Can I pay for games with Apple Pay or Google Pay in the UK?

On phones, yes, everywhere. On consoles and PC it depends on the store: Epic often shows them at checkout; for Steam, Xbox and Nintendo the usual route is to buy that store’s gift card from a retailer that accepts phone wallets.

Is paysafecard accepted for games?

Steam and PlayStation accept paysafecard in the UK, and Epic shows it on many UK accounts. Vouchers are sold at face value in UK shops.

Do game stores charge a fee for paying by card or PayPal?

No, and in the UK they are not allowed to: the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations ban extra charges for paying by consumer card, phone wallet or PayPal. Your bank may charge a fee if a payment is taken in another currency, and some credit card issuers add a fee when you buy gift cards or vouchers.

Am I protected if I buy a game with a credit card?

For purchases over £100 and up to £30,000, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act makes the card company jointly responsible with the seller. For smaller purchases, chargeback through your credit or debit card provider is the usual route. Paying through PayPal generally removes section 75 protection.

Paying for games in the UK

How to pay for online games, and what it really costs

Which payment methods each store accepts, what fees to expect, how refunds work, and how to keep spending where you want it. Written for UK players and checked against each store’s own help pages.

All twelve games

The real cost of each game

What is free, what the pass costs, and how much a group needs on day one.

Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Epic, Switch, phones

Spending limits and parental controls

Where each setting lives and what it can do, in plain steps.

Guide

Reading a shop in five minutes

How to tell a fair shop from a pushy one before anyone in the group buys.

Payment methods

Who accepts what

Cards and PayPal work almost everywhere. Phone wallets and prepaid vouchers vary by store, and the checkout always shows the options your own account supports.

Store	Accepted in the UK	Apple Pay and Google Pay	Refunds
Steam (PC)	Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, paysafecard, Steam gift cards	Not at the checkout; buy a Steam gift card from a shop that takes them	Refund on request within 14 days of purchase if played for under two hours.
PlayStation Store	Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, PlayStation Store gift cards, paysafecard, phone bill on some UK networks	Offered on some accounts; check at the checkout	Cancel within 14 days if you have not started downloading or streaming it.
Microsoft Store (Xbox and PC)	Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Xbox gift cards, phone bill on some UK networks	Not at the checkout; buy an Xbox gift card from a shop that takes them	Digital games can be refunded on request within 14 days; each request is reviewed.
Epic Games Store	Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Epic gift cards; wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and paysafecard appear at checkout on many UK accounts	Often shown at checkout; availability depends on the account and device	Refund on request within 14 days if run for under two hours, for games marked refundable.
Nintendo eShop (Switch)	Visa, Mastercard, PayPal (account holders 18 and over), Nintendo eShop cards	Not at the checkout; buy an eShop card from a shop that takes them	Purchases are generally final once made; check before buying.
App Store and Google Play (phones)	Cards, Apple Pay or Google Pay, PayPal, phone bill on most UK networks, store gift cards	Yes, built in	Apple and Google handle refund requests through their own report-a-problem pages.

Checked September 2026. Stores change their options from time to time; the checkout page is the final word.

Fees: what you should and should not pay

Buying from an official store in the UK costs the price on the tag. Steam, PlayStation, Microsoft, Epic, Nintendo, Apple and Google all charge in pounds and add no card or PayPal fee of their own, and none of them charges VAT on top of the displayed price, because UK prices already include it.

