The Nintendo Switch launched with one glaring omission in its eShop that made buying digital games a bit of a pain: the ability to store your payment information. Until this point, anyone looking to purchase a game through the store had to manually enter their credit or debit card number for every purchase, but going forward, the console now allows you to save your cards for future purchases.
The new setting was spotted by Nintendo Everything, which noted that it’s available below the “skip password” option on the system — which is most certainly something that families with younger children should disable.
Upon entering your credit card information for the first time, you’ll also spot a box off to the right marked “save.” Just check this after entering your information to keep the card saved permanently, and you can check to see if your card is saved at any point by viewing your account information in the eShop. We’d be cautious with this setting, however, as the Switch — unlike the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 — doesn’t offer any form of two-step verification. This would make it easier for someone to get access to your card to make fraudulent purchases, as well as any cash you have stored on your account.
The Nintendo Switch eShop is growing quickly thanks to a number of indie games that have launched over the past few months, but it remains less popular with Nintendo’s own big-name franchises. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which has sold more copies than the Nintendo Switch itself, is currently only the ninth-highest game on the eShop’s “best sellers” chart. The top spot is currently taken by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, though we’re sure a blue shell will come along before too long and knock it down to seventh or eighth.
