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Switch eShop in Japan to Remove Ability to Use Foreign Credit Cards or PayPal

Switch eShop in Japan to Remove Ability to Use Foreign Credit Cards or PayPal - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 February 2025 / 3,909 Views

Nintendo has announced the Nintendo eShop in Japan starting on March 25 will no longer access payments from foreign credit cards or PayPal accounts.

"In order to prevent fraudulent use, the Nintendo eShop and My Nintendo Store for Japan will stop accepting credit cards issued overseas and PayPal accounts opened overseas from Tuesday, March 25, 2025," reads a statement from Nintendo.

"For customers who have previously used overseas-issued credit cards or PayPal accounts opened overseas, we ask that you please use other payment methods, such as credit cards issued in Japan, from now on.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding."

These changes mean Nintendo Switch owners outside of Japan that use the Japanese eShop will no longer be able to do so by using their credit card or PayPal account. These players will need to find an alternative method like buying prepaid Japanese Nintendo eShop cards online.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Bluesky.


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9 Comments
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KLXVER (on 30 January 2025)

It starts. Im worried the Switch 2 will be region locked now:(

  • +2
JohnVG KLXVER (on 30 January 2025)

is, out there, any rumour about that?

  • 0
KLXVER JohnVG (on 30 January 2025)

Not that I know of.

  • 0
JohnVG KLXVER (on 30 January 2025)

ok

  • 0
killer7 KLXVER (on 31 January 2025)

It won't. Mark my words. Iwata is gone. From a human standpoint its good but economically for Nintendo its an advantage. He did a lot of damage to the company with his restrictive politics

  • 0
firebush03 killer7 (on 31 January 2025)

…im not too informed on Iwata’s leadership practices, but we are talking about the leader who presided over Nintendo when Wii, DS, 3DS, and NSW were all born. (And, yes, I am aware Iwata had passed away a couple years prior to NSW, though Nintendo was without a long-term president until 2017/2018. Hence, most of the NSW’s first couple of years could be seen as having a whole lotta Iwata DNA embedded throughout.)

The Wii U was a colossal failure, and marketing for Nintendo was utterly abhorrent when Iwata was around, though I struggle to be so quick in pinning these issues on Iwata when he had so much good under his belt.

  • 0
yanis-bnth (on 30 January 2025)

I think they're also doing this cause games are cheaper in Japan. Mario Kart 8 DX is 59,99€ in France, 40€ in Japan when converted because of the weak Yen.

  • +2
Jumpin yanis-bnth (on 30 January 2025)

Probably. Their reasoning PR reeks of BS.

  • +3
Jumpin (on 30 January 2025)

I’m sure PayPal is thrilled to be labelled as a potentially fraudulent financial institution.

  • 0