the Japanese art commission platform Skeb made a similar move when it introduced its own cryptocurrency called Skeb Coin, likewise in response to traditional payment options becoming limited.
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They should partner with some of the neo banks in US too or the crypto wallets that are becoming banks. I feel like they would be more cooperative to their plight.