How can I make a credit card my primary funds source?

dafydd
Contributor
Contributor

I just purchased a product using PayPal; I expected to be sent to the PayPal site to pick which method of payment... but instead, the transaction simply completed without me seeing the PayPal screen at all.  It took the funds from my bank account, and I never had the opportunity to select a credit card instead.

 

I logged onto PayPal, clicked My Account -> Profile, then clicked My Money:  The screen shows my bank account, a credit card, and a debit card (all are correct); next to the bank account is the parenthetical label (primary).

 

I clicked on the Debit and credit cards update button, edited the credit card, and checked the Primary checkbox; but that didn't change the profile page, which still lists the bank account as (primary).  (I think the checkbox on the Debit and credit cards update screen just selects which of the cards is the primary card.)

 

I want the credit card to be the primary payment -- and I also want every purchase to take me to PayPal, so I can select whether to accept the primary funding source or else pick one of the others (bank account, debit card).  How do I do this?  I cannot find instructions in the Help tree.

 

Thanks,

 

Dafydd

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119 REPLIES 119

PayPal_Olivia
Moderator
Moderator

Hi everyone, and welcome to the forums!

 

When making a credit card primary, what you're doing is specifying that this card will be used rather than other cards on the account. It will not make the card the primary funding source entirely.

 

In the funding hierarchy, it goes Balance -> Bank -> Card. The one exception to this would be if you have a PayPal credit account. PayPal Extras, PayPal SmartConnect, and Bill Me Later can be selected to come before Bank in the funding order.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Olivia

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wbcarey
Contributor
Contributor

Moderator,  so the answer is no you can not make your credit card the primary payor.  Then why all the other gobbeldegook?

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penguin555
Contributor
Contributor

So in order to get around paypal's garbage bureaucracy and still maintain a "confirmed address" for shipping from eBay I have to open a second checking account and put no money in it and then link it to my primary account so i pay no monhtly fee to the bank.  That way I will get paypal's dumb and non-customer-focused payment hierarchy to bend to my will of CREDIT CARD FIRST as it is the proxy that guards my account?

I guess paypal is not trustworthy with the checking account anymore..I just lost 550 miles so paypal could make make a few cents more.  I think eBay makes plenty.  😞

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bo_leggs
Contributor
Contributor

This **bleep**! I have monthly charges I want put on my credit card, but I can't make my credit card primary, and after the initial payment, PayPal defaults back to my primary payment method, which is my checking account that I don't want to use. This needs to be fixed!

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dafydd
Contributor
Contributor

PayPal-Olivia, I completely agree with the preceding three responses:  This policy is dumb, dumb, dumb.

 

I too have recurring payments that I charge to a credit card, in case a payment comes through at a low ebb of our checking account.  A lot of people do.  And in any event, even for one-off payments, I still prefer they go to the credit card; our checking account is for writing checks, i.e., physical pieces of paper.

 

There is no valid reason not to allow customers to designate a credit card as the primary funds source, rather than a bank account.  I've never heard that the payee, whether it's me or PayPal, has to pay the 2%-5% that Visa and MasterCard charge... that's paid by the merchant, isn't it?

 

This policy really comes across like sheer cussedness, doing it just because that's how PayPal set it up umpty-ump years ago and is simply unwilling to change it -- and couldn't care less in any event.  Most important, it makes PayPal a much less attractive option for financial transactions than if we could designate a credit card as the primary source.

 

It's particularly problematical, given that (if you read my first posting in this thread) sometimes, PayPal never even gives us the OPTION of changing the funds source in a given transaction:  I bought something online, chose PayPal instead of typing in my credit-card information... and PayPal blythely sucked it out of my bank account without so much as a how d'you do, never troubling to ask if I wanted to change the funds source.

 

I know you have a monopoly, but if you make your service difficult enough for customers to use as they want to use it, we'll simply go back to entering credit-card numbers directly with those merchants with whom we do most of our business.

 

I suggest this is something that really needs to be kicked upstairs, so that somebody with policy authority can change that bizarre limitation of the system.

