The PSN wallet is cumbersome and I can't stand it

"Until Dawn, however, was on sale for $5.99, so I decided that now was the time. I added it to my cart and went to check out. Alas, I only had $5.50. “Not a big deal!”, I thought to myself. “I only need to add another fifty cents.” Upon attempting to checkout, however, I was met with the fact that, in order to do so, I would need to add $5 from Paypal, at which point a single dollar would be taken from my current $5.50 balance." -- PlayStation Enthusiast

[FallenAngel1984]

I felt like this topic was already discussed before

http://n4g.com/news/2010715...

[Christopher]

https://www.penny-arcade.co...

[Kumakai]

lol seriously. sums it up.

[1Victor]

I don’t know why it’s so hard to add a credit card. I never had any issues paying with my credit card and I been a plus member since the beginning. I had gotten free $$ from time to time and purchased game with it and the rest automatically he deducted from the credit card.

[blackblades]

Yeah like last gen, not a big deal. Just be so change left for your next purchase.

[Lockdown555]

Lol, what if you just want to spend an exact amount of money? How is not being able to do a basic transaction in 2018 not a big deal?

[TheUndertaker85]

Mom & pop shops can charge for the exact amount and even below a dollar. Surely Sony can too. Their competitors do.

[Lockdown555]

...and?

[TheUndertaker85]

“530D AGO”

And yet the problem is still unaddressed. As it was since the PS3 days of PSN as well.

[Jinger]

Seems like Sony doesn't mind retaining crappy methods to keep you on PSN. Locking 3rd party accounts to their system, making you spend more than you need to have you keep buying from PSN otherwise you just waste that money.

[rainslacker]

Likely because Sony has to pay the CC company, or Paypal, to charge people's accounts. Paypal is something like 10 cents + 1% of the charge. CC companies tend to charge 20-30 cents plus 1% of the sale to use their services. Actual amounts will vary based on the company. Sony probably has a high percentage of charge backs given that they're a digital goods company, and that increases their rates....which is why they auto-lock people that do them.

It's a business side of things that most people don't realize. They think that the CC companies charge the consumer through interest, and while they do, the processor also does the same thing, at which time, the CC companies themselves also get a cut.

It's a cost of doing business for most companies, Sony just chooses to not take a loss at the time of purchase. When they have all these small amounts within people's wallets, they're accruing interest on them, making back the money in this way. Some smaller companies that sell retail goods also require minimum purchases for this same reason, otherwise, they can lose money on a pack of gum or something. My distributor for the games I sell has a 1% surcharge if I pay with a CC because margins are so thin they can't afford to lose them. Since I can't afford to pay them and still make a decent enough profit, I use other means to pay.

Does it suck? Yes.

Is having $5 taken from your account to store for later use a problem? Not really....particularly since they tell you they're taking that amount and you have to agree to it before making the charge.

Should Sony change this policy? It probably wouldn't hurt, and I think their bottom line wouldn't be drastically affected if they did. But I guess every little bit helps.

[81BX]

Should sony change this policy?

Your next statement should have been, yes not it probably wouldn't hurt.

[rainslacker]

I run a business. My margins are much leaner than Sony's. And I don't charge my customers for me having to pay CC fees.

But I understand why Sony does it, and if it was more common that the consumer paid those fees, then I would charge them as well.

In other words, I understand why Sony does it, ,and for a company like Sony, it's not likely to affect their bottom line, and it wouldn't hurt them to do so. So yes, they should change it. At the same time, people should stop acting like $5 is going to break their bank.

[ziggurcat]

this has been the case (afaik) for as long as the PS3 has been around, and the author is only finding out about this now?

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Yeah I find it hard to believe this is the first time this has ever happened to him

[KillZallthebeast]

Ehh guy might be 10 and well educated. Fully grown "reporters" write stuff I could of seen being scalded by teachers in the 5th grade

[Lockdown555]

So it's been around for 2 generations now and still hasn't been fixed? Why not talk about it in hopes Sony can improve upon it's already amazing system?

