Rakuten Kobo e-readers are having a terrible issue where users cannot purchase e-books in Europe and the UK. When purchasing digital content, such as manga, comics, graphic novels, or digital books, the payment or confirmation page either shows a white screen or fails to load. This occurs directly on Kobo e-readers such as the Kobo Clara, Kobo Clara Colour, Kobo Libra Colour and older devices.
This behaviour is generally linked to a security requirement called 3D Secure for online credit and debit card transactions, used to validate online payments in Europe and the UK. Occasionally, the required 3D Secure verification step doesn’t display correctly on the e-reader’s screen, resulting in the blank page you’re seeing during checkout.
Kobo is recommending using a QR code to make purchases to visitig the Kobo website and purchasing content directly on it.
Recommended solution: use the QR code
To easily bypass this display issue and can complete your purchase, we recommend using your phone or tablet:
- On your eReader, select the QR code option at checkout
- Scan the QR code with your smartphone or tablet camera
- Open the link that appears
- Complete your purchase directly in your web browser
Once the purchase is complete, remember to sync your Kobo e-Reader to download your new content. This method ensures the 3D Secure verification is processed correctly and efficiently.
Wrap Up
I find it very amusing that Kobo went to the trouble of creating a new help file for this issue, but provided no indication that a software update would nip this bug in the butt. However, they are making their European users jump through a bunch of hoops just to buy something. Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online retailers never have issues when it comes to buying books on an e-reader.