Oh yes. I iz committing the sin of THREAD NECROMANCY in order to propose an absolutely ridiculous game idea.
You know how when… you’ve been waiting forever for such-and-such item to appear for sale (be it new summon gates, custom avatar pins, backgrounds, etc.)… whether you’re a spender or a FTP or something in between… maybe there’s something right now that you really really want but you don’t have enough gems or money to afford it at this time. And by the time you will be able to afford it, the offer will be long gone, and may never actually reappear again.

Thus I propose - the absolutely most ridiculous, most unrealistic, most “holy crap man what are you thinking even suggesting opening this Pandora’s Box that can only possibly end in utter and absolute catastrophe” idea:
E&P Credit.

I know, I know… it’s an absolutely horrid idea. “Borrow” gems from SG, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today”, at what I can only assume would be exorbitant interest rates. But what other choice do you have when you’ve waited 457 days for your nation’s flag pin to pop up in the shop and it just so happens to be the day before you get paid? What are your options? Wait another 457 days for it to pop up again? Borrow money from the shady guy down the street who is likely to bury you alive in a 55-gallon steel drum filled with sulfuric acid if you don’t pay him back on time? Take out a 4th mortgage (oh who are we kidding, that obviously takes more than a day to go through, and we all know you don’t qualify anyway with your credit rating)?
SG is definitely going to be experiencing some revenue losses soon, between COVID and TellyVelaGate controversies (and current Tavern of Legendary Season One 3*s probably isn’t going to help the overall situation)… sooooo… what better time than now for them to get into the credit lending business? Bad economy means lots of potential customers. You lend them virtual heroes, charge them ridiculously high interest rates, and when they miss a payment - BOOM - you confiscate all of their heroes, along with their very real house and car. CHA-CHING!
I mean, it’s basically a no-brainer if you think about it. SG literally has nothing to lose in this scenario, even if the “borrower” ends up declaring bankruptcy.