[Goldby]

Nothing is wrong with it.

[Goldby]

Should be, but isn't, isn't hurting anyone but this guy, who feels 5$ is a lot of money, he should be sticking to physical copies.

Ive never had an issue once with the psn or the wallet, so again, nothing's wrong. It's just different

[shinrock]

Your on this site asking that question🤔

[ziggurcat]

fixed? it's not even a problem.

[StormSnooper]

It not a problem because you end up spending it eventually. Unless you intend to buy something and never use the network again, it’s not a big deal.

[subtenko]

its not a fix, its a method..one they choose.

[rainslacker]

I don't really take issue with it, but I see the point of view of the author, or at least understand why some consider it a stupid implementation. Up above I have a post about why Sony probably does it this way as well. It's a business thing.

That being said, Sony does inform you before they do this at the checkout page, at which time you have the opportunity to back out. Because of this, I feel that Sony is probably well aware of how many sales they may lose over this. Since they are aware, they probably looked at how much they lose out on a sale vs. how much they lose out on in CC fees should they allow small purchases. For instance, if someone just brought a 59 cent avatar created by a third party, they'd probably end up spending money to provide that product to the customer because CC fees would take up more than half, and the dev posting the avatar gets around 80% of the sale. May seem like a trivial loss, but when you multiply it by tens or hundreds of thousands, it can add up.

I've only ever had this issue crop up one time, and it wasn't that big of a deal. The money was just there the next time I wanted to buy something....in my case it was a PS+ renewal.

[Cmv38]

On the next episode on Cry 4 Nothing.....

[TheUndertaker85]

Didn’t read the full story did you.

“Therefore, when I do purchase Playstation games digitally I just do it on Amazon so that I don’t have to beef up my wallet in five dollar increments. So, the question stands; did I bite the bullet, add the $5 and purchase Until Dawn? No. No, I did not. I would have, but I knew that if I did, I’d have $4.50 sitting in my wallet for months to come and I didn’t want to yet again be prompted to add $5 to my wallet.”

They’ve known but it’s no less an issue. Particularly when other retailers or outlets don’t require “minimum funding”.

[ziggurcat]

It's not even an issue. He's complaining about something that's part of the system they have had in place since the PS3.

I've had my CC frozen because of a 50 cent charge before, so the minimum charge is likely there to prevent that from happening.

[rainslacker]

It's an issue for this guy...and maybe some others. I even understand their reasons. But on the business side of things, it still costs Sony money to accept CC, and use paypal. They decided that they didn't want to lose money on small purchases. I've seen small local stores do minimum purchases for the same reason. Amazon doesn't, and most big stores don't, but they are willing to take the loss on small purchases. When you go to the convenience store and buy a soda for $1, and charge it, they lose money on that sale. They accept that loss most of the time, because most people are repeat customers.

Being an issue is a matter of perspective, and is highly dependent on how you use the service. I've had to do this type of funding at one point too. I just ended up using the extra later.

[TheUndertaker85]

1) It is an issue. A long unaddressed one at that. As stated, even by me, a problem that’s existed for some time.

2) People complained about it during the PS3 days as well for it to go unaddressed even still

3) I’ve ran my card for less than a dollar on NUMEROUS occasions and never had an issue. I like taking advantage of free or cheap rentals from Redbox which CONTANTLY come out to less than one dollar. I’ve been able to pay for things via Xbox Live for less than a dollar as well and not had the issue. The author even writes about the ability to do so via Amazon and other outlets. The author is shopping around and stating why it is an issue. PSN sales aren’t that great when you have to put in a minimum $5 for an item that may cost less than that via PSN. Then other outlets follow the same deals and charge the exact amount. So PSN isn’t really offering much of a deal at that point.

4) I was a deposits agent for USAA and know for a fact that minor transactions 99% of the time do not get flagged. Larger transactions do.

5) Most banks offer the ability to remove the lock on your own via app, website, or phone with some easy information if it’s your account.