Your bank. A UK debit or credit card paying a UK store in pounds should incur no extra charge. If an account was ever set up in another country, check the currency before you pay, because a non-sterling transaction can carry a foreign-transaction fee from your bank.
Gift cards and vouchers on a credit card. Some credit card issuers class gift card and voucher purchases like taking money out on the card: a handling fee plus interest from the day of purchase, with no interest-free period. Buy vouchers with a debit card, or check your card’s terms first.
Gift cards and vouchers in general. Official store gift cards are sold at face value in UK shops and supermarkets; some online resellers add a service fee, and paysafecard charges a monthly fee on a balance left unused for a long period. A code sold for less than its face value by an unofficial seller is a warning sign, not a bargain.
Phone bill. Paying through your mobile network is convenient but some tariffs cap it, and the amount appears on your bill rather than in your bank app. Check your network’s own limits.
Store credit is one-way. Money added to a Steam Wallet, PlayStation wallet or Nintendo eShop balance can be spent in that store only. It cannot be turned back into pounds, so add what you plan to spend, not more.

Which method to choose

If you want…	Use
The simplest option on every store	A debit card or PayPal saved to the account
The strongest legal protection on a bigger purchase	A credit card used directly at the store, not through PayPal (see below)
A fixed budget you cannot overspend	A gift card or paysafecard voucher for that amount, bought with a debit card
To buy for someone else	A digital gift card from the official store, or “gift this game” on Steam and Epic
To keep card details off a shared console	PayPal, or store credit added from your phone
Approval before a child buys anything	The platform’s family settings; see spending limits

Credit cards, debit cards and UK law

Paying for a game with a card is ordinary consumer spending, and the same UK rules apply as in any other shop. These are the ones worth knowing.

No surcharges. Since 13 January 2018 the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations stop any trader charging you extra for paying with a consumer credit or debit card, a phone wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, or PayPal. If a seller adds a “card fee”, you do not have to pay it, and if you already have, you are entitled to it back.
Section 75 on bigger purchases. Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, your credit card company is jointly responsible with the seller when something you bought for more than £100 and up to £30,000 goes wrong. Few games cost that much, but a console bundle, a collector’s edition or a year of a subscription bought in one go can. Section 75 covers credit cards only, not debit cards, and it usually does not apply when you pay through PayPal, because PayPal sits between you and the seller.
Chargeback on smaller purchases. For everyday game purchases, credit and debit cards both offer chargeback: you ask your bank to reverse a payment for something that was not delivered or not as described. It is a card-network rule rather than a law, and banks usually expect you to ask within 120 days. Contact the store first; your bank will want to know you tried.
Buy now, pay later is now regulated. Since 15 July 2026 most interest-free “pay in instalments” products have been regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, with affordability checks and access to the Financial Ombudsman Service. They are still credit. We would not use them for in-game items, and Microsoft does not allow PayPal’s pay-later options for gift cards or subscriptions.
Approving payments in your banking app is normal. UK banks must use strong customer authentication for many online payments, so a prompt in your banking app or a one-time code is expected. A game store or publisher will never ask you for that code, your card PIN or your online banking password.
Credit cards are for adults. You must be 18 to hold a credit card in the UK. If a child spends on a saved card without permission, ask the store for a refund straight away, tell your bank, and turn on purchase approval using the spending limits page.

If a problem with a card payment is not resolved by the store or your bank, the Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints about banks and card providers for free, and MoneyHelper explains section 75 and chargeback in more detail.

Refunds and your rights

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, digital content bought online in the UK normally comes with a 14-day cancellation right that ends once you agree to start the download. That is why stores ask you to tick a box, and why their own refund rules matter. Steam and Epic are the most generous: a refund within 14 days if you have played for under two hours. PlayStation lets you cancel within 14 days if you have not started the download. Microsoft reviews requests case by case. Nintendo treats most purchases as final. If a game is faulty, you have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 whatever the store’s policy says.

Staying safe

Buy games, subscriptions and in-game currency only from the official store or the game itself.
Never share your account password or a gift card code with anyone who contacts you first; stores and publishers never ask for them.
Turn on two-step verification on every games account that has a payment method saved.
Do not buy accounts, currency or items from other players outside the game’s own systems. It breaks almost every game’s terms and you have no protection if it goes wrong.

Every game check on this site ends with what it costs to start, what the optional pass costs and a sensible first purchase, if any. The real-cost table puts all twelve side by side.