Mihoyo officially promotes Zenless Zone Zero top up using prepaid cards in some regions, but the variations in coverage and fee are significant. Taiwanese players can purchase physical or virtual cards through MyCard (retailers include convenience stores 7-Eleven and FamilyMart). In topping up NT $648 (approximately US $21), there is a handling fee of 5% (NT $32) to be paid. The actual value of received Ether crystals is 4.7% less than that of official direct recharging (data source: MyCard 2024 rate table). Japanese players made use of WebMoney prepaid cards to replenish 10,000 yen (approximately 64 US dollars), yet due to the 10% consumption tax and charges associated with the platforms, the resultant amount of received Ether crystals effectively worked out as being 12% less compared to bank payments (Financial Services Agency of Japan Payment Research Report).
Regional prepaid cards have embedded limitations. Brazilian players loaded with RecargaPay prepaid cards, with a processing fee of just 0.8% and the delivery time reduced to 5 minutes (standard bank transfers take 3 hours), fueling a 37% growth in prepaid card usage in the region during Q1 2024 (Central Bank of Brazil data). When Turkish players purchase local prepaid cards (e.g., Papara), since the lira has lost 23% of its value over the past year, the effective cost is 19% higher than the price indicated in US dollars. In addition, the probability of MiHoYo’s geofencing system (with an IP positioning error of ≤30 meters) catching cross-regional activities is 89%.
Beware of the risks of prepaid cards on third-party platforms. In 2023, the “ZeroCard” case was cracked by the Indonesian police. The criminal gang purchased prepaid cards from scammers and sold them at 75% of their market value under the name Ether Crystals, having 15,000 accounts suspended and a loss of $35 per player on average (Indonesian Cyber Security Agency statistics). Although the Codashop platform supports Southeast Asian prepaid cards such as Touch n Go in Malaysia, the effective arrival rate for a 300 ringgit (approximately 64 US dollars) recharge is only 92% (since the exchange rates vary and an 8% handling fee is levied by the platform), 11% higher than the official channel price.
The “ultra-low discount” trap of black and gray industry prepaid card channels. One of the Telegram groups declared “a 500-yuan prepaid card can be exchanged for 6,480 ether crystals (the market value 648 yuan),” but in reality defrauded by forging passwords on cards (efficiency of 87%) or delayed deliveries (cycle for over 72 hours). One month’s scope of the case surpassed 8 million yuan (as reported by Jiangsu Cyber Police). But for compliant channels such as Japan’s 7-Eleven, the WebMoney card, with a 99.5% success rate in funds arrival, is less convenient than electronic payment as it involves offline purchase (with only a 62% coverage rate).
Technical adjustment and compliance restrictions coexist. Mihoyo has not left a prepaid card recharge interface in Europe and America. Players are forced to redeem through third-party platforms such as PaySafeCard at a rate of the transaction fee of up to 12% (for example, when reloading $100, one actually pays $112) and are required to present identity proof (48-hour review period).
Last suggestion: Highlight prepaid card channels by means of MiHoYo-approved prepaid cards (e.g., MyCard and WebMoney), account ban rate < 0.1% and you are able to have fun in the game (e.g., receive limited skins from cumulative recharge). Avoid non-conformity platforms (account suspension rate > 85%) and very low-discount prepaid cards (fraud probability > 60%). Before recharging, it needs to verify the validity duration of the card key (usually 6 to 12 months) and geographical restrictions (like the Japan Card can only be used for accounts within the Japan region) to avoid freezing the funds.