PayPal doesn't follow card preferences for automatic payment

[himig888]

Hi. I have a couple of cards linked to PayPal. I just noticed that in a recent recurring automatic payment, PayPal used a DIFFERENT card from the one I had set up. The card that was charged is presently set up as my default one. But I confirmed under "Manage (merchant) Payments" that for the funding source for this automatic payment, PayPal would use my balance first, then the original card I had set up. So now the charge is on my other card, not the one I prefer to use for this specific subscription.

Is this a bug? Short of setting my default to the other card (or shifting once a month for my subscriptions -- I have a couple), anything I can/should do?

[PayPal_Megan]

Hello @himig888,

I understand there may be some confusion with your automatic payment preferences.

Your default payment method in your PayPal Wallet is the preferred method of payment for all general payments and purchases. Automatic Payments have a preferred funding source that can be selected for each Automatic Payment agreement. You can change your payment method for specific payment agreements that will be used if your balance can't fund the payment.

I hope this clears up your question.

Have a great day!

-Megan S.

[TheReverendBlue]

Bear with me, please, but I am something of a technophobe. Does your reply mean that PayPal will automatically take enough funds out of my PayPal account to fully, and timely, pay off my PayPal credit card balance each month?

[PayPalMichelleW]

Hello @TheReverendBlue, 

Welcome to the Community! That's a great question. Here's some information about making payments to PayPal Smart Connect, PayPal Credit, PayPal Extras Mastercard, eBay Extras Mastercard, or PayPal Cashback Mastercard. If you have additional questions, you can contact the card issuer directly. I hope this helps.

Thanks!

MichelleW

[himig888]

Thanks for the reply @PayPal_Megan. I do understand that, but to clarify my situation:

I have Card B set as my default preferred card. Whenever I make payments, this card is automatically suggested by PayPal.

I have Card A, which is set as the card for my automatic payment. This has always been my card for this automatic payment; in fact, this card and the automatic payment pre-dated Card B. I added Card B fairly recently.

So again, Card A has always (and from checking, still is) set as my source for my automatic payment. Card B is set as my default preferred card.

Now, for my most recent automatic payment this October (I haven't checked previous months), PayPal charged Card B instead of Card A as set.

It sounds like a bug / error to me? It is a bit of a big deal, since the very reason I have this set up this way is that I am managing my expenses in a particular way between Card A and Card B.

Hope to get further clarity here, or better yet, resolution (this situation or anything close to it does not appear anywhere in PayPal resolution center so I can't raise it there).