Using PayPal Debit Card with Multiple Curriencies

[Seeley]

I plan to set up a new PayPal account, with balances in two currencies -- US Dollars and British Pounds.  I understand that when I make PayPal purchases, payment is taken from the same currency first, then exchanged from the primary currency if there is not enough in the same currency.  

I also plan to get a PayPal debit card to use on this account.  

Question:  When making purchases with the PayPal debit card will it also take from balances in the same currency first, or will it always take from US Dollars -- even if I am purchasing something in British Pounds (and have plenty of British Pounds available in my PayPal account?)  

If these debit card purchases do always take from US dollars, is it possible to get a second debit card on the same account that is based in British Pounds, and will pay in British Pounds?  

If it is not possible to have this second debit card on the same account is it possible to get a set up a new account, based in British Pounds and get a Britsh Pound based PayPal Debit card for it?    

Thanks in advance!

[rjh92 · Accepted solution]

From my experience, the Paypal debit card works the same as clicking "Pay with Paypal" on a website. It will take what it can from the currency of the transactioin first, then take the rest from either another currency, or a linked bank account/credit card. I have paid for things in GBP with my Paypal debit card, and it has come out of my Paypal account as GBP. If little or no GBP were available, it would take out the rest in USD from my USD balance at the current exchange rate. If you plan to have plenty of GBP available in your account, you should be fine, and any transaction done in GBP should be taken out in GBP. 

As for you next question, you can get more than one debit card for the same Paypal account, but they will both draw from the balance indiscriminately (they cannot, to my knowledge, be set to a specific currency). 

And finally, yes, it is possible to have two differnent accounts. Paypal allows you to have one personal account and one Business account. If, however, you try to set up two personal or two business accounts, this will not work, and would not be allowed. If you did do the two different accounts, you would be able to keep whichever currency you liked in either one. But remember, personal accounts have many limitations and restrictions and this can be annoying if you want to move a lot of money. 

Hope this helps 🙂

[Seeley]

This is VERY helpful.  Thank you so much!