Paypal are asking for my bank account details

drs101

drs101

drs101

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Joined
22 Mar 2006
Posts
1,186
Paypal are now asking for my bank account details otherwise I have a spending limit (that's nearly run out) even though my account is many years old.

If I add them what can they do with the details? take money on a whim? pass them on?
 
They'll use the details to direct-debit funds from your account instead of through your card.

Like any other direct debit, you'd be protected by the DirectDebit guarantee if they took funds that they weren't supposed to take.
 
ace-rimmer said:
just make sure the email is from paypal, i've seen some funny emails addresses attached to so called paypal emails
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yes its legit

Aod said:
They'll use the details to direct-debit funds from your account instead of through your card.

Like any other direct debit, you'd be protected by the DirectDebit guarantee if they took funds that they weren't supposed to take.
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would there be an option to keep using my card?
 
ace-rimmer said:
just make sure the email is from paypal, i've seen some funny emails addresses attached to so called paypal emails
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Yeah I'd double check the email address, as even legit looking ones could easily be from anyone.

I seem to be getting more of them recently but they're easy to pick out now ;)
 
Does PP have a sending limit? I keep getting an email saying I need to Get Verified or something like that because I'm reaching the limit.
 
Basically, its a money laundering protection verification. You will need to start doing it, but you can still use your card to pay, you don't have to use your bank account.
 
dacads said:
Yeah I'd double check the email address, as even legit looking ones could easily be from anyone.

I seem to be getting more of them recently but they're easy to pick out now ;)
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its now also stated in purchase confirmation emails, also I have spoken to them on the phone and find it laughable that they will stop me using the service i have been using for years if they dont get extra details, strange business logic.
 
drs101 said:
its now also stated in purchase confirmation emails, also I have spoken to them on the phone and find it laughable that they will stop me using the service i have been using for years if they dont get extra details, strange business logic.
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None verified accounts have always had a spend/receive limit.

It does reset itself every year though.
 
drs101 said:
would there be an option to keep using my card?
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Yes but In several scenarios using card you pay fees, linked to bank you dint pay fees.

drs101 said:
its now also stated in purchase confirmation emails, also I have spoken to them on the phone and find it laughable that they will stop me using the service i have been using for years if they dont get extra details, strange business logic.
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It helps protecting them from banking and laundering laws, there's no set spending value set in law, so they've decided to set it at X. Perfectly reasonable as it's like a bank account that you've shown basically no id or anything else for.
 
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Best thing is to do is verified paypal, then remove bank account so they cannot take money if someone even made a claim or done a chargeback.

If you leave the bank account on there you have a choice of what to pay with, card or bank.
 
Personally, I don't believe the common Paypal line about it being anti-money laundering. If that was the reason, they'd do it on sign-up, or when the law changed requiring them to do so. It is, in my opinion, a distinct line of bull designed to deflect queries.

It is, I believe, far more about lowering their transaction costs than money laundering, because their direct-debit costs are lower than credit card fees.

Why then, don't they do it straight away? Because if they insisted on it, from day 1, a lot of people would just refuse and not sign up. So instead, there's a cost allocated to transactions on new customers, as defined by the charges on your "spending limit", after which, they want to maximise profits on you by lowering costs. In other words, in the short term, account profit maximisation gives way to customer-base expansion, after which, they want to cash in.

I closed my Paypal account several years ago, over this and a couple of other issues. At the time, I found an article where Paypal had confirmed the above logic. I don't remember the source for sure, but I think it was the New York Times.

One of the other issues was that other than for ebay, I very rarely used Paypal anyway, and I'd already dumped ebay as being a pain as a buyer, and an absolute dead loss as a seller, more trouble than it was worth. So dumping Paypal wasn't a great loss to me anyway. For that reason, and that I didn't want them direct-charging my bank anyway, I just closed the account. Never missed it, since.
 
Aldav said:
Personally, I don't believe the common Paypal line about it being anti-money laundering. If that was the reason, they'd do it on sign-up, or when the law changed requiring them to do so. It is, in my opinion, a distinct line of bull designed to deflect queries.

It is, I believe, far more about lowering their transaction costs than money laundering, because their direct-debit costs are lower than credit card fees.

Why then, don't they do it straight away? Because if they insisted on it, from day 1, a lot of people would just refuse and not sign up. So instead, there's a cost allocated to transactions on new customers, as defined by the charges on your "spending limit", after which, they want to maximise profits on you by lowering costs. In other words, in the short term, account profit maximisation gives way to customer-base expansion, after which, they want to cash in.

I closed my Paypal account several years ago, over this and a couple of other issues. At the time, I found an article where Paypal had confirmed the above logic. I don't remember the source for sure, but I think it was the New York Times.

One of the other issues was that other than for ebay, I very rarely used Paypal anyway, and I'd already dumped ebay as being a pain as a buyer, and an absolute dead loss as a seller, more trouble than it was worth. So dumping Paypal wasn't a great loss to me anyway. For that reason, and that I didn't want them direct-charging my bank anyway, I just closed the account. Never missed it, since.
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I started typing a more detailed response but got bored :p In short, look at the Payment Services Directive and various AML laws. Up to a certain amount, a lower due dilligence threshold is permitted. After a certain amount, it is not.
 
Sudden said:
I started typing a more detailed response but got bored :p In short, look at the Payment Services Directive and various AML laws. ....
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And you think typing a detailed response is boring? :D

Thanks for the reading tips but I think I'll pass on that one.

Mind you, I have been having trouble getting to sleep recently, so .... :D
 
Aldav said:
And you think typing a detailed response is boring? :D

Thanks for the reading tips but I think I'll pass on that one.

Mind you, I have been having trouble getting to sleep recently, so .... :D
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I'm a lawyer so some boring reading is a job requirement :p

I can personally recommend the PSD and PSD2 as a sleeping aid though...
 
drs101 said:
yes its legit



would there be an option to keep using my card?
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Yes. You don't need a direct debit set up to continue using an account. What you could do is set it all up, give them the details then need then cancel the direct debit via your bank when it's all been set up.
 
spoffle said:
Yes. You don't need a direct debit set up to continue using an account. What you could do is set it all up, give them the details then need then cancel the direct debit via your bank when it's all been set up.
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Dammit was just about to post that :p but Spoffle is correct (Found out the stupid way when I wanted to know why paypal had a DD setup with me!)
 
well added my account and skipped the direct debit, they then gave made a payment to me for 1p to verify, so no DD, I assume then they cant just start taking money unless there is a DD setup.
 
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