Starting next month, Nintendo eShop and My Nintendo stores in Japan will no longer accept card payments and PayPal payments from foreign accounts.

Nintendo released the announcement today and said the decision was made "to prevent fraudulent use."

From March 25, overseas customers who wish to continue using Japanese eShop or My Nintendo stores will need to use other payment methods.

“Thank you very much for your continued support for our products,” Nintendo wrote in a statement on its customer support website.

“For customers who have previously used credit cards issued overseas or opened PayPal accounts overseas, we urge you to use other payment methods from now on, such as credit cards issued in Japan.”

The cancellation of foreign bank cards and PayPal payment methods has set a major obstacle for anyone who wants to shop from Japan's eShop, such as someone who wants to buy games that are not released in other regions.

Before the Switch 2 release, Nintendo may want to reduce the number of people who have multiple accounts on their consoles, and can browse eShops in different countries and compare prices.

A simpler option than getting a Japanese credit card is to purchase a Nintendo eShop prepaid recharge card, but these recharge cards must also be used in Japan.