Is your PayPal account limited? Here’s what you need to know.

May 21 2019 | PayPal Editorial Team

If your PayPal account has been limited, you will be unable to do certain things, like sending or withdrawing money. Keep reading to learn more about PayPal account limits; what they are, why they get placed on an account and how you can get them removed.
As a small-business owner, you want to process payments, pay suppliers and access your money without a hitch. Therefore, it’s important to understand what PayPal account limits are and how to either avoid them or to deal with them as quickly as possible. That way, you shouldn’t encounter a withdrawal limit or sending limit when it’s least convenient for your business.

What are PayPal account limits (or limitations)?

Account limitations are temporary restrictions placed on a specific account that could prevent you withdrawing, sending or receiving money. Having limitations on an account doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve done anything wrong. They are implemented when we see unusual or suspicious activity to help protect both PayPal buyers and sellers. Limitations also help us collect information necessary for keeping your account open, and they help ensure our customers are protected.

Why does PayPal limit an account?

There can be several reasons for an account limitation:
 
  • An unauthorised person may be using your account.  If PayPal believes someone is using your account without your knowledge, the account could be limited to protect you from fraudulent charges while we investigate the suspicious transactions. Similar steps may be taken if your bank or card issuer advises us that someone has used your bank account or card without permission.
  • Your account may not comply with regulatory requirements.  Limitations can also be placed on an account if we find that it does not comply with regulations. For example, if you receive donations, you’re required to provide documents confirming you are a registered non-profit organisation. PayPal may limit your account while you gather those documents or while we’re working with you to satisfy any other regulatory requirements. The same is true if you don’t follow PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy—for example, selling banned items, such as prescription drugs or guns.
  • Your account may have a high number of claims and chargebacks. When there’s a high number of buyer claims and chargebacks to your account, we may review your account. While we’re reviewing, you may experience an account limitation.
  • There may be sudden, rapid changes in what or how much you sell. If you start to sell an entirely new type of product, specifically higher-end items like jewellery, or if there’s a rapid increase in sales volume, your account may be limited while PayPal reviews it.

How will I know if PayPal limits my account?

In most cases, you will first learn about an account limitation by email or by seeing a notification on your account overview page. Responding to this warning quickly – by logging in to your PayPal account and taking the necessary actions – may help you avoid account limitations altogether. However, if you realise in some other way that your account has been limited, log in to your PayPal Business account and visit the Resolution Centre. There, you can review details of why your account has been limited. You’ll also find requests for information from PayPal that will help resolve the matter.

Requests will vary depending on the issue, but possibilities include:

  • Invoices from your suppliers
  • ​Information about payments
  • Proof of shipment, tracking information, and buyers’ information
  • Proof of address
  • Proof of identity
If you received an email stating that your account is limited but don't see anything in the Resolution Centre, you may have received a fake or phishing email. Forward it to spoof@paypal.com and we’ll investigate it for you. After you send us the email, delete it from your inbox. If you clicked on any links or downloaded any attachments within the suspicious email or website, close out of it immediately, run an antivirus check, and then change your password and security questions.

What is the effect of having my PayPal account limited?

If PayPal limits your account, you will probably be unable to send or withdraw money. You may also find that you can’t receive money, accept payments or add money to your account. In most cases, we’ll email you or you’ll see an alert on your Account Overview before a limitation goes into effect. If you log in to your PayPal account and promptly take whatever action is requested (for example sending information requested by PayPal), you may be able to prevent the limit taking effect.

How can I remove sending, receiving and withdrawal limits?

Initially, on set-up, all PayPal accounts are ‘Unverified’ and have limits on sending, receiving and withdrawing money. To remove these limits and to comply with EU law, we will ask you to verify more information about yourself by completing some or all of the steps below:
 
  1. Add and confirm your bank.
  2. Link and confirm a credit or debit card.
  3. Provide business information (Business accounts only).
By setting up bank funding, your PayPal account will become Verified. If your PayPal account has already been verified (i.e. it is not a new account), then visit the Resolution Centre (as described above) to read why your account has been limited and what information is required from you to resolve the matter and remove the limitations.

How quickly does PayPal remove account limitations?

The time needed to have PayPal limits lifted varies depending on the issue. The fastest way to keep the process moving is to provide the requested information as quickly as you can. Once you have, we’ll get back to you, usually in 3 business days or less, with the next steps. We may need to request additional information.
Tip: You can view your account status at any time in the Resolution Centre. If for any reason you can’t complete the necessary steps to remove the limitations, contact Customer Service directly for help.

I've completed the steps to remove my limitation. Why is my account still limited?

If you've completed the steps requested in the Resolution Centre and your account is still limited, it means one of 2 things:
 
  1. We've sent you an email asking for more information, or
  2. We're still reviewing your case, and we'll email you with our decision, usually within 3 business days.
The information in these articles does not constitute financial, business or investment advice of any kind and does not count as a substitute for any professional advice. Always do your own research on top and seek professional advice if you want to ensure that what you do is right for your specific circumstances. Where we link to other websites, we can't be responsible for their content.

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