How to Change Payment Method to Credit Card

[lachz17]

Hello,

I want to send money using my credit card via Paypal. When I go to make the payment I first click "Change Payment Method", however I only have 2 options: Bank Account and Paypal Balance (no credit card option).

I'm not sure why this is the case since I have confirmed my credit card via Paypal. I have been scratching my head a little too hard on this case for the past few days.

I would love your help.

Thanks

[Nil_Einne]

For a while now, as long as you have PayPal balance PayPal has generally made it impossible to pay using credit card. If the PayPal balance temporary disappears from you account, say because it was sent to an email who hasn't (and will never) claim it, then you can probably use credit card.

[lachz17]

Hmmm...

but it says on Paypal's website that you still have the option to send money with a credit card: https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees 

I'm not sure why it won't work for me though.

[Nil_Einne]

Since PayPal shows pages which are country specific, I probably am not seeing exactly what you're saying. But can you quote where it says that? The page I see says:

"Sending personal payments to friends and family is free for you and the recipient in New Zealand when you use your PayPal balance. You can also use credit card or make an international transfer for a fee." and "Personal Payments Fee when another payment method is used to fully or partially fund the payment, including credit or debit card". It doesn't say anywhere that you can pay with credit card when you have a balance that I can see.

If you're confused by the first statement or something similar, I suggest you read it carefully. It says you can use a credit card to make a payment for a fee. It doesn't actually say you can use a credit card when you have a balance. The point of that statement is to convey that you can make a payment using a card if you don't have a balance, not that you can pay using a card when you do. The second statement is about fees, but it reflects the fact you can use a card for part of the payment if you don't have enough balance. You're still forced to use the balance first though and can't elect to only pay by card if you have balance. 

If you feel the wording is unnecessarily confusing, I agree, but I don't work for PayPal so I can't help you there. All I can tell you is what me and others have found and been told by PayPal namely that the balance will always be used for and you can't stop this other than by making the balance disappear, at least temporarily.

P.S. If this isn't a personal payment (F&F) but is instead a payment for a good or service you may have 1 final option. When the vendor is directing you to PayPal via the API rather then giving you an email address to send payment to note that you can sometimes pay without logging in using your card. And AFAIK, PayPal also sometimes explicitly allows you to pay using your card without logging in even if you've added it to an account. (In any case, I'm pretty sure there's no harm in trying. You'll just be rejected.)

Note that I've never done this before and I don't know how it affects PayPal protections or anything else. (Credit card protections shouldn't be affected.) It's just something I was told by a PayPal error message once when I was having account problems.