Account Limitations: What You Need to Know
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Keeping your business and customers safer
To ensure PayPal remains a safer place for enabling payments, we regularly review all accounts. Sometimes, limitations may be placed on your PayPal account, which could restrict you from completing certain actions: such as withdrawing, spending, or receiving money. Limitations are in place to help protect all our customers, and in some cases to meet our regulatory obligations. Protecting your account and money is important to us.
Account Limitations: What might cause it, and how to help avoid it?
If your PayPal account is limited, you may be unable to withdraw, send or receive money. There are a number of reasons why your account could be limited:
Suspicious & unusual activity
- We suspect someone could be using your account without your knowledge.
- Your bank alerts us that someone has used your credit/debit card linked to your account without your permission.
- There are unexpected changes to your selling activities such as a sudden increase in your typical sales volume.
In such cases, we do what it takes to protect you from potential fraud prompted by the unusual activity– through limiting your account, and investigating.
You can safeguard your personal information and help protect yourself against fraud through some simple measures. For example, don’t enter your personal or financial details when describing items for sale or in response to emails, and log out of sites you’ve entered your personal information into.
Regulatory reasons or business is not compliant
Your account could be limited for regulatory reasons. For example, India PayPal sellers need to include additional information to be able to accept payments in their account. Also, reaching a certain transaction value in your account may trigger a limit, which can also be removed by providing information required to PayPal.
There are also restrictions on what a PayPal account can be used to accept (and make) payments for. For example, PayPal doesn't allow the sale of counterfeit goods or banned items. So, ensure that your business is compliant with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy .
Increased buyer issues
An increase of complaints, claims and chargebacks from buyers can lead to account limitations.
Following some simple guidelines can help you improve your performance and reduce the likelihood of limitations. Overall, communication is key. You should:
- Provide detailed product descriptions and photos.
- Be upfront about policies such as shipping and returns.
- Ship orders promptly and track shipments.
- Respond quickly to any messages from buyers.
- Work to amicably resolve any problems.
- Ship to the address provided in the transaction details page.
- Use quality shipping materials to prevent damage.
Removing limitations
If your PayPal account is limited, here’s what happens:
- We’ll email you to let you know – we’ll ask you to log in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Centre for details on how to resolve the issue quickly, usually by providing information.
- Once you’ve submitted the information required, we’ll review and reply via email.
- We’ll remove the limitations once we have verified your account. At times, limitations can be removed by simply changing your security questions and password.
Here are the types of information and documents we may need from you:
- Supplier’s invoice with contact information
This helps us determine the inventory source and validate that you have the items that you’re selling in stock.
- Payment information
When an invoice is unavailable, we’ll review the following information about your payments:
- The item or service that was sold
- The buyer’s name and shipping address
- Proof of shipment to verify that an order was delivered
- Shipping or Tracking information
This helps us to verify that customer orders are being fulfilled.
- Proof of business
This provides evidence of a valid business registration and business ownership.
- Information for India sellers
This is to comply with our India regulatory obligations. Provide a valid PAN, a local bank account and the purpose code in your PayPal account task board.
- Proof of address such as bank statement or utility bill, Proof of identity such as passport or driver’s license
This helps us verify your identity when there is unusual account activity or to comply with regulations.
Once you’ve submitted your information, look out for any more emails from us as we may need additional details. We’ll do our best to confirm your information and remove the limitation within 2 business days, but sometimes it can take a little longer.
Quick Tip: If your PayPal account is limited, don’t open a new account. It could be traced back to the limited account. It’s always best to resolve the limitation. We will guide you through it and restore full access to your PayPal account as quickly as possible.
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My account was limited based on having the same phone number (my cell) as another account, which was limited. I consult with a few different companies. PayPal will not provide ANY details as to why my personal account was limited. There is zero help here. The folks at PayPal have done nothing to help me out. In fact, there's a very callous atmosphere with most of the people I spoke with.
This dumb help article I replying to mentions addressing the issues as to why my account is limited. THERE's NOTHING TO ADDRESS! No details have been given!!
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Hello Thegrailmanila,
Welcome to the PayPal community and thank you for your post.
As your question is very account specific, I would advise you to contact our customer care department who can help you further. You can do this by clicking on the Help and Contact link at the bottom of every PayPal page to check what your contact options are. You can also contact us via our Facebook Page or Twitter @askPayPal.
-Donna
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Hi,
My account is currently limited and I've been providing the details that they need. However one of the things needed from me is to confirm my bank details which I did but it's not going through and it not completing although it already shows it linked. Please advise what i need to do
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I understand this is very frustrating, As I do not have access to account details, I cannot comment on specific account issues. I would recommend calling our support and ask for a limitation specialist so they can explain why this issue has reoccurred. I agree that this should not have happened and can only think that the original documents were accepted incorrectly or the acceptance process was not completed correctly causing the restriction to reappear. Again, as I have no access to account information I can only speculate. I would suggest you send a request by email via the Help section of your account, to have this issue reviewed in detail.
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Thanks and yes, I already have a call in but if memory serves me from the 18th of October the limitation department isn't in on weekends, another frustrating point.
i will update once i speak with them.
thanks for the prompt response
Critz
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Could I get an answer to why as a business that has provided everything that PP has asked for to resolve previous limitations, AFTER an invoice has been sent and paid, Paypal issues/implements the same limitation, with the same issues, that were previously resolved?
If there was going to be an issue ie. photo id previously uploaded, business documents previously uploaded all conditions previously uploaded, responded to and resolved (all within a 30 day timeframe...actually 14 days) why would PP send an email that money is available, and 14 minutes afterwards state that they need the same information from 14 days previously THE EXACT SAME.....the same conditions / limitations applied and documents requested. When speaking to paypal they continue to cite compliance and anti-fraud systems in place yet it seems ironic at best when you repeatedly ask for the same documents, and explanations...etc. - Where did my documents go to 2 weeks ago, No resolve except to wait for my money! Ridiculous!
Has anyone else repeatedly had to satisfy business verification every time they send an invoice/receive money? Was it ever completely resolved?
I doubt I will hear anything from anyone at PayPal with the exception of an email; Once again left in limbo waiting for over 6000 and in my opinion PayPal basically stole the fee/processing charge!
If anyone has suggestions on alternatives to Merchant accounts that will allow same day transfers with limited or fixed charges for same day transfers - I welcome any alternatives.
If I held my customers money without performing in the timely fashion as stated - I'd be out of business!
Frustrated!
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