PayPal payments with different currency than your local?

[Leifhackman]

Hi!

Is it possible to make PayPal payments with a different currency than that of the country of your rsidence?

In PayPal I have balance in both USD and EUR, I have changed USD to be my primary currency (default, whatever the term is) but it seems Steam still wants to charge me in Euros 1:1 to dollars. So, I lose with Steam converting the price 1:1 and also PayPal PayPal's even more horrible conversion rate when they change my USD to EUR. Why can't I just pay the game that is priced in USD with my USD, why can't I pay with USD? It is just about downloading the game from Steam, so there is no logistics or anything else that would explain different pricing.

Or is there something I don't understand about this payment thing?

[Wolfpig]

Originally posted by Leifhackman:

In PayPal I have balance in both USD and EUR, I have changed USD to be my primary currency (default, whatever the term is) but it seems Steam still wants to charge me in Euros 1:1 to dollars.

What you have set in PP does not matter for the vendor you buy at.
Steam will charge you in the currency of the country (or the currency they set it to) you reside in, everything else is out of their control.

[Chika Ogiue]

As said, you can use any currency you have in PayPal, but it will be converted at PayPal's rate to the currency the vendor is charging you in.

[Celeborn]

I get annoyed about it all the time. If I purchase from a non-Steam site with PayPal, I have the option to choose not to have PayPal convert the money, but simply deduct the money from my account in the original currency. But with Steam there is no such option and so I always have to pay 5% more for the PayPal conversion. Is there really nothing I can do about this?

[Chika Ogiue]

Originally posted by Celeborn:

I get annoyed about it all the time. If I purchase from a non-Steam site with PayPal, I have the option to choose not to have PayPal convert the money, but simply deduct the money from my account in the original currency. But with Steam there is no such option and so I always have to pay 5% more for the PayPal conversion. Is there really nothing I can do about this?

Short of physically moving to whatever region Valve offers that currency in, no. You pay in the currency Valve show you the prices in. And those currencies depend on your region.

[Celeborn]

Valve shows the prices in EUR but PayPal withdraws the money from my bank account in HUF. But I want PayPal to deduct in EUR from my account. This works for all webshops except Steam, only for my Steam purchases PayPal does the conversion.

[Dharma]

Hi !

From my personnal experience, it depends on your main place of residence.
I am European but stayed several months in Brazil in 2023/2024.
I wanted to use the Brasilian Steam shop 'cause prices there are really cheap. It's like on sale, but all the year 'round. I was already dreaming about atomizing my wishilists, haha.
I bought Steam Gift Cards at a shop in Juazeiro do Norte, in order to not even have to use PP or my credit card.
STILL, they didn't allow me to use the Brazilian shop and the Reais I got with the cards were converted to Euros.

If I remember well, they told me something like I had to be in Brazil for more than 6 months in order to enjoy the Brazilian side of the shop...
Unfortunately, you can't easily switch from a shop to the other just to enjoy better pricings.

Hope that helped !

[Celeborn]

What I say may be misunderstood. I am not trying to take advantage of any better prices. I've lived here for 45 years, I've had my Steam registration for 14 years. Maybe my problem is not a Steam problem, because it is not the Steam that is charging me the “wrong” amount, but PayPal converting the EUR charged by Steam into HUF, instead of charging my bank the EUR charged by Steam. My bank calculates EUR at a much better exchange rate than PayPal.

[Chika Ogiue]

Originally posted by Celeborn:

Valve shows the prices in EUR but PayPal withdraws the money from my bank account in HUF. But I want PayPal to deduct in EUR from my account. This works for all webshops except Steam, only for my Steam purchases PayPal does the conversion.

Then that is something you'll have to ask PayPal about.