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[15th March] Update: Riot Games provides an alternative method of payment
With the UPI payment option still unavailable in-game, Riot Games provided an alternative method of payment for the players in India and South Asia. On 14th March, it tweeted, "While we wait on the fix for payment systems, here is an alternative method of getting your VALORANT (VP) and Radianite (RP) points."
This payment method is a site called UniPin where users can add VP and RP to their accounts. All you need to do is enter your email address (mandatory) and select the amount you want to add to your Valorant wallet and choose a payment channel. The available channels are as follows:
Wallets
UPI
Net Banking
Debit/Credit Card
You can head over to https://www.unipin.com/in/game/valorant-riot-cash-pin to purchase VP and RP in Valorant.
(The original story from 9th March 2023 continues below)
Riot Games introduced the option of using BHIM UPI to buy Valorant Points (VP) in-game in 2021. Initially, Indian players were dependent on Paytm to buy VP but the publisher made it easier for the players to just scan the QR code and pay via their UPI IDs. However, a lot of Valorant players have been complaining on social media about a recent problem persisting in the payment system that is preventing Indian and South Asian players from purchasing in-game content.
Although players can still choose to pay via credit cards or through PayPal (both of which need them to pay in Euros), the BHIM UPI option allowed players to pay in Indian Rupees. Riot Games acknowledged the issue and talked about it on Twitter.
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Riot Games issues a statement regarding the UPI payment option
On 9th March, Riot Games’ Valorant // India & South Asia Twitter handle wrote, “We are aware of the issue with the UPI payment system affecting players from purchasing in-game content. We're working on it right now, but in the meantime, you can submit a ticket at https://support-valorant.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/. Once we receive your ticket, we'll reach out to support.”
Initially, the UPI payment feature was available in the store but upon clicking the option, which redirects users to Codashop for the transaction, the payment method was failing. The error message read, “Sorry, we are unable to complete your purchase. The payment channel is under maintenance and will [be] back up soon. Need help? Visit our Help Center (error: 1301)”
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However, now the option seems to have gone missing from the client. Notably, back in 2021, the Paytm option went missing from the client but later Riot Games confirmed that it was due to a glitch.
On 13th August 2021, the Valorant // India & South Asia Twitter handle said, “Due to a technical glitch, the PayTM payment option from India is currently not available. We are working on the fix and apologize for the inconvenience.”
The UPI option’s disappearance could most likely be another one of these technical glitches and with Riot Games already working on the issue, it may be resolved soon within a few business days.
Codashop partnered with Riot Games to offer easy, safe, and convenient Valorant Points top-up. Notably, the Codashop India page also addressed the failing UPI payment issue.
At the time of writing this article, the site currently says, “UPI is unavailable on Codashop. Rest assured, we are working on bringing UPI back to Codashop.”
