Paypal Mastercard decline after entering correct PIN

[joewakeford80]

Why does my PayPal Mastercard sometimes default to request a PIN in a physical shop (for example for a £20 transaction), then when I enter the correct PIN the screen on the card reader refreshes and asks for me to re-enter the PIN. I do that for the second time and it then declines the payment. I have many £thousands in my PayPal account and the card is linked to a bank account and bank card both with money in. So what is the reason for the decline? Any ideas? Otherwise it usually works fine.

[PayPal_Michael]

Hello, @joewakeford80. That's a very good question. Thanks for adding it here on the PayPal Community Forum.

The likely reason you're being asked to enter your PIN is due to regulations instituted a few years ago that require transactions to undergo Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) and/or 3-D Secure authentication (3DS). It's also possible some information may be out of date, and checking your PayPal account Wallet and/or Profile may address that.

One of PayPal's highest priorities is security, but we apologize for any inconvenience if a card is declined when you are using it. The amount of funds in your PayPal account balance would not be a factor in this situation. Please check out https://www.paypal.com/smarthelp/article/faq3854 for more information.

I hope this is helpful. Thanks for being a part of the PayPal Community.

Sincerely,

Michael

PayPal_Michael

[joewakeford80]

Thanks for your reply, however, the SCS and/or 3DS requirement doesn't explain why the behaviour results in a decline every time a PIN is requested.

The PayPal account is used for business and is rigorously kept up to date. So this is a mystery. Any other thoughts?

[joewakeford80]

We are using this card in the Czech Republic.

Situation 1: card requests PIN for a transaction over 500CZK
- APPROVED

Situation 2: card requests PIN for a transaction under 500CZK
- DECLINED (always)