Your Steam Wallet is a prepaid balance tied to one Steam account. It pays for games, in-game purchases and Community Market items, and it's where the money goes when you sell a CS2 skin on the Market. It also comes with a cap, a fixed currency and one rule that surprises many sellers: the money can never leave Steam.
What the wallet actually is
The Steam Subscriber Agreement, last revised in September 2026, describes the wallet as "neither a bank account nor any kind of payment instrument". It's a prepaid balance for buying content and services on Steam. Valve's terms say the funds have no cash value, can't be exchanged for cash, aren't a personal property right and have no value outside Steam.
Your balance shows in the top right corner of the Steam client and website, next to your profile name. You can spend it on games, on items in other people's Market listings, on Steam gifts for friends, and inside games that accept wallet payments. CS2 is one of them: Valve's own Workshop terms describe CS2 players acquiring items "through Steam Wallet payments", alongside credits and in-game activities such as the Armory and Terminals.
Where the money comes from
| Source | How it arrives | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Adding funds on Steam | Account Details, then Add funds | Unused funds bought on Steam can be refunded within 14 days |
| Wallet codes and gift cards | Redeem page on the Steam store | Redeem only in your wallet's currency |
| Digital gift cards from others | Gift notification on your account | Don't count toward lifting a limited account |
| Community Market sales | Credited when an item sells | Can't be withdrawn; don't count toward the $5 limited-account spend |
| Refunds to your wallet | Credited by Steam | Pre-order refunds are one example Valve gives |
Physical gift cards are on their way out. In June 2026 Valve updated its wallet FAQ to say it is ending the Steam Gift Card program at retail stores because scammers keep exploiting the cards. Retailers won't be restocked, Valve expects them to run out by the end of 2026, and existing cards can still be redeemed. Digital gift cards bought through Steam continue as before.
Two side effects matter for traders. Funding the wallet with an unverified credit card or PayPal triggers a three-day wait before those funds can be used on the Market, which our guide to Market fees and limits explains. And money you earned by selling on the Market doesn't count as spending when Steam decides whether your account is a limited account.
The balance limit
Valve's Community Market FAQ says wallet balances are currently capped at US$2,000, or a value close to that in other currencies. You can't list an item if your current balance plus the sale price would go over the cap, and if you own several Steam accounts, Valve adds their balances together for this check. Separately, no single listing can be priced above roughly US$1,800.
The Subscriber Agreement adds a rolling limit. In any 24-hour period, the amount stored in your wallet plus the amount spent from it may not exceed US$2,000 or the local equivalent. Deposits over that threshold may not be credited until your activity drops back under it. Valve can change these limits, and says it will notify you by email before a change takes effect.
Why the money can't come out
There is no withdraw button, and that's deliberate. The Market FAQ says sale proceeds can't be withdrawn or transferred to another Steam account, a bank or any third-party account. The wallet FAQ adds that funds can't be moved or gifted to another account, although you can use them to buy a Steam gift for someone else.
The terms are strict at the edges too. If Valve closes an account for breaking its rules, the Subscriber Agreement says no refund of unused wallet funds will be given. Japanese accounts have an extra rule: funds not used within six months of being added expire, as Japanese law requires, and the wallet shows their expiry dates.
Currency and regional rules
Your wallet has one currency. Valve's wallet FAQ says that if you've never had a balance, Steam asks for your address the first time you add funds to set the right currency. After that, all funds are added in the wallet's existing currency, whatever the balance.
Your store country works alongside it:
- It's set by your first purchase. Steam uses the location of your first purchase and shows it under Account Details.
- Changing it needs a local payment method. If you move, you can switch countries at checkout by paying with a payment method from the new country. Valve allows this once every three months.
- Codes don't count. Steam Wallet codes and CD keys can't be used to change your store country.
- No country hopping. The Subscriber Agreement forbids using IP proxies or other tricks to hide where you live or buy at another region's prices, and says Valve may terminate access to an account that does.
Not every country gets its own currency. The Steamworks documentation for developers lists regions where Steam has no local pricing and recommends a separate US dollar price instead, covering groups of countries in the CIS, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia. Accounts there see prices in dollars.
What this means when you sell on the Market
Every Market sale lands in your wallet in your own currency. Sellers always list in their wallet's currency, buyers always see prices in theirs, and Valve converts between currencies using an exchange rate it updates daily. Valve notes that if you don't see your local currency on the Market, you probably haven't funded your wallet yet.
Three practical points follow:
- Watch the cap before you list. A sale that would push your balance past US$2,000 can't be listed, so spend down or sell elsewhere first.
- Count the fees. The buyer's price includes Steam's 5% fee and the 10% CS2 fee, so your wallet receives roughly 87% of it.
- Treat proceeds as store credit. Money from the Market can buy games, keys, Armory passes or other skins, but it will never reach your bank account.
If you want money you can withdraw, the sale has to happen off the Market. On Sell, you can sign in with Steam and sell items from your CS2 inventory. Wherever you sell, set up the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator first so listings and trades aren't held, as our guide to Steam Guard and trade holds explains.
Sources
- Steam Wallet — Steam Support
- Community Market FAQ — Steam Support
- Steam Subscriber Agreement — Steam
- Steam Store Country — Steam Support
- Limited User Accounts — Steam Support
- Supported Currencies — Steamworks Documentation
- Valve will stop selling Steam gift cards at retailers over scam concerns — PC Gamer