So I’d state again. Other retailers and even direct competitors can run transactions for much less than $5, even to the exact amount. So why can’t Sony? Little mom and pop shops along with independent contractors can with no issue, all being a lot smaller than Sony.

[81BX]

@ziggurat
It is an issue. This is exactly why sony adds features. To improve upon and make psn a better place for us gamers. Just because something has been in place since a gen before doesnt mean it works for gamers today.

[ziggurcat]

@undertaker

1. No, it’s not a problem.

2. That still doesn’t make it a problem. People complain about anything.

3. Count yourself lucky, then, because i’ve had it happen to me. Also, the remainder carries over, so... you’re not really spending $5 on a game if it’s less than that amount.

4. That’s not true. It’s much easier for scammers to get away with only charging pennies on a massive amount of cards than it is for them to get away with larger purchases on a smaller number because those micro charges go relatively unnoticed by people, and that’s why they get flagged. I was told this by the person on the phone when I had to call my CC company to unfreeze my card. It got frozen after a legit transaction took place, and had to call them to verify that it was a legit charge.

5. Good for you.

[2pacalypsenow]

Oh no $5!

The humanity

[littletad]

Yeah, when you're gaming on a budget, with kids, work schedules, you know life; blowing five bucks since it's nothing is actually kinda of a small deal. All he would have needed is 50 cents plus tax, but it's 2018 and you need to add a whole five bucks more. Lovely.

[Eidolon]

It's annoying and primitive to have to spend $5 more, but it's not like it's being wasted, if you're on the platform, you're going to use it eventually... And maybe you shouldn't be buying video games if you're going to stress over $5, maybe change up your spending habits.. there's a lot of stupid shit you buy daily that could save.

[ziggurcat]

the remainder is left in your wallet, which gets put towards your next purchase.

and in some cases, just charging 50 cents will cause your credit card company to flag, and freeze your credit card.

[BLAKHOODe]

The only people who are going to understand the "every penny counts" struggle are the ones living penny to penny. Most anyone else is going to shrug off any argument with "it's just $5".

But then, if you can't afford $5, you shouldn't be wasting money on PSN anyway.

[jerethdagryphon]

I don't just link PayPal as payment source exact change

[Razzer]

If someone's "life" budget hinges on $5 then they probably shouldn't be buying games at all.

Regardless, PSN shouldn't require minimum charges. It is just silly.

[TheEnigma313]

Gaming is an expensive hobby. You should't game if you're on a budget.

[yomfweeee]

If it is that big of a deal then you need to make better decisions in your life.

[Goldby]

Well if he's gaming on a budget, he shouldn't be using the digital store front and should be looking at used copies for everythibg

[NecrumOddBoy]

I dont have an issue with my credit card. I dont use the PayPal method.

Also. Not to sounds like a dick but dont buy games when you cant afford it

[2pacalypsenow]

"but it's 2018 and you need to add a whole five bucks more. Lovely."

You must of not been around the Ps3 and Xbox 360 days.

[Profchaos]

If you're down to the point where every penny counts maybe don't buy any games in fact it's irresponsible of you to continue to buy them when you need money that bad. I've been at that point before I simply stepped away from gaming besides the give away titles and when I say simply it was hard but ultimatly worth it

[rainslacker]

I could spend more than $5 going to McDonalds for lunch. People often take their kids to McDonalds for a quick dinner in their busy lives, and they easily spend $5-20 depending on if they're eating, and how many kids they have.

While $5 can indeed be more than nothing to some people's budgets, if its the point where it will make or break your finances for the month, or even the week, then one should analyze their priorities. For instance, this person has internet access to write this article. That's probably costing him more than $5. The difference in price for this guy was only about $4...since he'd have to spend 50 cents plus tax.

He wanted a cheap game, which is fine, we've all been impulsed to buy a cheap game.
He didn't want to spend hardly anything. Which is fine, we've all been there.
He didn't get those two things, and decided it was a big enough problem to complain about something that's been around since PSN started, and rarely gets complained about because most people aren't fussed over $5.

