Local currency updates coming to Canada, Japan, and New Zealand
@MatthewWRossi
Later this year, Blizzard is switching pricing on the Battle.net store from USD to local currency in Canada, Japan and New Zealand. The conversion is set to affect your Battle.net balance if you’re in one of the nations switching. This will also work in every Blizzard game shop.
Blizzard already supports a host of currencies so it makes sense to support CAD, NZD and the Yen. It’s a move that makes life easier for people who play the game in these countries. As one of those people, I’m really glad they’re doing it. This means that I won’t have to keep doing currency conversions in my head every time I want to buy the latest pet or mount as a present for my wife, for example. That’s pretty awesome.
I expect it’ll help as they move towards even more online options. I’d love to be able to use Interac for in-game purchases but it’s not a major priority for me (and I spend enough money on WoW as it is, really). Mostly I’m just excited at the idea of actually knowing how much money is going to come out of my account when I buy something instead of finding out later.
On the other hand the US dollar tends to be stronger than the Canadian. If I had a large Battle.net balance I might not be as excited. They’re going to be doing conversions based on ‘one of the major exchanges on the day of the transaction’ so it’s possible you could end up losing out. This could be a problem for some folks. Read on for the full announcement from Blizzard.
Later this year, we’ll be changing pricing on Blizzard Battle.net® from USD to local currency in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. We’re excited to introduce the change. It’s a key step toward growing our service globally and making it easier for players in these regions to shop and manage their accounts with us.
Once this change takes effect, local currency will be used for pricing across Battle.net and within all of Blizzard’s game shops. The same goes for any Blizzard Balance that players in these regions have stored with us, which will convert over to their local currency. Existing recurring World of Warcraft® subscriptions will not be affected and will continue using USD. However, any new or renewed subscriptions and pre-paid Game Time cards will be offered in their local currency.
While we haven’t finalized the exact date, the switch in these regions is currently slated to take effect before the end of this year. At that time, all product pricing and any stored Blizzard Balance will be converted from USD to the local currency based on the rate provided by one of the major exchanges.
For players in New Zealand, pricing will be inclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
We want to make as many of our players as possible feel at home in the Blizzard ecosystem, regardless of where they’re logging in from. We also want to make shopping with us seamless and easy. Switching to local currencies is a key step toward achieving this. Some of our customers will be able to avoid paying unnecessary transaction fees charged by banks and financial institutions. Furthermore, this change will also help us expand the types of payment we can accept, allowing us to add payment methods that we previously couldn’t offer because of their restrictions on transacting in USD.
We’ll provide an update for our players in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand once we formally make the switch to their local currencies. In the meantime, we’ve put together a brief FAQ to provide you with more information on the coming changes.
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FAQ
When are you switching to local currency in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand?
Today, we announced that the change is coming and that it’s slated to take place before the end of the year. We will provide an update to players when the transition takes place.
What products will be affected by these changes?
The conversion to local currencies will affect all product pricing across Blizzard Battle.net® as well as all in-game shops and any stored Blizzard Balance. Any existing recurring World of Warcraft® subscriptions will continue to use USD. However, any new or renewed subscriptions and pre-paid Game Time cards will be offered in local currency.
What happens to my stored Blizzard Balance?
On the date that we make the switch in your regions, your stored Blizzard Balance will convert over to local currency.
What rate Is Blizzard using to convert USD to my local currency?
We will use the conversion rate provided by one of the major exchanges on the day we make the transition.
Why did you decide to switch from USD to local currency in my region?
This is an important step for growing our service globally, making it easier for our players around the world to shop and manage their accounts with us. Some of our customers will be able to avoid paying unnecessary transaction fees charged by banks and financial institutions We’re also able to accommodate more payment methods, adding ones we previously couldn’t offer because they have restrictions on transacting in USD.
What currencies does Blizzard Battle.net support?
Currently, Blizzard Battle.net supports the following currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, RUB, CNY, KRW, TWD, ARS, CLP, BRL, MXN, AUD. We will soon introduce support for JPY, CAD, and NZD.
Blizzard Battle.net is still using USD in my region. When will you switch to my local currency?
We’ll continually evaluate which new currencies to bring to Blizzard Battle.net, and we’ll update our players accordingly.
What if my Blizzard Battle.net account is registered in the wrong country and I want to switch to my local region and currency?
For help switching the region on your Blizzard Battle.net account, please go to: https://battle.net/support/article/7656
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