How do you hide a dead name on PayPal?

[Wyvern-King]

Is there any way to hide a dead name while still on a personal account? It makes me sick and anxious to see my dead name every time I send an invoice for an art commission, but I do not have my name legally changed as of yet. I absolutely hate having people know my dead name and knowing people see it is just... Honestly uncomfortable.

I'm new to this whole site and just trying to make some money in commissions, but my dead name showing on invoices has made me too anxious to even send one invoice out to my clients. Would changing my name on my business information in an invoice affect my account and transactions and render them useless? I don't mind my preferred name being shared online, but having my dead name out there is something I'm really not okay with. Shouldn't PayPal have some sort of preferred name support for transgender users by now?

It's probably dumb of me to ask this, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also sorry if this is posted in the wrong area or given the wrong labels, this is my first time posting.

[sharpiemarker · Accepted solution]

@Wyvern-King 

No, only business accounts you can have another name (business name) besides your account holder or account contact name.

If you want to go under an entirely different name, then you must legally apply to change your name on your legal documents such as gov issued photo ID, SSN, passport, bills etc and then you can officially change your legal PayPal account holder name as you would have the docs to prove the name change. If PayPal doesn't let you change your account holder name even with official documents, consider opening a new account with everything under your new name and I mean EVERYTHING.

You can edit your PayPal invoices on the personal account but it may still show your previous name on the payment receipt the recipient gets but if you are so over your previous name, make it official.  PayPal accounts are a real financial instrument and real and verifiable info must be used.

[Wyvern-King]

Thank you so much for the answer and information, it means a lot to know some more about how it all works. 

I do plan on making it official, but because the courts just love to gate keep affairs in which they shouldn't, it's a lengthy and pretty expensive process to do, one which I unfortunately can't afford to do right now(hence why I started trying to make extra money in the first place, haha). I'm hoping to hit the goal soon, but I guess for now I'm just going to have to deal with it as it is, and see if trying to change my name on the invoice works.

[hydrogyny]

why are we calling this solved?

[Apolloknight]

It doesnt feel solved really, as someone who's broke and of course this dumb virus is spreading around, I cant exactly change my legal name yet so I cant be a confirmed paypal account as I use my prefer name rather than my dead name. So if paypal can allow us to have THEM know about our dead names but also to use our preferred names, it'll make it easier for everyone, but at last, they won't, since they probably want everyone to make sure that's the person they're talking to for safety reasons (so meaning a name change legally IS in order tbh)

[ClaireBradshaw]

I have successfully transitioned in the UK - I have changed my passport, drivers license, bills, bank details, job details and many other forms of identification. I have been living full time since February 2018 - I am now past the 2nd stage of gender transition in the UK. I have socially and actively transitioned to my chosen gender. 

And yet PayPal is the only organisation that ACTIVELY refuses to change my identification from old to new; every invoice I create or pay uses my old and therefore not Legal identity - why not legal? Because I signed a Deed Poll in the UK and presented it to the UK Passport office declaring my old name is no longer to be used and I will now use my new name in all official documentation - as signed by myself and witnessed by two people. 

PayPal  has to change my details. I do not want to delete an account with many years of positive activity leading back to the early days of the company. Yet PayPal is far from my "pal" in this and continues to Out me to the general public (Something for which there are protections against in the UK). 

But I guess PayPal doesn't give a damn about it's customers.  

[Wyvern-King]

That sounds like something you should speak to a lawyer for. What PayPal is doing on their end by not complying with your name change is illegal, fraudulent(on their end), and is completely discriminatory. If you’ve tried calling for a name change too with proof of your id, absolutely lawyer up and take action. Congrats on the name change too!! Always good to see fellow trans siblings living their best lives!

[ClaireBradshaw]

Hiii 🙂 Yup PayPal is breaking the law here in conducting financial transactions in a name that doesn't exist to an account with a different name on my bank account. Even my medical records use a different NHS number - all that is left is my birth certificate; and I can change that soon. PayPal will then be in an island alone. 

Then again - I'm disputing a payment yesterday where the seller wanted me to pay the Buyer protection fees and refused to send the item (Thereby breaking several PP rules) until I paid the amount - then finally refunding me when extortion didn't work. But now they have the item to resell instantly whilst I have to wait up to 30 days for the money to come back? And I can't talk too paypal about it? Except their bots which dead name me all the time?

So I guess PayPal fails all the time and a lot. 

[Wyvern-King]

Yeahhhh, it’s gonna be a *fun* time once I finally get my name changed and have to wrestle the site too. Thankfully though I get people on support calls here in the states, so that’ll help at least. Once that birth certificate is changed, definitely pursue action, because yikes! It’s a nail in the coffin for PayPal if they’re the only service still using your dead name, which legally no longer exists when connected to you as a person. PayPal is gonna get into some serious trouble for that if they don’t cooperate, and the fact they’re based in another country doesn’t help either. What they’re doing is VERY illegal here in the states, and those are the rules they have to play by for the majority of their operations. 🙂 If you can, bring this up with local LGBT media outlets and reach out to others who may have this problem, too! The more media presence is involved, the more PayPal has to fight to retain its image, AND if you get enough people involved, the lawsuit will get larger and larger until it’s p much class action if enough people step up to having the same experience. I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor!

[ClaireBradshaw]

I just tweeted "@PayPal @TheFCA #trans Dear PP I am wondering why you believe it is legal to prevent me to change my name to my new legal name as recorded in my @HM_Passport? I have attempted many times to present my Deed Poll but still you refuse. Is this #legal?"

The FCA is the UKs Financial Conduct Authority. HM_Passport is the UK Passport office.

If I close my account and open a new one, they won't care, I lose my status and they carry on treating other people like dirt too.