Some Steam Users Are Having Problems Paying With PayPal

Steam is the largest online video game marketplace in the world. With that territory comes a set of unique challenges like handling payment from different regions in different currencies. There are ways around this complexity such as using a PayPal account, or using PayPal as a middle man between your bank and Steam. Several players have made good use of this service. That’s until recently,  PayPal users have recently reported service issues. These issues seem to be limited to those made in smaller less common currencies. 

As spotted by Turbostrider27 over on Reddit, Steam users have recently reported various issues with PayPal payments on Steam. Those making purchases in Euros, Canadian Dollars, British Pounds, Japanese Yen, Australian and United States Dollars have so far been unaffected. Reddit user Jeeg123 uploaded an image showcasing an error message from Steam. It seems that PayPal’s “acquiring bank” which handles all purchases not made in one of the above currencies, is terminating any purchases that are related to Steam. International banking is tricky as several banks will often use each other as intermediaries. 

Until such time as PayPal notifies their acquiring bank of the issue, this problem is unlikely to go away. Where possible Valve suggests using different payment methods or adding money directly to your Steam balance. If that doesn’t suit you then the best course of action is likely going to be contacting Steam and PayPal support in the meantime. The squeaky wheel gets the grease after all. 

In other news one man is taking on Microsoft for dropping Windows 10 support. If you’d like to find out more click here.