PayPal no longer supports Steam purchases in select regions as NSFW controversy continues, Valve confirms

Valve has confirmed that Steam users can no longer use PayPal for purchases on the gaming storefront in some regions after one of the company’s acquiring banks stopped processing transactions over its ongoing NSFW game controversy.

The details:

• Last month, Valve discovered that one of PayPal's acquiring banks was blocking all Steam transactions in response to pressure from the Australian activist group Collective Shout to address NSFW content on the platform. Valve has now confirmed this in an update to its support page, and any purchases made on Steam using currencies other than "EUR, CAD, GBP, JPY, AUD, and USD" will be blocked.
• The situation began last month when Valve abruptly removed NSFW games from Steam, claiming that it was due to pressure from its payment partners. Shortly after, indie platform Itch(.)io announced that it, too, had been pressured to remove content but has since re-indexed free NSFW content while looking for new payment processors for its users. Collective Shout, a group that opposes the glorification of violence against women, claimed responsibility for pressuring Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and others to take action.
• However, Mastercard responded, claiming that it had "not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms." The company explained that it simply "requires merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content," but Valve responded that Mastercard had not been in contact, citing one of its rules that would affect NSFW games.

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