Accounts, Billing, & Orders

[moriancumr]

I have recently created a Roku account and I have purchased a Roku Ultra which I have the option of returning at anytime before the end of April. I have not yet used Roku because I have a question about billing & payment. I noticed from your online information pages that you have 2 methods of payment (using a credit card or PayPal). Neither will be beneficial to me. I am a US-based, possible customer.

QUESTION: Is there a way that you can bill me and I can pay you through my bank's electronic means, either through direct payment or through a bank certified check?

Thanks . . .

[makaiguy]

You can register your Roku without specifying a payment method via https://my.roku.com/signup/nocc.   If you've already created your account and specified a payment method, you can log back into your account at https://my.roku.com/payment/account and click "Remove payment method".

Roku does not charge to register or link your device so no payment method is needed in advance.  A payment method with Roku is only needed if you subsequently decide to make a purchase or subscribe to a premium channel through Roku. 

You can always subscribe to premium channels directly with the channel provider and not involve Roku in the transaction, but of course then you'll have to deal with THEIR available payment methods.

[moriancumr]

Thank you for your quick reply. My greatest concern is that using my credit card for automatic withdrawals is disconcerting for me. I just don't do this kind of transaction owing to the many security concerns. Also, I have never had a good experience with PayPal, and their security policies are not well.

Do you accept any other way for your payment of your services.

Many thinks for your assistance.

[makaiguy]

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@moriancumr wrote:

Do you accept any other way for your payment of your services.

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Not my services, I'm just a user like you.  I've not heard of any streaming provider that does what you're looking for, but then I've not looked, either.

[RokuMary-F]

Hi @moriancumr,

Thanks for reaching out to the Roku community!

Currently, Roku only uses the Roku pay as a payment method that you have on file to complete purchases.

Roku Pay accepts the following forms of payment: 

• MasterCard
• Visa
• PayPal
• American Express (not available in France)
• Discover (available only in the U.S. and Canada)
• Prepaid gift cards, if the payment merchant (e.g., Visa, Discover) is accepted in your geographic region

We highly recommend adding security to your payment method, by creating a PIN that will protect against unwanted transactions.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and have a good day!

Thanks,

Mary

[moriancumr]

It looks like I haven't made myself very clear with my original post. Creating a PIN is not going to help me, since a PIN will only "prevent unauthorized users in your home from making purchases." There is no one in my home who is not allowed to make purchases. Will creating a PIN prevent Roku from making purchases --or in this case, sending a payment to a subscription vendor from my credit card without my knowing about it?

Is there something I'm missing here?

Thanks in advance for your assistance; I don't mean to be a pain about this.

[renojim]

I think you're looking for some kind of problem that is very, very unlikely to occur. Roku isn't going to blindly charge you for something that you didn't OK (assuming you set up the PIN). As long as you're the slightest bit savvy about what a URL is, how a browser works, and how to properly get your device linked to your Roku account and your payment method what you're worried about just isn't going to happen.

If you're really worried about it, don't use Roku Pay.  Most services have a way to subscribe directly through them.

You've already received the answer about what payment methods are accepted.

[DBDukes]

I'm not Roku. But I'll answer your question in a way Roku won't: No.

You don't need to send any money to Roku for anything ever. 

What is it you think you need to pay Roku for? You can buy a Roku device from Walmart, from Best Buy, from a whole bunch of places. You don't need to pay Roku.

You can subscribe to services (Netflix, Hulu, etc) directly to those services, paying them in goat skins if they'll take it. You don't need to pay Roku anything.

What is it you think you'll one day want to pay Roku for?

[moriancumr]

Let's say I want to add a subscription for Discovery+. How does Discovery+ get paid? Is it not through Roku? If so, wouldn't Roku pull the funds from my credit card?

Am I all wet here? This is my first for-ray into streaming. Thanks for all your assistance.

[DBDukes · Accepted solution]

You can pay through Roku, but you don't have to.

I'm a huge fan of Roku, but I don't like to pay through Roku billing, although for entirely different reasons than yours. But that's not what's important. What's important is that you can pay the service directly.

Go to https://discoveryplus.com and sign up. Pay them. Start a free trial. Whatever. 

Then add and launch the app to Roku. Log in with your Discovery credentials. You never send Roku a dime.