Ask HN: Is it weird to ask users to pay via CC through a desktop app?

You're not over thinking it, the web has trained people to trust it with their credit cards, while your application has to establish itself a new.

The best thing you can do is mimick the visual cues of browser security and put a big fat golden lock somewhere on the screen, and show other cues of encryption in use (say, show a certificate verification dialog.)

Of course, use OpenSSL! This goes without saying. Don't fake security if you're sending sensitive stuff in plain text.

Just to be sure your users don't have a keylogger (specially on Win32) provide an on-screen keyboard/keypad and accept input only through that, or encourage it over the actual keyboard. The more security hoops people jump through the better they like it, at least I do.

If you're going the credits route.. why not just say "Your account has $10"? No need to rename it to credits or anything like that.

Also, desktop online casino apps seem to open a browser on the payment page. Maybe you could do something like this?

iTunes allows for in-application purchases with an online account. I suggest examining their payment model.

I suppose it comes down to human psychology. People are more used to entering CC info on a secure site (https padlock icon all that) rather than their desktop apps. Maybe the easiest solution would be to send users to a secure URL?