I have always thought that to be just PayPal covering themselves in case of any delay. It always been pretty instant for me.
One to watch gentleman.
Usually, when I transfer funds from my PP account to my current account (Barclays), it get a message saying 'remember, this may take up to 3 hours to appear in your account'.
They must be desperate for the extra interest, because the message now reads 'this may take up to 3 DAYS to appear in your account'.
It's not a bother for me, but it may be for others.
I have always thought that to be just PayPal covering themselves in case of any delay. It always been pretty instant for me.
When I did a recent transfer it took a while to complete, I think it was about 24-36 hours. It's always seemed to take that much time, although I haven't been transferring money out to other accounts all that long.
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I've unlinked my Bank Account from PayPal. Just in case PayPal gets hacked at least hackers can't extract all my cash from my bank account.
Yes, you can still receive payments.
Yup, I have a PayPal account linked with an instant savings account. Electronic deposits to the bank account (i.e. withdrawals from PP) are possible but no electronic withdrawals from the bank account (to PP or to anywhere else[1]) are possible.
Footnote:-
1: Apart from me doing it via the bank's website and even then electronic withdrawals can only be sent to other accounts owned by me at the same bank.
Last edited by markrlondon; 6th May 2016 at 12:31. Reason: Added clarifying text
Here in Singapore, they specify 5 days on average to transfer the amount to my bank account. Don't know why the delay since real-time inter-bank transfers have been introduced a year or two back
When I transfer to my bank it usually takes 24 hours, and sometimes, 48 hours if I withdraw too soon after receiving said funds.
I've linked PayPal to an old account with no overdraft that's used only for receiving payments (which I transfer straight away to my main account). Can PayPal still take money from this old account if for some reason it chooses to?
If the account is some kind of current account that allows withdrawals to be made electronically by direct debit then yes.
This is why I linked one of my PP accounts with an instant savings account where, no matter how hard PP try, they will never be able to withdraw money from it.
You might be able to cancel the direct debit on which PP relies at the bank. I don't know if PP would ever find out or what effect it might have. Doing it without notifying PP might be a breach of their Ts&Cs. You'd need to check.
Good to know, thanks. I also have an 'instant saver' account with my main bank that was setup for some reason after I took out my mortgage. Perhaps I can try and use this instead.
You're all lucky!!!
How about 2-3 days AND getting charged for withdrawals AND 2.5% conversion fee since I mostly deal with folks in the UK/US. Plus, they charge 1% extra for certain countries including CY, for sales I mean, so usually it costs me 9-10% to receive money via PayPal if withdrawing in the end. Very good reason to keep "investing" in watches rather than making any withdrawals out of PayPal.
Just to clarify some points if it helps.
If you simply add a bank account, you can withdraw money in the balance.
If you add a bank account and then confirm it (which is how to get your PayPal account verified) you are then able to pay via 'instant transfer'.
If you remove your bank account your PayPal account will still stay verified. Though you won't be able to withdraw money you receive.
If you add only a card to your account you will eventually get verified status, but this depends on certain timeframes and usage.
If you are worried about PayPal taking money from your account, don't be. However there is something every use should keep an eye on.
The only reason PayPal will allow a third party to take money is with a pre-approved payment. Search this in your profile to see what sites are allowed to take money like a subscription or more commonly the eBay automatic payment for fees. Most people who use eBay will have this automatic payment ability set up which is why you'll see a payment made to eBay Europe sarl every month if you've been selling.
Steam for example, the gaming application, can also set itself up to be a pre-approved payment. This allows payments to be made automatically in Steam without having to log in. Many kids would ask for their folk's PayPal details for a single purchase and then cunningly know that they can simply buy quite easily after. The page states something along the lines of 'subscription setup'. Once that's done it is to save hassle for users to have to log in and type details etc. Certain sites will provide this service and make the most of the feature for the benefit of their customers, however if the user isn't aware of the fact they're setting up a subscription then it could cause an issue.
If your PayPal account is hacked, which is down to how you operate or look after your mobile device or PC, then PayPal will see the id of the user logging in, compare delivery addresses and ip addresses and will clearly see that the account had been hacked by someone unrelated to the actual owner.
Your bank details and card details are just as easily compromised.
I personally use my PayPal account with a bank account and a few cards. Having simply a bank account on your PayPal means only echeques can be made for purchases, which take 5 working days to clear. One important thing to note is the ability to utilise the bank's chargeback process. On the odd occasion something goes wrong or you're buying an item that isn't covered by PayPal then your only option is to speak to the bank. They can step in if it was a card payment, it's much harder if it was a direct debit via a bank account. Therefore for most payment I do, and I have rarely had a problem, I pay via card.
If you withdraw your direct debit agreement then you'll find the next time you make a payment, and it's an instant transfer, then the payment will fail. You might find the bank charges you for a failed transfer or PayPal will then use your backup funding source like a card on the account. No real issue here.
An instant transfer is a payment that PayPal makes on your behalf. The seller gets the money and then PayPal goes to your bank account, which is slower and takes more time, to get the money their owed. The seller gets the payment straight away but you might not see the payment leave your account until a few days later.
Pay After Delivery is another feature that allows PayPal to pay up front but will give you two weeks before they process the money from the bank account. Whether a delivery happened or not. If you create a case before the money has been processed, and the case goes in your favour then no transaction will take place. Only PayPal will have to take their original payment from the seller to be reimbursed. Of course if a case comes into effect after that payment was taken then it's business as usual and if due a refund then the payment will be deposited in the balance. If the original payment was funded from a card then the refund will always go back to the card, which takes a few days.
If an eBay case is raised and your made a pay after delivery then the processing will happen no matter what. Only when a case is raised on PayPal will it postpone the processing of the payment until the case is resolved.
There is no point removing the bank account if you already have a card on the account. There is also no need to really worry about your PayPal being hacked, and even if it is it will be quite clear that is has been used by someone that is not associated with the account holder's pattern of use and details.
Slight disclaimer...
Then is is knowledge I picked up when working for the claims department and through years of experience when using PayPal. It may be different for your country and the information I have may be incorrect in the future.
Hope that helps a little, though.
Last point. If you withdraw money that's larger than any previous withdrawals and/or you rarely have done in the past, or you've recently had cases or changed details on the account then the more likely a hold on that money will occur. This is to protect the user but yeah probably PayPal benefit from this, I wouldn't know.
However the more you use your account and there are no issues, then the withdrawal takes about 5 seconds. It has for me for some time until a case is raised or a change of details is made, at which point it normally gets back to normal after a few withdrawals.
Last edited by Bodo; 8th May 2016 at 16:01.
You're right that PayPal is fairly secure overall. However, the problem with PayPal is that they operate as a bank with none of the legal responsibilities of a bank. They are in no way obligated to refund money that you lose as a result of fraud, even if they do so some of the time (largely to avoid having such a responsibility imposed on them by law). They have a particularly bad reputation for freezing funds for various reasons that an actual bank would not legally be able to do. I for one do not trust them as the arbiter in any significant fraud dispute.
Removing the ability for them to debit your bank account simply adds another layer of security. IMO, this is a sensible thing to do.