Paypal's explanations of its requirements for lifting the "Account Limit" appear disingenuous, which for me undercuts its clear effort to earn at least the level of trust that I have for financial transactions with most financial institutions (banks, brokerages and credit card companies). Paypal’s written explanation of its need for “Account Limits” and verification are:
“Why should I verify my PayPal account?
When you verify your PayPal account, you provide additional evidence of your identity to PayPal. Verified PayPal
accounts have passed key security checks, which builds stronger security for everyone in the PayPal network.
Additionally, when you verify your PayPal account, we lift your sending limit (your sending limit is the maximum
amount of money you can send from your PayPal account).”
I also called. I noted that I use Paypal as a shortcut for buying products online by credit card. By using Paypal, I don't have to fill out all of the info each time. So, I noted that Verification won’t “protect” me or Paypal any better. It’s my credit card company, not Paypal, that takes the risk of my non-payment or of use of my card by an authorized person. And, despite the Paypal’s rep’s efforts to claim that linking a bank account to my Paypal account would protect me from unauthorized use of my existing Visa or Amex credit card, his explanations – that an unauthorized user, but not me, would have to type in my bank account number to make a purchase - made no sense.
Clearly, Paypal's goal is to “encourage” those of us it does business with to do business in a way that generates revenue or more revenue for Paypal. And, Paypal’s a “for profit” business, so that’s just fine. But, the same deceptive behavior that permits Paypal to falsely claim its "Account Limit" requirements serve only or essentially a "protection" purpose when the purpose is "profits," makes me reluctant to give Paypal a "link" to my bank account. Luckily for me, I only use Paypal as a convenience. So, for a while I'll just stop paying with Paypal. If I find I miss the convenience too much, I'll apply for a Paypal credit card. But, for me, linking to my bank account requires a level of trust that these communications just don't engender.
