I recently purchased something on ebay and paid with paypal with an American Express Gift Card added as a credit card. When I checked the balance of my card on the american express website I saw the item I purchased and the amount paid as well as a mysterious $1 transaction. They were separate transactions. Both transactions said PAYPAL INC MARK, but I don't know why there is a $1 transaction. Can someone explain to me what this $1 transaction is? It doesn't show up on paypal only the american express gift card balance. Does paypal charge a fee for adding/using a credit card? Please help, thank you.
I think Sany's right - Paypal ( and a lot of other online merchants) send a request through for a $1 charge to trigger the verification process for the card. Since they never confirm the purchase, the charge expires on its own.
Thanks, I figured it was something like that, but I wanted to make sure. I guess I'll wait a few days before I accept it as a solution. It's odd, usually they tell you about this pre-autorization charge, they tell you about it when you add a bank to your account I think, but not for credit cards.
