Nintendo eShop cards by country
A Nintendo eShop card (also sold as a gift card or a prepaid code) adds money to one eShop only: the eShop of the country, or in Europe the currency, it was sold for. If you buy games in another country's eShop, as many people do because prices differ a lot between the 43 eShops we follow, these cards are usually how you pay. This page says which card each eShop takes, and where there are none.
In short
- A card works in one eShop. In Europe a card works in every eShop of the same currency (a card bought in France works in Germany); everywhere else, only in its own country. The region is printed on the card or named on the code seller's page.
- The eShop is your Nintendo Account's country, not where you or the console are. A card for the US eShop needs an account set to the United States.
- A wrong card cannot be swapped. Nintendo does not exchange or refund a card bought for another region.
- Money does not move. eShop money stays in the account, and the eShop, it was added to.
- Some eShops sell no cards at all: Chile, Colombia and Peru take only a VISA or Mastercard issued in that country.
1. Which card for which eShop
| eShop | Card to buy | Other ways to pay |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | ยฃ (GBP) card | a UK credit card, PayPal |
| Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and the other euro eShops, also Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania | โฌ (EUR) card: any euro card works in any of them | a credit card from that region, PayPal |
| Switzerland | CHF card | a Swiss credit card, PayPal |
| Poland | zล (PLN) card | a Polish credit card, PayPal |
| Sweden, Denmark, Norway | a card in that country's kronor or kroner | a local credit card, PayPal |
| Czech Republic | we found no Kฤ (CZK) cards on sale | a Czech credit card, PayPal |
| South Africa | we found no rand (ZAR) cards on sale | a South African credit card |
| Australia, New Zealand | A$ or NZ$ card | a local credit card, PayPal |
| United States, Canada | US$ or C$ card (a US card does not work in Canada, nor the other way) | a local credit card, PayPal |
| Mexico, Brazil | MX$ or R$ card | a local credit card, PayPal |
| Chile, Colombia, Peru | none: Nintendo sells no cards for them | only a VISA or Mastercard issued in that country; no PayPal |
| Japan | ยฅ (JPY) card | since March 2025 only Japanese credit cards and Japanese PayPal accounts: from abroad, cards are the way |
| Hong Kong | HK$ card | a Hong Kong credit card |
| South Korea | โฉ (KRW) card | on the console, only these cards and KakaoPay |
Each eShop's name opens its page here, with what it sells and what it costs today. Every country page also links a search for its cards on Eneba and Play-Asia.
2. Buying a card from another country
- Online code sellers such as Eneba, Play-Asia, Startselect and Dundle sell codes for most eShops and send them by e-mail, priced in your own currency, a little above or below the card's value. Before you pay, check the region named on the listing: it must be your eShop's country, or for a euro eShop any euro country.
- Count what it costs you. Our prices are each eShop's own, converted at the day's reference rate. You pay the seller's price, so compare it with the saving: a game 20% cheaper abroad is no bargain if its card costs 25% more than its value.
- Top up enough. When a game costs more than your balance, the eShop can charge the rest to a credit card or PayPal, but only one it accepts for that eShop: from abroad, add enough card money before you buy.
3. Redeeming a card
On the console: open Nintendo eShop, select your account at the top right, then Add Funds (or Redeem Code), and type the 16-character code. Or on a computer or phone, on the Nintendo Account website's "Redeem code" page. Use the account set to the card's eShop: on an account of another country the code is refused (Nintendo's error 2813-0054, "cannot be used with your country/region setting"), so switch to the right account and enter it again. How to set up that account: a second account, step by step.
4. eShops with no cards
- Chile, Colombia and Peru: Nintendo says only a VISA or Mastercard issued in that country can add money there; it sells no cards for them and they take no PayPal. Argentina has the same rule (we do not show its eShop). These eShops are often among the cheapest here, so check this before you choose one. In Latin America, Mexico and Brazil have cards.
- Czech Republic and South Africa: we found no cards on sale for them. Czech shops sell euro cards, which do not work in the Czech eShop, whose prices are in koruna.
5. Questions
- Can I use a US card in the UK eShop? No: a card works only in its own eShop (in Europe, in its currency).
- Can I get money back from a card? No: Nintendo does not refund or exchange cards, and eShop money cannot be paid out.
- Is it allowed to buy in another country's eShop? See Is this allowed? in the buy guide.
Buying from another country's eShop, step by step โ ยท Cheapest Nintendo eShop region โ
Sources
Checked against Nintendo's own support pages on 6 November 2026, and for the cards on sale in Switzerland, Poland, the Nordic countries, the Czech Republic and South Africa against shops there. Nintendo changes its rules now and then: when in doubt, Nintendo's page for your country is right.
- Purchased a foreign Nintendo eShop card (Europe: the same currency) and the Americas (one country)
- How to add funds in Europe (the PayPal countries), in Australia and in Latin America
- The credit card's issuing country is not compatible with this Nintendo eShop
- Hong Kong prepaid cards, paying in the Korean eShop, and Japan's eShop taking only Japanese cards and PayPal since 25 March 2025 (announced by Nintendo on 30 January 2025)
PriceImp is an independent site, not connected with Nintendo.