Paypal used a bank account that doesn't exist...?

[revenientis]

I started using Paypal about a year ago. I linked a checking account to it, and everything was fine and dandy. Then some things happened, and I overdrew my account. I ended up closing it with the bank, and opened a new one instead.

Flash forward a year now. I ordered something online, and it only had Paypal available as a payment method. Sure enough, it had this one-click payment set up for me, and I assumed the account number was correct. The payment went through, no problem. But when I actually went to my banking page, I noticed there was no charge....and then I realized that Paypal had used my old checkings account that I closed a year ago. For example, my old closed account was like 2467, and my new one is 2405, but Paypal charged 2467.

I also have a debit card registered on Paypal, but I'm not sure what will happen. Will the charge bounce to my debit card? Or will the transaction be cancelled entirely?

[DPCreations]

The money request to the closed account would eventually reverse.  I think it is uncertain what would happen at that point if you don't have money in your PayPal account.  If you debit/credit card is a bank card, PayPal might take money from that card.  If your debit card is a PayPal card, then it couldn't take money as there would be no money in your PayPal acocunt.

You may have greater problems; it's not a good idea to have a non-existing bank account linked to PayPal; PayPal could see you has a high risk member with uncertain future.

Now is probably a good time to make an urgent phone call to PayPal customer service to fix the problem.

You could also talk to your bank and see if there is a way to fix it there.

Much better to attempt a fix now rather than just wait to see what happens.