[Lockdown555]

Yeah, insult the guy because he wants a basic feature on his modern day console. You tell him. Because insults are definitely the best way to prove your point that there is no problem with Sony's anti consumer policies.

[Xb1ps4]

You know damn well it's a bunch of 10 yr olds that get mommy and daddy to buy the games that's why they are insulting the guy.. that and you know playstation is perfect to thses sony fanatics..

[Goldby]

No more on the fact that this guy is complaining about putting 5$ on the psn wallet. It that was so hard for him yo do instead of just 50 cents he shouldn't be buying games thru digital store fronts, most cases they are higher.

@xb1ps4 or people like us who are able to properly budget for gaming don't see an issue with it.

[PaleMoonDeath]

Only issue I have is when it's empty.

[Futureshark]

Oh no! Poor baby.

[Lockdown555]

Yeah, insults are definitely the best way to prove your point that you're right. That was like a good middle school quality one too. Nice work!

[2pacalypsenow]

You think that is an insult?

Lol

[CommonCent]

Gotta ask Mommy for $4.50

[plmkoh]

The reason why is because Paypal has a base fee on transactions something like 20 cents + ~2% , only makes it immaterial if the payment is large enough. $5 is probably their tolerance, if you consider the fees end up being 4-5% of the purchase.

Visa on the other hand is something around 2% which is why you can draw anything you want.

[Christopher]

I use PayPal for everything I can. Google Play allows me to use PayPal without any sort of $5 boundary issue. Same with Steam, GOG, and other gaming storefronts. PSN doesn't. It has that weird $5 minimum cost, not that I often buy $4.99 or cheaper items.

I don't think it's what you are claiming.

[rainslacker]

Paypal charges the receiver, not the sender, unless you set it up that the sender pays. They charge 30 cents + 1%. This is across the board, although some companies can negotiate better rates.

So, in this case, if the person only had to fund 50 cents, Sony would be charge 31 cents. Meaning they get 19 cents. Of the actual sale, Sony pays about 80% to the publisher, so $4 goes to them, of which they keep a dollar. From the sale, they already would have lost about 30% of their profit from the sale.

May not seem like much, but when you compound that by the number of smaller transactions that may take place on a store front that large, it can certainly add up. For instance, on a 49 cent avatar, they'd end up spending money so the customer can buy it.

While some consideration can be given to the fact they likely ended up losing out to these fees on the prior purchase which put in the original $4.50 into the wallet, that's not really how business look at such things. In that case, they're going to end up having money left in the wallet that they can accrue interest on, and the chances that a person comes and spends it down the line are greatly increased.

The $5 paypal limitation is one that can be set by the company, not something they do across the board. I do believe on paypal's end it does have to be over the amount of their base fee however. If I'm not mistaken, $1 is the minimum on paypals end. This doesn't apply to the use of their CC though, as the retailers pay fees towards the processing of credit cards which cover Paypals cost.

[Lockdown555]

Never once had issues with PayPal not allowing me to pay any small and exact amount I wanted. Not so sure you know what you know what you're talking about...

[Lokii]

Not on the UK store. You can pay any amount.

[RosweeSon]

Sorry do Xbox let you put 50p on your account pretty certain they go up in £5s as for cumbersome what are you on you out ina prepaid code or card details select amount you want spend. That is really not hard nor cumbersome it’s standard. Get a grip. Spend a £5 and you got £4.50 for next time. 😱

[ShottyatLaw]

No. You can just charge the exact amount on all other platforms. Not sure why you think this is standard.

[RosweeSon]

Well I’m sure you could on PlayStation if you didn’t alresdy have the majority of credit people love a drama out of the most minor of things.

[Lockdown555]

To add funds it always comes in set amounts, however any time you want to make a purchase you have the option to add the remaining funds only and pay the exact amount. And yes that is standard on most modern consoles.

[Bathyj]

Cumbersome?

Poppycock!

