Nintendo Ending Support for Credit Card and Cashless Payments on 3DS and Wii U

Nintendo has announced that the Nintendo e-Store will no longer support credit card and cashless payments made through Suica on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in Japan, starting January 18, 2022. Specifically, the store will no longer allow users to add money to their Nintendo Network ID through the above methods. Instead, Nintendo will require users to connect their NNID to a Nintendo Account in order to continue purchasing games on the 3DS and Wii U.

「ニンテンドー3DSシリーズおよびWii U内のニンテンドーeショップにおけるクレジットカードと交通系電子マネーのご利用取扱い終了について」のお知らせを掲載しました。 https://t.co/hlGGJIZu3B

— 任天堂サポート (@nintendo_cs) July 20, 2021

Due to this change, users in Japan will lose the ability to remove the New 3DS’ browser filtering, which requires credit card information to unlock as part of Nintendo’s parental control feature. However, Nintendo notes that users who unlock the browser prior to the end date will be able to freely turn the filter on and off even after credit card support ends. Additionally, the JOYSOUND Karaoke app will end its automatic subscription service starting October 26, 2021.

However, users will still be able to use Nintendo prepaid cards after January 2022. If users have money left in their NNID accounts, they can continue using the balance for purchases on the Nintendo Store by combining their NNID with a Nintendo Account. After doing so, users will be able to continue purchasing 3DS and Wii U software using their existing balance as well as credit cards, in addition to PayPal and prepaid cards.

Nintendo will officially end credit card and cashless payment support on the 3DS and Wii U on January 18, 2021, at 9am Japan Time.