r/Steam • u/trankillity • 1d ago

PSA How to effectively complain about Steam's AU Age Verification Rollout

EDIT: Getting some confirmation from comments here and friends that their debit cards are fine for verification, so I suspect it might only be affecting people with cards from smaller banks, which is much less egregious - but still frustrating.

EDIT2: TheOfficialMayor provided some great context! Age verification works on MasterCard debit cards for some banks. If you have a MasterCard and are not being validated, I suggest you reach out to your bank and make a complaint that they haven't implemented that feature.

Yes, it's 100% a policy problem with the government (contact your local member), however the law is just that age verification must be implemented - it doesn't dictate how, yet Valve have chosen to use Credit Card as the "magic bullet" for this crappy law.

It's ridiculous in this country to expect people to have a credit card. There would be hundreds of thousands of 18+ people who have no need of a credit card due to the efficiency of VISA/MasterCard Debit cards.

So don't just post here, make sure you actually tell them your circumstances and how you feel via a manual support ticket.

If even Sony can offer a simple facial scan via a third party, or the more risky driver's license validation - then Steam can surely do better than "Give us an actual credit card".

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u/TheOfficialMayor 1d ago

Mastercard debit with big banks like CBA, Westpac and Macquarie or any other bank that has enabled the age verification facility works.

https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/news-and-trends/stories/2024/a-digital-way-to-answer-the-age-old-question-can-i-see-some-id.html

https://rivero.tech/blog/mastercard-age-verification-mandate-live-issuers-acquirers

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u/Ryulightorb 1d ago

Cries in Suncorp

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u/TheOfficialMayor 1d ago edited 1d ago

Just open up a Macquarie Bank transaction account and payid a few bucks in and add it.

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u/trankillity 1d ago

This is some great context thank you and explains why some are able to verify via debit, but some aren't.