[DasTier]

I couldn’t stand the PSN store. The only way it would let me buy anything was through redeeming gift cards. My PayPal account kept getting blocked on it and my Credit/debt cards are wouldn’t work either. Sony’s support was garbage too.

[Goldby]

No that was probably during your attempts to link the cc. If the address isn't may Jing exactly what's on Ur bill it won't get linked. It's a thing called security

[Christopher]

Nope. I've had the exact same issue and I have loved at the same address for fifteen years and have only ever had this issue with PSN. I've even had the articles with my PayPal even though I can go into PayPal, see the specific payment plan, and use it everywhere but PSN.

The issue is tied to a lookup error in Sony's database that flags an error. I've had it happen to me three times in the last four years. One time it took three months for it to go away. With the recent push by Sony to have people reconfirm their PayPal credentials, it wouldn't work for two weeks even though nothing changed on my end.

This has nothing to do with addresses matching and everything to do with account flagging on Sony's end.

[rainslacker]

I had that problem after I moved. I updated all my CC addresses for billing, but never did for my PSN account. Since Sony verifies CC off your address or zip code, if what they have on file doesn't match, then they'll block those purchases. It only takes one time for that to happen, and it'll last until you contact them and get it sorted out.

Support fixed it pretty quickly for me.

However, I will say that Sony tends to lock up accounts for singular instances of things that they deem may indicate fraud. they're probably over-stringent on those things, and many of the problems I see people recount about their service are because of their policies on preventing fraud. But I'd also imagine being a digital service that they are prone to receiving a lot of fraudulent charges, or people perpetuating fraud in order to get their money back for something they decided they didn't want.....which is why they're so up tight about charge backs and block your whole account.

@Chris

In your case it may not have been about addresses matching, but Sony does indeed require that your PSN account and CC address to match. I've been told that specifically by Sony support. Not matching does induce a flag, which causes your ability to use CC/paypal to be restricted or removed.

I think Sony should examine their overly stringent security measures on this, because I'd imagine more people are inconvenienced by it than they are saving money from it. If they're inconveniencing the consumer, then it means those people may not buy something. I know when I had my change of address issue for a few weeks, I ended up not partaking in a couple nice sales they had at the time, and at one time I brought a PSN card through Amazon, which means they ended up giving a cut to Amazon who sold the card.

[Segata]

Someone got ahold of my CC info and spent money on PSN. Sony still refused to refund me. Sony just seems to not refund people on PSN. Xbox 360 had the best storefont I have used on a console. Eshop and PSN Store are a mess. I don't know what it looks like on XBO.

[Aceman18]

I'm soooo glad an article had to be made about adding 50 cents to the wallet 😒

[MrBeatdown]

My favorite part...

"Cheap games on sale, especially indies make this an even more present problem, as those games are typically cheaper and can oftentimes go on sale for under $5."

Obviously sales are the problem.

[Doge]

As someone who’s gotta use an account different from my region, buying digital stuff is annoying. Can’t use PayPal, can’t use my credit card (which also means I can’t even test PSNow), and I gotta rely on buying prepaid cards online.

I would love it if they could revamp the store and payment system so it wouldn’t be so anal about using out of region cards or paypal accounts like almost every other platform I use, but chances are they won’t.

[KentBlake]

Agreed one thousand times.

[Sokol]

I have been using the PSN store since its first days..

Your morning coffee and bagel will add up to five dollars.. What a ridiculous post..

[Bladesfist]

Yer! let's add $5 minimum payments to everything. /s

[DerekTweed]

Why use Paypal?

Don't you have Debit cards in the US?

Even if you do, does it not add the exact amount of the purchase to the wallet?

That's how it works in the UK at least.

[Goldby]

NA is behind by a long shot in terms of banking

[Razzer]

lol....what?

[Goldby]

Open banking and psd2 are miles ahead in Europe than north america

[Razzer]

Great. The question was about debit cards. We’ve had them a long time. Your response indicated otherwise.

