US PSN Network Account + Bought Game Digitally - But I live in Japan

Hello folks,

This actually isn't my problem, but a couple friends are having it. They haven't logged in since their free time ran out, and I want them back to play... so I'm trying to investigate.

The issue is, for a lot of us expat gamers, we often buy regionless or US versions of games. And most of us have US PSN account, not JPN accounts. So when purchasing there you're actually creating a NA SE account, even though we reside in Japan.

This is all fine and dandy until you come to billing. For some strange reason, SE does not like folks using US credit cards, to pay for US accounts, while your IP says you're not in the US. We've tried various VPNs to correct this issue, to no avail.

This is definitely the case, because when I was home (happened to visit back to the states before my free time came up) I was finally able to register my billing information. However, this isn't an option for my friends.

So what options do they have to pay for their accounts that will not trigger this billing error?

– They both are playing on PS3
– They both have North American Playstation Network Accounts
– They both need to pay them while residing in Japan

We haven't tried the conbini prepaid cards because the evidence I found online says they weren't working. And I'm not too familiar with PSN network billing and if these will work as well? What about prepaid cash cards?

The information I found here, is suggesting that prepaid cards may not be supported...
https://support.us.playstation.com/a...etail/a_id/243

Any help would be appreciated. The billing FAQ is not a useful source of information for this, by the way.

I think you can only guide someone you know at home to login and make the payment for you.

Thanks. Would love a CS reply, because this shouldn't be the case. There's no business reason to keep these kinds of players from playing the game. This is also a big issue with US military stationed abroad, including those in Japan.

Can't you use a JP Credit Card?

I am based in Japan as well with a European version of the game and a European account.
But I use a Japanese credit card (Citibank) with no problem at all

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