Nintendo Switch eShop PayPal Payments Activated

Nintendo revealed today that PayPal is to be added to the list of payment options for the Switch eShop. Importantly, this means that anyone with a bank account can purchase games digitally – no credit card required. Even better is the news that PayPal support is going live across multiple regions today.

Beyond the immediate benefits of implementing something like PayPal in the eShop, this move also has some added bonuses for those who like peruse eShops belonging to other regions. The Switch, as many of you already know, is a region-free device, meaning that any Switch game you purchase will work on your console regardless of where you got it from.

Since the Switch launched, there have been people logging into the Japanese eShop to purchase games that were either exclusive to the region or available earlier there. Doing so, however, requires a credit card capable of international purchases, a Japanese credit card, or a Japanese eShop card. Even if you had a credit card capable of international purchases, it's at least somewhat likely that you'd be subject to fees for making purchases outside of your region.

Now, however, PayPal makes things significantly less complicated. In order to purchase games from the UK eShop, for example, you only need to create a UK PayPal account. No more purchasing eShop cards for different regions or any of that. For Switch owners who would like to pad out their library with games from other region, PayPal support helps a lot.

PayPal is live today on the Switch eShop around the world. While there may not be a much of a use for it just yet as far as purchasing games from other regions is concerned, Japan does have the release of Monster Hunter XX coming up at the end of this month. If you're a big Monster Hunter fan, then, it would be the perfect time to try out the eShop's new PayPal functionality.