Why does it take 3-4 business days to withdraw funds from paypal to my bank account?

[mrbart518]

I curious as to whay it takes 3-4 business days to withdraw funds from my paypal account to put into my bank account that has already been verified?

I'm new to paypal and thought being as a friend can send funds to me from his paypal account instantly, that I'd be able to withdraw those funds from my paypal account and put into my bank account just as quickly.

[Washrl]

Oh, I requested the transfer on the 17th, the first estimated date was the 21st but now it was switched Jan 5th. Thanks for the explanation.

[Exorcist999]

Is there some way to tell when the $1 fee will return? Also, if there is no problem the $1 fee will return in 3-4 buisness days; does it take exactly 96 hrs or will it varry?

[PayPal_Adrian]

Washri - No probelm!  Glad to help!

Exorcist999 -

Any time credit or debit card information is entered, altered, edited, or changed in PayPal, that information has to be verified with the card issuer in order for the change to take place. The credit card industry has a pre-approved method for merchants to verify this information - the $1.00 temporary charge (often known as a pre-authorization).

These charges are not permanent, and will never become permanent, though they are absolutely necessary to confirm card information. This is done to ensure the safety and security of every member who uses our services.

The $1.00 charge is released back to your card balance after a period of time determined by the card issuer themselves, not by PayPal.

For more information on when  your card issuer will release the $1.00 verification authorization, I would reach out to your card company.

Thanks!

Adrian

[jerome73]

Isn't a transfer done electronically? If so why would weekends And holidays not count? And why does it last pending for to days and then when it says completed in your paypal it takes 3-4 days for you to receive it? If it says completed it should be available in your account Right? Or atleast that's what makes sense to me?

[PayPal_Olivia]

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@jerome73 wrote:

Isn't a transfer done electronically? If so why would weekends And holidays not count?

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Hi jerome73,

That's a great question, and I'd be happy to shed some light on the answer for you.

Any time money is transferred between your bank account and PayPal, in either direction, it is sent via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) process. This is a batch processing method used by many financial services, governed by NACHA - The Electronics Payments Association. This process helps keep the cost of transferring money lower, which enables us to keep our fees lower for our customers and even offer many of our features for free.

The clearing facilities review the electronic information before sending it on to the correct institution. These steps do not occur when banks are not open.

I hope this helps!

Olivia

[jerome73]

No Olivia that does not help as I was told it has to go thru the federal reserve I checked online thru many creditable sources that process would only take 24-48 hours not 3-4 days or as customer service told me 3-5 days which  leads me to ask do you guys even know? And why when I called the first time today was I told specific times that it would be in my bank And when I called when it was not a spoke to 3 different people I was told that they have no clue what I am talking about even so if you are told specific times it should be there at that time right????? And why don't weekends or holidays count the federal reserve is automated unless a red flag is raised soooooo what is up with that??????? seriously i have done another bank transfer and that took only 2 days so why is this one taking longer????????????????

[PayPal_Adrian]

jerome73 -

Olivia's information is correct.  Bank transfers made via PayPal are completed via the ACH process, which can take three to five business days.  These are not wire transfers, and transferring funds is never as simple as an electronic signal.  For more information, check out the link she provided.  NACHA has some wonderful information about how ACH transfers work and why they're not always the fastest method around. 

As for why your current transfer is taking longer, please keep in mind that there are a lot of banking holidays going on right now, as well as increased volume everywhere from shopping, bank deposits and transfers, which always increase dramatically this time of year.  PayPal cannot definitively guarantee the arrival date or time of any funds; we can only provide an estimate (which is why the transfer details online only show an estimate and are marked as such).  I think it's wonderful your previous transfers via PayPal have only taken 2 days - that's great!

When calculating arrival times, there are a few things to keep in mind about ACH transfers.  First, they can only be completed during banking hours.  That means if there is a holiday which results in a bank closure, or if it is the weekend, banks don't process ACH transfers.  This isn't PayPal's choice; we'd move funds 24/7 if we could.  We want you to have your funds! 

The next factor to consider is when a withdrawal is initiated.  If you start a withdrawal late at night, we can get it ready to go, but the banks won't receive it or even consider looking at it until the next day.  They're also processed in the order received, so there might be other customers in front of you waiting their turn as well.

So, let's say I start a withdrawal on a Friday night, after business hours.  My transfer process can't even start into the three to five business day timeframe until Monday morning. 

This week, there was a banking holiday on Monday, so the banks won't even start looking at these items until Tuesday.  When they do, they might be a bit behind because of all the transfers that were initiated while they weren't taking orders, so to speak.  So, if you initiated a withdrawal late Friday night, it more than likely won't arrive until this Thursday or Friday. 

If we move the hypothetical date back to late Thursday night, last Friday would be the first business day of processing.  We'd then have to skip Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  Tuesday would be business day #2, and the latest it should arrive would be business day #5 - Friday. 

As you can see, the days and times banks are open and available can really change the timeframes around!

Thanks!

Adrian

[pdaNSALVISH]

i just review this discussion and I understand what was being stated.  But, I transfered my PayPal funds to my bank before Christmas and they still haven't showed up yet.  Also,  when I review my transaction log there is no record of the transfer, but I can tell from account balance the amount was deducted.  Does anyone know why the transfer would not happened and where I can find the transaction message.

My bank account was verified.

Thanks for the help.

[PayPal_Adrian]

pdaNSALVISH -

Welcome to the boards!

US based bank transfers can take 3-5 business days.  Depending on when exactly it was transferred via the Add Funds feature, it could be showing up Tuesday or even Wednesday thanks to all the weekends and holidays in that period.

However, if you don't see an  Add Funds in your History, then PayPal wouldn't have initiated a transfer of funds.  Did you perhaps make a payment to your merchant instead? 

I would recommend reviewing your History using the All Acitivty (with Balance) option.  Look for an amount similar to what you're seeing and go from there.

Thanks!

Adrian

[ASimenau]

This just started happening, last month I could send instant cash to a student account now it takes 3-4 days. What has changed?  I can not even purchase anything on eBay anymore, Is this a eBay / PayPal policy change that no one knows about?