Can You Buy a Steam Gift Card With PayPal, Apple Pay or Crypto?
October 30, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026
Yes, you can buy a Steam digital gift card with PayPal, as long as your Steam currency is euros, Canadian dollars, pounds, yen, Australian dollars or US dollars. Since mid-2025, PayPal hasn't processed Steam purchases in other currencies. You can't pay for a gift card with your own Steam Wallet funds, and Steam hasn't accepted Bitcoin since December 2017.
Key facts
- Steam digital gift cards are bought on Steam with the payment methods offered for your country at checkout.
- PayPal on Steam is limited to EUR, CAD, GBP, JPY, AUD and USD, after one of PayPal's banks stopped processing Steam payments in other currencies in 2025.
- Valve: "You cannot use existing wallet funds to purchase a digital gift card."
- Steam stopped accepting Bitcoin on 6 December 2017, citing high fees and volatility.
- Guest checkout lets someone without a Steam account buy a digital gift card, and since July 2026 any gift card can be sent to an email address.
- If the recipient declines the card, Valve refunds you to the original payment method where possible, PayPal included, and otherwise to your Steam Wallet.
Paying with PayPal
- Go to Steam's Gift Cards page and choose an amount. Most stores offer five fixed values, such as $5 to $100 in the US; Japan and Brazil offer six. Steam gift card amounts lists them by currency.
- Choose the friend who'll receive it, or an email address (see below).
- At checkout, select PayPal if it's listed, and confirm in the PayPal window.
If PayPal isn't in the list, your Steam currency is probably not one of the six. Valve has said it hopes to restore PayPal for other currencies but that the timeline is uncertain. It suggests using another payment method at checkout or a Steam Wallet code. Valve's store-country FAQ adds that every payment method available for your store country is listed during checkout, so if PayPal isn't there, it isn't available to you at all, and there's no setting to add it.
Why your Steam Wallet can't buy a gift card
Valve's gift card page says it directly: existing wallet funds can't be used to buy a digital gift card. You can still use wallet money to buy your friend a game as a gift, and Valve's gifting FAQ notes that if your wallet doesn't cover the whole price, Steam asks for a second payment method for the rest, which can be PayPal in the six currencies. How to gift a game shows how.
What PayPal can and can't do on Steam
| You want to | PayPal on Steam |
|---|---|
| Buy a digital gift card for a friend | Yes, in the six currencies |
| Add funds to your own wallet | Yes, in the six currencies |
| Buy a game or gift a game | Yes, in the six currencies |
| Pay with wallet funds you already have | Not needed, but wallet funds can't buy gift cards |
| Withdraw wallet money to PayPal | No. Steam has no cash-out; see Steam Wallet to PayPal |
| Get a refund to PayPal | Yes, for a refunded game, declined gift or unused top-up paid with PayPal |
That last row matters for gift cards. Valve's FAQ says a declined digital gift card is refunded to your original payment method if it supports refunds, and otherwise into your own Steam Wallet. A top-up you made yourself and haven't spent can be refunded within fourteen days under Steam's refund policy, back to PayPal.
Apple Pay, Google Pay and other wallets
Steam shows only the payment methods available for your store country at checkout, and the list differs a lot between countries. If Apple Pay or Google Pay doesn't appear for you, there's no workaround on Steam. Use a card or a method Steam lists.
Crypto
Steam accepted Bitcoin from 2016 until 6 December 2017, when Valve dropped it over transaction fees that had climbed to around $20 and prices that moved during checkout. Sites selling "Steam gift cards for crypto" are third-party resellers, not Steam. If you go that route, read is it safe to buy discounted gift cards? first, and remember that Valve now limits redemption of codes to the currency of your wallet, so a reseller code in the wrong currency is useless even if it's genuine.
Buying without a Steam account
You don't need to sign in to buy a digital card. Guest checkout, which Valve added in 2024, lets anyone buy one and send it to an email address, and the payment options are the same ones Steam offers in your country. Since Valve's July 2026 gifting update, signed-in buyers can send to an email address too, instead of picking a friend who has been on their list for three days. The recipient must live in the same country and accept within 30 days, or the purchase is refunded automatically. Buying a Steam gift card without an account covers the details.
Buying for yourself
A digital gift card is meant for someone else's account. If you want money in your own wallet, use Add funds to your Steam Wallet in your account details. PayPal works there under the same currency rules. Buy a digital Steam gift card for yourself? explains the difference, and adding money without a credit card covers the card-free options, which matter more now that Valve is ending physical Steam cards in shops by the end of 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a Steam gift card with PayPal?
Yes, if your Steam currency is EUR, CAD, GBP, JPY, AUD or USD. Other currencies have no PayPal option for now.
Can I buy a Steam gift card with my Steam Wallet?
No. Valve says existing wallet funds can't be used to buy a digital gift card.
Does Steam accept crypto for gift cards?
No. Steam stopped accepting Bitcoin in December 2017.
Why doesn't PayPal show up at Steam checkout?
Most likely your Steam currency isn't one of the six PayPal still supports on Steam. Valve says it hopes to bring PayPal back to more currencies.
If my friend declines the card, does PayPal get the money back?
Yes, where PayPal supports the refund. Otherwise Valve credits your own Steam Wallet with the full amount.
Is there a way to get Steam cards without paying at all?
Yes, by earning. XPReward offers are free to start, and points become Steam codes, so no payment method is needed. Get started.
Sources
Steam payment facts checked on 3 November 2026 against:
- Steam: Digital Gift Cards page and FAQ
- Steam Support: Steam Gifts FAQ
- Steam Support: Steam Store Country FAQ
- Steam News: Gifting made easier (22 July 2026)
- Steam refund policy
- PC Gamer: PayPal no longer usable on Steam in most currencies
- GamingOnLinux: Valve confirms PayPal limited to select currencies
- Engadget: Steam no longer accepts bitcoin