[Goldby]

@razzer, and north America got the visa debit and mastercard debit cards within the last 5 years or so depending on the institution (BMO had it last compared to td and Scotia Bank in Canada for example) the UK has had that for quite a while

[Razzer]

Uh....Goldby, I live in the US and I have had both Visa and MC debit cards from all the banks I have ever used since the 90s.

[Goldby]

@Razzer,

i did not know that. thanks for the update

[ziggurcat]

Canada has debit cards...

[Razzer]

Uh yeah.....we have had debit cards for over twenty years. This has nothing to do with the method of payment. I can buy a 50 cent item on Steam without problem. PS store requires $5 minimum.

If that is different in EU then it is because the EU store has a different policy.

[DerekTweed]

So it is the same with a debit card? Minimum of $5?

It seems strange that the policy is different in UK. Must be an EU consumer protection law or something, I don't know.

I think this is somehow related to the MS points they use to use, they might have said you can't use them anymore.

Is Microsoft store on the Xbox different from PS store in US in this policy?

Edit: Also if your wallet is empty and the game costs $6, will it add $6 and charge for the game ot does it add $10 and charge $6 for the game?

It might be the same in the EU actually, I have not tried to buy anything under £5. I misunderstood a bit.

Can anyone confirm if it is the same or different than the US?

[Razzer]

Yes. It does not matter what payment method. $5 minimum. If the price is over $5 then it will be exact. $5.01, for example, would be charged, not $10. But anytime you add funds to your wallet then PS requires the $5 minimum.

Think you are right that EU probably has laws governing this.

[Christopher]

Wait, you're mocking the use of PayPal and encouraging entering in data that doesn't require a login or optional two-factor authentication to confirm purchases? Using PayPal is just like using a debit card only much harder to gain your card data.

[Segata]

Even on a Debit in the US PSN charges the 5 bucks.

[Mroc13]

Just let people living outside the US be able to use their credit cards or Paypal. I have to go t amazon and buya code then back to the store. It's silly and annoying.

[gameslayer2411]

It is a minimum requirement, they have treated adding funds to the Sony store no different than adding money from a PSN gift card. You are required to spend a specified minimum and this has been around for almost 12 years. It is a system that works and I personally don’t see any reason for it to change, too each their own I guess.

[KillZallthebeast]

Nintendo's is awful too. Who thought of discarding dominations and making the 5$ usd the lowest amount to add

[Segata]

Er what? Eshop just charges the amount the game costs. No minimum is required. not to mention you get gold points every purchase to take off to get a discount on your next purchase.

[KillZallthebeast]

Do that on a 3ds

[bujasem_89]

My issue with the wallet, is the it never worked, not with my card, or my paypal AC which works and I use to buy psn codes from amazon. I've been doing this for so years, it would be nice for things to be a bit smoother.

[Jls1]

I cant believe people are defending Sony on this issue lol. It really is annoying and why I rarely buy stuff on ps store. The name change is coming soon though talked to someone at Sony.

[Silly gameAr]

Because it's not that big of a deal to most people. You guys need to stop being so dramatic. I'd hate to see how you people react if there was a real problem.

[yomfweeee]

Author apparently has no idea what "cumbersome" means because his complaint has nothing to do with that word.

[Bladesfist]

Well, it is more effort than the alternative he is suggesting and all of the other major providers already have.
Adding to wallet -> purchasing is not easier than purchasing.

[yomfweeee]

It is one step, so it isn't any more difficulty. His whole complaint was about having to put in more money than he needs. There's no difficulty here.

[rainslacker]

Well...he has to press an extra button when it informs him that $5 will be charged instead of the actual amount. I suppose that can be cumbersome, although most people just click through buttons without reading anyways.

[FunAndGun]

Were you really wanting to add .50 to your account with a credit card?

[Tres21]

Its def inconvenient. I had 2.49 in my wallet bought a game for 2.99 and now i have 4.50 sittin in my wallet. It would be like going to a store and having to get ur change on a gift card and saying its cool ur gonna come back here to spend again aways.

