PayPal card declined but I have money, what could that mean and what can you do about it? Your debit card has been declined recently even though you have more than enough money to cover your purchases. This can cause great inconvenience, especially since you really need to use your card for purchases or business.
The relieving news is: you’re not the only person facing this problem. On some occasions, I’ve been to a local fast food place and my card was declined even with plenty of funds in my backup bank account. First, I sent an email to PayPal explaining the situation and they replied that “nothing was wrong” with my account, meaning that even accounts in good standing can get declined. In my case, I had not spent any money in more than a month and the backup funds are at 100%, so that wasn’t the problem. Perhaps, it had to be the bank that I use as the backup method, but this encouraged me to do more research and found possible causes and solutions that will help you out with the PayPal debit card declined problem.
PayPal card declined but I have money
If your card has been declined. and PayPal asks you to try a different payment method, below are the possible reasons:
1. A hold was placed on your card
When your PayPal card is declined but you have money, you could have a hold placed on your card. This happens if PayPal notices some out-of-country charges made with your card. PayPal needs you to verify that the charges are legit, so call PayPal help to figure out if this is your problem.
Once you tell PayPal that everything is OK with the charges, they will remove the hold on your card.
2. You’ve not added a backup funding source
If you have a small amount in your PayPal account, even with enough in your bank account to cover the purchase, your card could be declined. Note that PayPal does not automatically add a backup funding source for the PayPal Debit Mastercard. Just navigate to your PayPal main page and click the PayPal Debit Mastercard, click “Add back up now” and follow the screen prompts. Hopefully, you’ll no longer be embarrassed at Subway due to declined card.
3. Unusual activities in your account
Have grocery purchases been declined on your debit card even though you have more than sufficient funds in the account? Well, PayPal can say “PayPal payment declined try again later” simply because you went to two grocery stores on the same day. PayPal could be incorrectly suspecting that someone has had unauthorized access to your account and may go on a rampage with grocery spending.
Your payment was denied by PayPal for this reason because PayPal is probably trying to normalize your activity in a bid to protect your account. Unusual account activities are also one of the reasons your PayPal account can be limited.
4. Card issuer problem
If you received a PayPal notification like “Your card was declined by the issuing bank”, it usually means your card payment was declined by your credit card issuer or bank.
Sometimes, it could be that your card issuer is having technical problems that prevent them from authorizing the transaction.
Also, if your card issuer sees an unusual charge that is different from your normal spending patterns, they can block the transaction which results in declined card on PayPal.
5. Seller problem
You could receive the “payment declined” notification due to the seller denied your payment.
6. Exceeded card limit
Perhaps, you’ve exceeded your card limit for the day, week, or even month. You’ll have to contact your bank to explain the current limit on your card.
In some cases, it could be that you exceeded your card limit with the PayPal system. In this case, you need to contact PayPal to know your spending limit.
7. Flagged device or IP
If you’ve had issues with PayPal in the past or your account was suspended at some point and you created another stealth account, PayPal can decline payment by detecting your device or IP address.
Note that using a VPN to access your PayPal account can cause your payment debit card to be declined. Some of the VPNs out there may have been flagged by PayPal since past users may have used the said IP to engage in fraudulent activities.
8. Browser cookies problem
If your browser is not accepting cookies, that can cause a “PayPal card declined” problem even though you have money.
9. International payment problem
Your PayPal payment is declined because your card does not support international payments. Usually, you’ll receive the notification “PayPal payment declined international regulations”.
10. Incorrect billing address
If your billing address information is not correct, PayPal will decline your payment. Make sure to double-check your billing address.
11. Expired card
You may have money in your bank account but PayPal won’t be able to charge an expired debit card. As such, you’ll get a payment declined notification.
How do you fix a PayPal payment that is declined?
I’ve already highlighted the solutions above. However, let’s reiterate some of the points below on fixing payment declined on PayPal:
1. Renew your card
If your card is expired, link a different card to your PayPal account.
2. Add a backup bank account
If PayPal keeps declining your payment, just add your bank account as a backup to solve the problem.
3. Contact your bank or credit card issuer
If your card keeps being declined on PayPal, contact your card issuer to find out why you can use your card.
4. Contact PayPal support
You can call the PayPal Customer service team for help. Call PayPal customer service: You can call PayPal customer service by dialing 1-888-221-1161 (U.S.) or the appropriate phone number for your country. Alternatively, you can contact PayPal’s customer service team via Twitter by sending a tweet to @AskPayPal.
5. Contact the seller
As explained earlier, the issue can sometimes be with the seller, so let them know you’re having difficulty completing payment with PayPal. Some sellers offer multiple payment options, so try other payment options to complete the purchase while your payment issue is being reviewed by PayPal or your card issuer (depending on the party you reported to).
Final thoughts
That’s it on “PayPal card declined but I have money”. PayPal screens every transaction for account security. However, due to unpredictable consumer behavior, ensuring your account security becomes complex, and sometimes forces PayPal to make wrong decisions such as declined payments over legitimate transactions.
Thus, when in this situation, the best action is usually to contact PayPal to look into the declined transaction.