Sorry if this is the wrong board to post this in but I have a question about buying GOG games. I don't have a credit card and don't have any way to obtain a credit card. For most online transactions, I either use prepaid debit cards or I'll use gift cards (e.g. Amazon gift cards for all of my Amazon purchases).

The issue is that these prepaid debit cards have, recently, changed their policy so you can't use them for transactions outside of the United States. This is a major issue due to the fact that GOG is a Polish company, thus these cards won't work with GOG anymore (it also raises an issue with things like my annual RuneScape Premier Club membership, since Jagex is a UK company). As far as I know, GOG does not have any prepaid gift cards.

This presents an issue for me. If I want to buy from GOG, I'll literally have to borrow my grandmother's credit card (she's the only family member that has a credit card and will let me use it from time to time) and reimburse her, just to buy games online. This isn't cool because I don't like having to rely on using her card, especially since she's very cautious with her card (one might say she's a little too cautious but I understand). Plus, I'm an adult, I shouldn't have to borrow my grandmother's credit card to buy games.

So, that being said, I just wanted to ask all of you: do you have any suggestions for how I could buy GOG games without having to have a credit card? I've tried using PayPal and even worked with PayPal's support to try to figure it out but it didn't work no matter what I tried. I absolutely love GOG but we really need prepaid gift cards like Steam has for people like myself. With the anniversary sales, I figure it's about time for me to finally pick up Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II and Planescape: Torment but I won't be able to do that unless I can find an alternate option to buy them because I'm not about to ask my grandmother to let me borrow her card another time.

Anyways, thanks ahead of time for any responses/help you can give!

You can't link a bank transaction account to your PayPal account and have that as the primary source of funding PayPal transactions?

Look for a bank account that offers you a Visa / Mastercard debit card (works like a credit card but can only be used with the money you have in your bank account - no line of credit offered)?

Otherwise.. no idea unfortunately

Hmm interesting, I haven't tried that but I might. Previously, I just tried to link one of the prepaid debit cards to my PayPal. The problem is that by the time I actually get down to the bank and open a separate account for that, the sale will probably be over. On the bright side, though, at least I have something to try if I can't figure anything else out. Thanks!

EDIT: Well, even though I trust GOG and CD Projekt, I'd be nervous about using a debit card online at all. Even so, I don't think I'd be able to get one. I'll have to do some research, maybe talk to my bank and see what they say.

Not able to get a debit card? Eh, how do you pay for things then ever since checks and cash went out of use? Always asking to be invoiced?

do you have any options in your gog account for digital currency like advcash, OKPay etc? if there's anything like that you can use exchangers to fund your electronic currency wallet and then use it to fund gog wallet (I have no idea if it's allowed by your laws, it is pretty normal in my area).
See if you can find any iBoxes or cash terminals that can take your cash and fund your gog account.
research on Payoneer debit card. it is common mastercard and accepted worldwide, easy to open account, easy to fund. They ship cards pretty fast even worldwide.

to the OP, I was in your shoes at one point but in the end I found a gas station in the US that actually sells paysafecard, it did take awhile and they will not know what your talking about but they exist and this one wasn't that far away, however you might find one but it could half a state away. Another way would be to do trades with people, there is a trading thread and I'd be happy to do a trade with you but it does also carry some risk with it.

But more to the point, yeah GOG isn't great to purchase anything if you live in the US, really wish that add some better payment options.

BTW change your chat settings otherwise no one can chat with you...

You don't necessarily need a second account. You can link your bank account directly to make the transaction. Afterward, unlink your account.

Unless one uses Paypal all the time, I now advise people to clear their payment account data once a transaction is completed. The reason is that I had a fraud attempt through Paypal, that snagged something like $1.08 from one of my accounts, through a subscription service that I don't use; looks like someone was doing a test transaction before making a big hit. Took six weeks to get it settled, but only 10 seconds to yoink my account data from Paypal.

Anyway, good luck getting it working.

There's something strange going on with USA banks. Are they doing it themselves or are they being told to do it from outside influences?

Why are you using a prepaid Debit card instead of a regular one?

Can you use prepaid debit cards to fund your Paypal account? Paypal is a U.S. company.

You could also try linking your bank account through PayPal and adding PayPal credits to your PayPal account so you can actually make the purchase using your PayPal balance as I've definitely purchased games using PayPal credit. It's basically like Ebay bucks in case that makes more sense.

If nothing else works and you still have to borrow your grandma's card, I suggest you to use GOG Wallet.

1. You estimate how much you wanna spend on gog in a period, maybe per 6 month
2. You spend it on the wallet, just say $40. No recurring fees and you don't need to borrow the card everytime.
3. Remember that this need a constant restraint from you not to spend it on a whim. Just buy games that you wishlisted and on discount.
4. Pay your grandma on time, buy her a flower or two.

Many thanks for the responses, everyone! I pay purely by cash in-store or via gift cards if I have to shop online. Cash and checks are still heavily used here. Hmm, I'm not sure, I've never used any of those. I'll keep an eye out for those. And as for the Payoneer card, I'm not sure they'd even consider me as I'm currently out of work and trying to find something to make some money (my local job market is trash and I can't afford to move). I haven't used paysafecard before but I'll look for it next time I'm out. And as for trading, if there were a secure way to do it, I'd be all for it. The trouble is that I don't own many games via GOG and the ones I do own, I actively play. Plus, being currently unemployed, I have to be careful how I spend, so I can't really afford to risk much at all right now. But yeah, I really hope they go the Steam route and create gift cards so I could buy that way. And as for chat, I didn't realize I had it turned off lol, it should be fine now. Wouldn't that require me to go down to the bank every time I want to purchase that way? Or am I misunderstanding you? I don't use Paypal much so I'd definitely clear my transaction data if I go that route, thanks for the heads up. :) I'm not sure, it's just now in the T&C of all of the prepaid cards I buy and there's literally no way around it, sadly. Because I can't get a credit card and as for debit cards, I will not use a regular debit card online. Shoot, I'll barely use one, period. Call me paranoid but it's something I've never been willing to risk.

Yeah, I tried that awhile back but it didn't want to work for some reason. I tried contacting the support teams for both the cards and Paypal, neither could figure it out.

I'd be a little nervous about adding my main bank account to Paypal. I know they're reputable but I'm extremely hesitant about linking my bank account to ANYTHING nowadays. The only option in that regard would be for me to open a secondary account, link it to Paypal, transfer the exact amount I need over to my secondary account, use that money to add Paypal credits, make the transaction, then unlink the bank account.

If there was minimal risk to my actual bank account, I'd try to go that route but as I said above, I am currently unemployed and doubt they'd offer me a plan.

Haha that's actually not a bad idea, you're right about helping me avoid spending too often. I'll have to talk to her about that and see if she's cool with that, at least until I can find a better way to purchase things online.

This might work

https://www.paysafecard.com/en-us/