 

Thanks,

 

Dafydd

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D3
Contributor
Contributor

 

OMGoodness & Fascinating that so many people including now myself have requested how to make a credit card the primary draw source and there is no easy way if there is a way at all.

 

I tried for almost an hour last night cutting and pasting directions that did not work, gave up wrote them.

 

Waiting the 72 hours for a response. Tried almost another 45 minutes today and gave in so as to make my purchase payment, in trying to be responsible. They probably expect us to do give in.

 

I am wondering if I have to delete my bank info and then it will go to the credit card. Why if they force us at certain times to add the banking info can they not just have the credit card as a main payment option? If there is a way I'm waiting to hear.

If PayPal was the respectable and responsible so called beloved website wouldn't it gives its clients what should be a simple request without such a waste of time and energy that illicits such frustration.

D3

 

 

elicit or illicit? Do not confuse the spelling of elicit and illicit, which sound similar. Elicit is a verb meaning "produce as a response" or "bring to light," as in to elicit information. Illicit is an adjective meaning "illegal" or "socially unacceptable," as in engaging in illicit activities.

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ckmitch
New Community Member

So we've found a flaw in the otherwise terrific PayPal system...great.  I guess I have no choice but to disable my bank account unless I am going to sell something.  This is awful.  I guess I don't get the point of why the bank is first & credit card is second, seems like a lot of administrative work to me...

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BobsMom
Contributor
Contributor

I discovered the unauthorized withdrawals from my checking account after I was forced to "verify" my account or stop using Pay Pal.  I just spent over an hour with Customer Service on this issue.  I was transferred, put on hold, and hung up on.  Finally, someone told me that I had to choose an alternate pay method at checkout.  I have never seen this option at checkout.  I'm glad that I checked this blog.   I appreciate the bloggers telling me that this sometimes doesn't work.  I do not need a checking acct overdraft.

 

I've spent over $10,000 with Pay Pal.  You'd think they's appreciate me as a customer and try to solve this problem.

 

Two interesting things I found on the Pay Pal site:

 

1.  Under My Account; Overview:  Manage Funding Sources.  It shows Available Funding Sources and lists my checking acct and credit card.  ONLY my credit card is checked!!!!!  The 2 most recent payments came out of my checking acct.

The instructions state:  "Deselect any funding sources that you do NOT want used in the list below."   There is NO checkmark next to my Bank acct.

 

2.  I went to Pay Pal's Help Center and clicked on this question: " Will Pay Pal have the ability to withdraw funds from my bank account without my permission?"  The answer:  NO.  Pay Pal only withdraws or adds funds with your permission."

 

I would hope that Pay Pal would have the integrity to fix this.  I never realized that "getting verified" meant that Pay Pal could access my checking account without my consent.  

 

Does anyone know of a "workaround" solution?  How about cancelling a Pay Pal acct and then starting a new one? How about contacting a consumer's group/60 Minutes to take a look at this?  Other ideas?  Maybe a class action attorney would be interested in pursuing this?

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NMA-NMA
Member
Member

You can go directly to your profile by clicking on "My Account" tab. Then select "My money" tab among tabs on the left. Try to find "My preapproved payments" which is the last option and simply click on "Update". Now, try to find "Set Available Funding Sources" link which is located on top right of the table, and click on it. It brings you to the page "Manage Funding Sources" and simply select or deselect your funding sources based upon your preference. For example, if you prefer your credit card to be the primary funding source then select it and make sure that you've deselected your bank account.

 

I hope it helps.

 

Cheers!

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hugocs
Contributor
Contributor

I just did a payment and I did click on pay by credit card , but I see it has gone through my bank account. this same problem happened last time when I went to make a payment, I had to click pay with credit card 4 times before it would work. Now I thought it worked this time, but I see it did not.
If we can't make a credit card our main source for payment and we have to go through all these problems , then why have a credit card on the account..

From what I have read tonight .. I'm not the only one having these problems..

 

Then when the system has an error , and thats it from our account instead of taking it from our credit card, we have to pay the fees in we don't have the funds in our bank account..

 

 

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