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Why did PayPal make a small charge to my card?

We make this temporary charge to every card added to PayPal. When you add or edit any card in your PayPal account, we’ll make a small charge to the card to confirm that this card is available for online payments.

The charge will appear in your PayPal account activity. We don’t collect the charge, so it'll show as “pending” until we’ve confirmed your card.

Your credit card issuer may deny this authorization if your card is not enabled for online purchases or if their security system blocks the charge. Please call the number on the back of your card to confirm it's you trying to link it to PayPal and then try to add the card again.

Depending on your bank, the charge will remain for a few minutes or up to 30 days. You may see it even if your card isn't approved for use on PayPal. If the charge remains on your card after 30 days, contact your card issuer.

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