Money sent to me is pending, how long do I have to wait until I can access it?

[MrChiron]

I live in Australia.  My daughter in the US sent me money through Paypal on October 23.  As of today it is still showing Pending.  How long do I have to wait until I can access my money? And will Paypal send me an email when the money is accessible?

[kernowlass]

@MrChiron 

Depends how she sent it, if it was using the friends/family option and its pending then sounds like an echeque.

Payments from bank accounts are not instant as paypal use the cheapest echeque option. However if you are buying goods/services and use that option then paypal credit you upfront and they take the wait for the echeque to clear. This is so any item is despatched promptly without delay.

However if its a friends/family payment from a bank account then as that is a free option, you have to take the wait

If she used the goods/services option then paypal would see you as a seller and apply the 21 day new seller hold.

[sharpiemarker]

@MrChiron 

If an eCheck was sent (click the transaction for details), it can take several days, up to 2 weeks (on the extreme side) for it to clear your bank and PayPal before funds are to be made available to you.

If a goods and services payment was sent, but subject to a PayPal hold, the hold can last for 21 days. See this post on steps to get the funds realize sooner.

[MrChiron]

She definitely chose Friends/Family.  So is there a way to gauge how long an echeque will take to clear?  Some type of rule of thumb? (5 days?  5-10 days?  5 working days? )

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@MrChiron 5-7 days.

[MrChiron]

Thank you. So tomorrow would be 5 days, and Tuesday next week would be 7.