What Do I Do If My PayPal Payment Was Declined?

Here are some helpful tips of things you can try if your PayPal payment has been declined.

PayPal is an American company operating an international online payment system. It supports electronic money transfer, and it is, therefore, an alternative to traditional paper methods such as money orders and checks. In a bid to improve safety when it comes to online transactions, not every PayPal payment gets approved. However, this may not have anything to do with your account activities. PayPal reviews every transaction, and payment can be declined if there is a pattern associated with risks that are higher than usual. Below is a rundown of things you can try if your PayPal payment has been declined.

Confirm the Recipient's Phone Number or Email address

Payment could be declined if you have made errors when entering the recipient's details. Double-check to ensure that the recipient's email or phone number is entered correctly.

Change the Payment method at checkout

If you have linked just one payment method to your PayPal account, then it is advisable to add other payment methods. You can add your bank account, debit card, or credit card. These options will go a long way in increasing your flexibility at checkout.

Contact your Card Issuer

The problem may be originating from your card issuer or bank. In such a case, then the decline will have something to do with fund source and not necessary PayPal. Therefore, you may have to contact your bank or card issuer.

Contact PayPal

You can also contact PayPal customer service. There are several ways to do this. For instance, you can contact PayPal customer support directly via their phone number phone or email. Alternatively, you can contact PayPal by GetHuman for a more swift response. Either way, you have to explain your issue, provide the details that will be required, and wait for your problem to be resolved.

The Bottom Line

Overall, it is apparent that for some security reasons, your PayPal payments may be declined. However, you do not have to worry because there are a number of things you can do to solve this problem. Besides, you can contact PayPal customer support directly or by GetHuman, report your issue, and wait for your issue to be resolved within a few hours.

Further questions?

Ask a followup or related question and we will try to provide an answer in seconds.
Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.

Help from Real People

We partner with a US-based company with live tech support experts available 24/7. Take advantage of a $5 one-week trial membership and chat with an expert now.
Chat with an expert

Why does GetHuman Write How-to Guides for PayPal Problems?

GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like PayPal in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our What Do I Do If My PayPal Payment Was Declined? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.

PayPal

Asked 5 years ago
Viewed 490,794 times
PayPal
Dispute a Charge
PayPal account
declined payment
payment issues
report an issue
Dispute a Charge

Speak to An Expert Now

We partner with a US-based expert help site to provide you with tech support 24/7. Enjoy a $5 one-week trial membership and chat with a live expert now.
Get Live Expert Help
Was this page helpful?YesNeeds work
Sharing is what powers GetHuman's free customer service contact information and tools. You can help!