English Bank Account and Visa, Spanish Address - cant add card!

[Mick_Graham]

I've been using my paypal for years with my natwest card but recently the card was renewed and when I try to add it to paypal I cant.

It looks like Im completely scuppered because I live in Spain now and just want to be able to use my UK card with my UK Paypal account. 

Anybody know if there's a workaround?

Mick

[PayPal_john]

Ok, i'm after reaching out about this and it should be possible to add a UK Credit card to your Spanish PayPal account provided that the address on file with the card is in Spain.

The fact that you can't update your card suggests that the problems with the card happened in the past though, if it's been disabled from the system then it (that is, that specific number) cannot be re-added to the system. If you had a card with a new number then it would be accepted.

[livinginmalaga]

Hi John,  Thanks for your input.  Funnily enough, I've today been looking back through e-mails and find that I was warned last October that the expiry date of my credit card was approaching and that I should update it.  Of course, I was busy with other things and put it on the back-burner - bad mistake, because then in November I got another email saying that because it had expired it was being removed from my account.  This is presumably why I cannot now update it and cannot re-enable it.  Your suggestion about another credit card unfortunately does not work.  I have another UK credit card, also registered to my Spanish address, and I have tried adding that to my Spanish PayPal account but unfortunately, get the same message that the card has been disabled for the account (even though I have never used that card before on my PayPal account). 

So, I guess the latest email from them saying that: PayPal policy changed and it is not possible to add non Spanish financial information, is the last word and I really am in Catch 22.  Unless I can open a UK PayPal account and use my British card registered to a Spanish address .....?

[PayPal_john]

Hmm, if a card is 'disabled' on the system that would mean it was on the system at one point, a card doesn't get disabled without ever being on the system....

To be honest there's some automated Address Verification Systems that don't like this sort of cross country banking and can be hard to get around, they probably disabled the card from being updated at some point in the past when the addresses didn't match.

[livinginmalaga]

Hi John,

Thanks for all your investigations.  I reckon I've had it for trying to add any UK card to my Spanish paypal account even though both are registered to my home in Spain.

One last question though - do you know if I could open a UK Paypal account and register my UK cards (which are of course based in sterling) even though they are registered to a Spanish address?

That would seem to be my only other possible option now.

Many thanks for any info you can give.

[PayPal_lucy]

Hey there livinginmalaga,

As the issue would need account specific information to answer in detail I have sent you an email directly.

Let me know how you get on

[livinginmalaga]

Hi there Lucy,

I am very impressed with all the efforts you and John have made, to try and help me solve my problem and for those efforts I thank you both very much.

Sadly, I do seem to be in catch 22 with no solution to using a British credit card which is registered to a Spanish address.  I have therefore been forced to follow the only other option available to me - I have added my Spanish credit card (which has been accepted) and which, of course, is registered to my same address here in Spain that the 2 British cards are registered to!!  This is the solution that I really did not want to use as almost my entire use of PayPal is transactions in Sterling.  My only income arises in sterling which I have to convert into euros (which of course costs money).  The items that I then purchase in Sterling using PayPal with my Spanish card costs me even more as I have to pay to convert the euros back into Sterling.  I really can't think of any other solution except to use radical thinking and  move back to the UK and open a UK PayPal account, but as the saying goes .. 'You don't want to do that'!!!

Thanks again for your time and effort.