It's official: The Nintendo eShop now has PayPal integration, allowing players to purchase digital games for the Switch, 3DS, and Wii U.
While PS4 and Xbox One users have been enjoying PayPal's online payment services to bag games since the beginning, Nintendo users have been more or less given the cold shoulder. Now all of that is changing for the better.
How To Buy Nintendo Switch, 3DS, And Wii U Games Via PayPal
Step 1: Confirm that the feature is supported in your region.
Note: Here are all the countries supported at the moment: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Step 2: When checking out a game, click on the new PayPal payment option.
Step 3: Link your PayPal account to your Nintendo account using your PC, smartphone, or tablet. Just to be clear, you have to do this only once.
After that, you're all set. You can now buy games using your PayPal funds to buy Switch, 3DS, and Wii U games on the eShop.
Take note, however, that Nintendo says the Nintendo account's country setting must be the same as the PayPal account's.
Nintendo Switch vs 3DS And Wii U
Basically, the integration will let users purchase Nintendo games with PayPal, but there's a minor difference between buying Switch games and checking out 3DS and Wii U titles.
On the Switch, users can nab games using PayPal straight via the console — that is, aside from the option to purchase them on the eShop. That, of course, is a touch of convenience right there.
Meanwhile, on the 3DS and Wii U, users can't avail games using PayPal directly on the console. That means 3DS and Wii U owners will have no choice but to take things to the eShop if they want to buy games using their PayPal funds.
"Consumers around the world can use PayPal to make purchases with their Nintendo eShop accounts directly from their Nintendo Switch. Additionally, consumers can use PayPal on the official Nintendo website to fund balances, and to purchase software downloads on Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch," PayPal's Chris Morse said.
One benefit worth noting in using PayPal to purchase Nintendo games is that parents can create PayPal accounts for their kids and just add funds to them so that they won't have to tie their credit cards to their children's Switch, 3DS, or Wii U, not to mention that the youngsters can make their purchases independently and perhaps even learn how to budget their spending money.