[bigmalky]

What? Just pay directly by card and there's no need for the wallet. I never have leftover money on PSN.

You're just making things hard for the sake of it.

[PurpHerbison]

I don't make a lot of digital purchases but this IS some bs.

[superchiller]

If you're so broke that you can't afford to add $5 to your PSN wallet, you need to focus on making a little more money or find another hobby. Maybe collect toys from gumball machines?

Seriously, this is extremely petty, meaningless stuff.

[sprinterboy]

The author mentions he likes buying indie games during sales which are typically under $5 then ends the article on "therefore, I suppose that $5.50 is going to sit in my wallet for the foreseeable future"
WTF dude, really think your making a big deal out of it. Should transactions be better in 2018? Sure but I don't see anyone losing sleep over it lol.

[Gaming_Guru]

I don’t have this issue because I don’t use paypal.

[subtenko]

Yea a lot of sites to the increment thing, and also a lot do not.

[P_Bomb]

MMO marketplace cash and microtransaction currencies like the Assassins Creed Helix credits do that too. More often than not you’ll make a purchase and be left with a balance too small to buy anything else. Unless you add more cash.

[Profchaos]

I think it's entitled whining my psn store will rarely sell a title for under 10 in Australia on our psn it seems a good price is still about $17 so you'll get no sympathy from me.

Id love to pay your prices and add in funds for future transactions

[ocelot07]

Must be a different policy's as here in the UK Sony scrapped this about 8 or so years ago. I can go and buy something for a pound on the PSN store and they take exactly £1 from my bank. When the PS3 first launched if you wanted something for under £5 you had to add £5 to the wallet.

But as I said this is not the case any longer.

[Kumakai]

i agree. xbox and switch just let you use a credit card or PayPal without the wallet step.

[iEatNapkinz]

PSN Gives me two options when purchasing something:
- Add funds to your Wallet
- Purchase items

I've never added funds to my wallet and have always just hit the purchase option and it just charges me the exact amount. I don't know if it's because I have multiple payment options (PayPal, Credit or Bank) but I've never had this issue before with having to add funds and I've never had a balance left in my wallet after making a purchase.

[ziggurcat]

If the purchase is less than $5, it will automatically add a minimum of $5 to your wallet to make the purchase if you select the purchase item option. The remaining balance will be left in your wallet to be put towards your next purchase.

[NotanotherReboot]

One of many reasons why I am perpetually angry @ Sony

[OC_MurphysLaw]

For those of you not understanding why this is a big deal. $5 here and there just sitting in a wallet adds up... Sony basically is getting interest free money from all the users that have money sitting in their virtual wallet and not their own. And the reason why it exists and why other company's like Valve and even MS allow you to carry a balance in your "wallet" is so they get that money interest free from you. The longer those dollars sit in your virtual wallet unspent the happier these companies are.

[Christopher]

That's not how it works from an accounting perspective. They're not taking your money and investing it. In the books, they have to allocate that as potential revenue and not actual revenue. They can't touch it until it's spent and they have to be ready to reimburse it at any moment.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

That's an interesting question to pose. if they are considering this gift cards then most organizations do not allow the refunding of cash for gift cards and you are forced to spend that currency in the store you bought it from or for. would be interesting to see what the different Services actual terms and services state

Edit: but more to the point do you really believe these companies are takin money and holding it in a non interest-earning account?

[Segata]

The whole 5 dollar min thing prevents me from buying a lot of stuff on sale.

[GruntboxWizard]

I've literally never had a problem?

[jeromeface]

Buy amazon psn cards.. you get the codes instantly and avoid any account related problems with sony, unexpected auto psn renewals ect.

[Hardiman]

I've been a Plus member for years and use the same card I have for years. I have no issues!

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Does it actually work like that though? I never have leftover money in my wallet but I always pay with PayPal. The only exception is when I buy Japanese Yen or SEA currency because I can't use PayPal so I end up with leftover money I can't use.