Steam games no longer purchasable with PayPal in most countries Valve offers no timeline for a potential fix

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Steams payment system just hit another serious speed bump. Millions of players worldwide are discovering that PayPal is no longer an option at checkout, unless they pay in Euros, British Pounds, Japanese Yen, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, or U.S. dollars. For everyone else, that convenient one-click PayPal option has vanished with no telling when it will be back.

This change first appeared in early July 2025, initially thought to be a maintenance issue, but its only now that Valve has confirmed whats going on. According to the company, one of PayPals acquiring banks decided to stop processing any Steam transactions for certain currencies. The result is a considerable chunk of Steams global audience from most countries suddenly restricted to alternative payment methods. Steam itself is suggesting users turn to other payment options or load funds via Steam Wallet codes.

paypal temporarily disabled since? from r/Steam

The immediate impact is clear because users now have to rely on Steam Wallet codes or other payment methods, which can be cumbersome for those accustomed to one-click PayPal checkout. The company has promised to explore restoring PayPal support in the future, but emphasized that the "timeline is uncertain."

This disruption is emblematic of how gaming platforms depend on financial networks, and how changes from a single bank can ripple across millions of players globally. Steam has navigated payment hiccups before, but the sheer scale of this latest restriction highlights just how interconnected the platform's user base and payment systems have become.

For now, players in affected regions are left to adapt, hoping Valve can restore a smooth, global checkout experience because for most, paying with anything other than PayPal is far from effortless. Given the ongoing vitriol surrounding payment processors and Steam, only time will tell whether Valve can listen to community feedback and move forward with viable solutions that can work for everyone.

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Hassam Nasir

Contributing Writer

Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When hes not working, youll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

13 Comments Comment from the forums

punkncat

Where my own interest in gaming is waning alongside my eyesight and hearing, I can say that I have appreciated Steam over the years as what they sell typically works properly for a variety of platforms. If PayPal goes away as a supported payment option that will, for sure, seal the deal for me. I guess in this I can count myself lucky as I would imagine $ would be among (if not) the last to go.
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bigdragon

I also initially thought that PayPal's move was related to the censorship of adult content on Steam and Itch. The payment processors keep insisting that they facilitate legal transactions while trying to block anything that makes them feel uncomfortable behind the scenes.

The whole censorship thing has gotten to ridiculously disgusting levels now. A pair of friends of mine have games on Itch that got delisted as part of the censorship -- and both games don't feature adult content! When did excessively-muscled characters in an FPS or overweight animal characters in a fighting game become adult content? Game of Thrones has actual human pornographic material in it which doesn't bother the payment processors, but clothed characters that aren't shaped like "average" people are unacceptable now.

I'd assume PayPal being blocked in many currencies is probably due to fluctuations in international trade and currency valuations. Probably some tariff confusion and sanctions involvement too. Holding smaller currencies can open banks to wide volatility their investors don't want. They really should come out and say this bluntly.
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vanadiel007

What is the name of the Bank? I bet once you put them on the spot they will change their mind quickly.
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atomicWAR

bigdragon said:
I also initially thought that PayPal's move was related to the censorship of adult content on Steam and Itch. The payment processors keep insisting that they facilitate legal transactions while trying to block anything that makes them feel uncomfortable behind the scenes.

The whole censorship thing has gotten to ridiculously disgusting levels now. A pair of friends of mine have games on Itch that got delisted as part of the censorship -- and both games don't feature adult content! When did excessively-muscled characters in an FPS or overweight animal characters in a fighting game become adult content? Game of Thrones has actual human pornographic material in it which doesn't bother the payment processors, but clothed characters that aren't shaped like "average" people are unacceptable now.

I'd assume PayPal being blocked in many currencies is probably due to fluctuations in international trade and currency valuations. Probably some tariff confusion and sanctions involvement too. Holding smaller currencies can open banks to wide volatility their investors don't want. They really should come out and say this bluntly.
I mean that be nice but the timing is awfully convenient. Not sure I trust it. Regardless not a fan of the payment processors deciding who I can do business with, assuming it's legal. If these moves keep taking place, I could see this push companies and consumers to different platforms for payment. I know I'd switch atp...
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JamesJones44

As someone who actively works hard to keep my CC information in as few of places as possible, this will likely reduce my usage of Steam given I don't want to produce a virtual CC number for every single purchase.
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bigdragon

atomicWAR said:
I mean that be nice but the timing is awfully convenient. Not sure I trust it. Regardless not a fan of the payment processors deciding who I can do business with, assuming it's legal. If these moves keep taking place, I could see this push companies and consumers to different platforms for payment. I know I'd switch atp...
I've seen articles and social media posts within the past 15 minutes saying Valve has now clarified that the PayPal currency removal is absolutely tied to the content censorship going on. This is absolutely out of control now. We really need updated laws all around the world that force payment processors to facilitate all legal transactions regardless of whether or not they offend or upset someone.

I hope the article gets updated soon.
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John Nemesh

Well, at least now we know that the PayPal issue isn't a censorship issue...just one more "beautiful" result of the current incompetent administration.

Edit: After reading the comment directly above mine, I am saddened to hear that it IS censorship! If anyone could link to the relevant comments from Valve, that would be great.
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Notton

related: eo1XNfvBTiQTLDW (or you're blocked because YT AI thinks you're under 18): Mastercard user agreement says they can deny anything just because they feel like it.
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abufrejoval

With that rather large list of currencies still supported, I am wondering just how many are really affected.

Because AFAIK most of the world's biggest gamer populations in Asia and Africa don't actually use Steam to buy games in the first place... if they buy them at all: game purchase is basically a Western world relic, most gaming revenue is in-game transactions on mobile platforms.
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TerryLaze

Notton said:
Mastercard user agreement says they can deny anything just because they feel like it.
I would be shocked if this clause isn't in the terms of every card and also every gaming platform and also every everything.
"we reserve the right to deny service" is like the most common thing.
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