08-12-2021 13:30
I am an Australian living in the UK for six months. I have signed up for Amazon Prime no problem, and I can use Apple TV wherever I go globally, as you would think should be the case in today's global world, and wanted to get a NOW TV account to use while I am here. But it won't accept my MasterCard, despite that same card being used to buy loads of goods and services in the UK, from all major retailers. I have a provable UK address for six months, we are resident here legally for that time, and Waitrose, Argos, Apple, Amazon et al lets me pay for stuff with my international credit card but not NOW TV. You are really missing a trick. Get with the global program!
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08-12-2021 13:55 - edited 08-12-2021 13:56
Hi @Anonymous User
you might be able to pay via PayPal. Although if you don't already have a PayPal account, I wouldn't recommend going down this route. As fully Setting up a PayPal account can be rather complicated.
It is possible that the issue you're having may be related to age verification as in the UK an over 18 yes or no check can be performed with your bank/card issuer at the request of the merchant If the payment method being used is a UK issued Visa/MasterCard credit or debit card. Most services that provide subscriptions such as Now routinely perform these checks to help make sure that no one under the age of 18 subscribes. As under UK law. No one under the age of 18 is meant to subscribe to a subscription service. It has always been a bit up in the air as to whether the age verification process works with overseas payment cards. In this case it would appear, it might not.
If you do have a PayPal account, you would by definition be over the age of 18, which would enable you to get through the age verification stage.
Have a look at the article help issue. linked below and expand the 'can I pay via PayPal' tab. If you're able to add this PayPal as a payment method, then I would have thought payments should go through without issues. Although don't quote me on that as what I'm saying is based on my own experience of using PayPal as a payment method for services that charge in US dollars, but to provide services in the UK
https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-payment-methods-can-i-use
I'm sorry if this hasn't been of much help, but hopefully it will be of some use😀
EDIT
also see what @gavs82008 , has said above 😀
08-12-2021 13:43
@Anonymous User
Soon you will be able to use PayPal if that is of any use.
https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-payment-methods-can-i-use
Can I pay via PayPal?
We're now trialling PayPal as a payment method for TV Membership. This means that some members will be offered the option to pay via PayPal when they join NOW.
For now, this option isn't available to everyone, but we hope to offer it to more and more of our members in the next few months.
08-12-2021 13:59
Using PayPal would be great but if the credit card linked to it is Australian, would still have the same problem, I presume...
08-12-2021 14:03
@Anonymous User
Do you happen to have a PayPal account? Even if it is an Aussie one it is something worth trying.
08-12-2021 13:55 - edited 08-12-2021 13:56
Hi @Anonymous User
you might be able to pay via PayPal. Although if you don't already have a PayPal account, I wouldn't recommend going down this route. As fully Setting up a PayPal account can be rather complicated.
It is possible that the issue you're having may be related to age verification as in the UK an over 18 yes or no check can be performed with your bank/card issuer at the request of the merchant If the payment method being used is a UK issued Visa/MasterCard credit or debit card. Most services that provide subscriptions such as Now routinely perform these checks to help make sure that no one under the age of 18 subscribes. As under UK law. No one under the age of 18 is meant to subscribe to a subscription service. It has always been a bit up in the air as to whether the age verification process works with overseas payment cards. In this case it would appear, it might not.
If you do have a PayPal account, you would by definition be over the age of 18, which would enable you to get through the age verification stage.
Have a look at the article help issue. linked below and expand the 'can I pay via PayPal' tab. If you're able to add this PayPal as a payment method, then I would have thought payments should go through without issues. Although don't quote me on that as what I'm saying is based on my own experience of using PayPal as a payment method for services that charge in US dollars, but to provide services in the UK
https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-payment-methods-can-i-use
I'm sorry if this hasn't been of much help, but hopefully it will be of some use😀
EDIT
also see what @gavs82008 , has said above 😀
08-12-2021 14:02
Thanks for such a considered and full reply. But if the credit card connected to PayPal is also Australian, think I would hit the same problem. Will look into it...if the over 18 thing is the issue, why not just put that somewhere as a statement, as so many other retailers or providers do?
08-12-2021 14:29
@Anonymous User wrote:
Thanks for such a considered and full reply. But if the credit card connected to PayPal is also Australian, think I would hit the same problem. Will look into it...if the over 18 thing is the issue, why not just put that somewhere as a statement, as so many other retailers or providers do?
Hi @Anonymous User
I cannot be 100% sure about this but as you have to be over 18 to have a PayPal account in the first place the payment method that is attached to PayPal does not matter if you do have a PayPal account. I would give it a try as you haven't got anything to lose.
08-12-2021 14:07
Indeed the PayPal set up is bit complicated, it however did allow me to somehow create a US account with my UK bank cards.
Which it did manage to give me access to Hulu, Peacock US and Paramount+.
That being said I haven't tested the services with my UK PayPal account.
08-12-2021 14:14
"get with the global program"
But Now is not a global company like Apple and Amazon. It is a US owned, UK company.
It also has a far lower user base (a couple of million vs hundreds of millions) than all the other companies you've mentioned which has another implication - cost. There are additional fees to process overseas cards.
I have a business that typically pays 1% to process UK bank cards but I pay 3% to process cards from outside the UK. I can accept that because of the volume/value of transactions I process but the question for Now is, is it worth having systems and additional costs to process what will probably be a few thousand transactions?