While both Valve and Mastercard are still blaming each other over recent widespread censorship, it seems like PayPal is being affected by the new policies.
Users in most of the world are being greeted by a new error when trying to use PayPal as an option to buy games on Steam. No reason for PayPal being removed was given, though many think its related to the new payment processor-driven censorship.
The new update seems to have been dropped in July and limits PayPal as a payment option to everyone outside of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan.
If you live anywhere outside of those above countries, you’ll be greeted by this new error when trying to use PayPal for buying games on Steam:
PayPal use on Steam is currently unavailable in my currency. Why?
In early July 2025, PayPal notified Valve that their acquiring bank for payment transactions in certain currencies was immediately terminating the processing of any transactions related to Steam. This affects Steam purchases using PayPal in currencies other than EUR, CAD, GBP, JPY, AUD and USD.
We hope to offer PayPal as an option for these currencies in the future but the timeline is uncertain. We are also evaluating adding additional payment methods on Steam for the customers affected by this.
In the meantime, please use one of our other current payment methods during checkout. If you can’t use any of the available options, you can consider using a Steam Wallet code to add funds to your account.
The same message can be found on an FAQ for Steam. Previously, Valve said new policies from payment processors like Mastercard forced them to discourage and even remove adult games from their platform.
Mastercard fired back and said they were only adhering to local laws, though Valve noted payment processors said Mastercard specifically cited their own rule on adult games being a “risk to the Mastercard brand.”
It’s worth noting Valve is hoping to offer PayPal as an option for most of the world buying games on Steam “in the future”, so the company is obviously working on whatever concern or policy made them promptly cut the option.
