Do I really have to give my name and address to everyone I receive payment from?

vanessaTR
New Community Member
I'm sure this question has already been asked on the forum but I'm not spending 45 minutes trying to find it. When someone pays me via paypal, it says they only need my email address. After perusing the internet I'm getting the idea that the payer will also see my name and/or home address. To me, this is obviously ridiculous, but before I let someone send me my money I need to be sure there is no way they will see my real last name or my home address. All I'm comfortable giving is my email address.
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4 REPLIES 4

snowshoe
Frequent Advisor
Frequent Advisor

Basically they only need your email address if they are sending you funds. 

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mtntrout
New Community Member

Hello, I see where you said all I would need to show buyers is my e-mail address. How do I do that? A close friend told me on her last purchase she can see the names and address of the seller. How can this be safe. Do I have to show all that? And can I use a PO Box instead? I don't mind showing my E-mail.

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homoludens
New Community Member

I am trying to find the answer to this question as well. I have a blog, and people really like it, but they do not know my real name. And I want to keep it that way. On the other hand, I'd like to put a "donate" button on it. I'd like to know if there is a way to receive donations with only letting them see my email address. 

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snowshoe
Frequent Advisor
Frequent Advisor

Yes, all you need is a Premier Account, the PayPal screens will either show your Merchant Account ID or Email Address.  To make sure that your email address is displayed, you would need to ensure that when you generate the button code, on the first page of the process, select Use my Primary Email Address under Merchant Account ID.  Note, if you have more than 1 email associated with your account, you can select the one you want from the dropdown selection.

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