Opening a paypal account in UK

[PauloGo]

Hi, 

We live in the UK. My children have bank accounts since they were 12. These are not accounts that I have in my name, etc. We visited the bank branch, they talked my children through everything they need to in order to open accounts for minors, took signatures, etc. I do not need to be in the picture when it comes to managing the bank account, cards, etc. They have even had accounts in two banks. Their own accounts. 

One of my children is now over 16, the other one will soon be. And in the UK, the legal age can be 16 years old. 

So I am finding it hard as to why it would not be possible for them to open a paypal account? It cannot be a legal restriction, as I understand that Paypal has a banking license in the UK? 

If there is a restriction, can this be overcome with my authorisation? 

Or could an account be setup by me for my child? 

[kernowlass]

@PauloGo

Because Paypals legal agreement that was approved by the FSA in the U.K state the below which you agree to when you open an account.

If an account is opened underage or they fib about their birthdate then at some point when they need to verify their account via legal documents then Paypal will see that the account was opened underage and it will be permanently limited (even if they have by that time reached 18) and they may not be allowed to open another one as they did not comply with Paypal rules in the first place.  

Whilst children can have a bank account under 18 in the UK there are restrictions on them ie they can only spend their balance and can not go overdrawn etc. Paypal is a completely different way of working in that they CREDIT the seller the funds and then Paypal take the wait for the transfer of funds from the senders bank account, in the UK that can be 5-7 days, if the transfer fails then Paypal have forked out money that may not get repaid.

1.7 Eligibility. To be eligible for our Services, you must (i) be a resident of one of the countries listed on the PayPal Worldwide page; (ii) have full legal capacity to enter into a contract; and (iii) if you are an individual, be at least 18 years old. You further represent and warrant to us in opening an Account with us that you are not acting on behalf of, or for the benefit of, anyone else, unless you are opening the Account for and under the direction of the company that employs you. If you are not acting for the company that employs you, the new Account must be in your own name only. This Agreement applies only to Users who are residents of the United Kingdom and Relevant Countries. If you are a resident of another country, you may access your agreement from the PayPal website(s) in your country (if applicable).

[PauloGo]

ok @kernowlass. 

Thanks, I had seen the terms just today as I prepared to post my original message. 

My question is to paypal - why not enable a base service appropriate for children, since they operate like a bank in the uk? 

I am about to start looking into alternatives to paypal for the services that my children want to setup on their own names, I believe stripe.com is one but just wanted to see what paypal's approach is. 

[kernowlass]

@PauloGo

If you want to ask paypal then you need to click on help / support bottom of paypal pages and ask customer services.