PayPal won’t accept non-US phone number

[TaylorK75]

I’m traveling overseas and attempted to add a Jordanian phone number. I can select the Jordanian prefix but then the number is not accepted?! The phone number field defaults to a 10 digit US format and says the number is incorrect. I can’t use PayPal because it wants to send me a verification text before I can do anything!

[kernowlass]

@TaylorK75 

Paypal is country specific so if you move countries you have to open another paypal account in the country you reside in and add an address / phone number / bank accounts / cards from within that country.

You can however add a U.S bank account (not card) to 'most' other countries paypal accounts. This is because paypal is a U.S company and so allows this.

[TaylorK75]

Thank you. I’m only visiting and was using it to purchase items back in the States where I live and ship to US addresses. Bottom line is I can’t use while overseas if I have a temporary non-US phone.

[Sean133 · Accepted solution]

You can use apps like Burner or Hushed to use a phone number that is located in another country. For example, on an iPhone with a Jordanian number you can download the app and obtain a US number which can be used for both voice calls and text messages.

[Sean133]

And, yes, Paypal - why do you give users the option of selecting a foreign country when you know a foreign phone number is not accepted? Seems to be inviting confusion.

[kernowlass]

@Sean133 

You select the country you are LIVING IN, thats pretty obvious to most folks and if you want paypal you need to contact customer services.

[Sean133]

Yes, but when you select the country you are LIVING IN, it then won't allow you to input the non-us number. It tries to force it into a US format (at least it does when I'm logged into my US account) which obviously doesn't work. I alternate between the US and Japan so maintain bank and Paypal accounts in both countries but only have a Japanese phone number. So, I couldn't provide Paypal with a phone number to verify my account and therefore couldn't access it until I found the previously-mentioned workaround. As mentioned in other posts, many people bounce around various countries for work and living and don't maintain phone numbers in all of those countries while at the same time maintaining bank accounts in each. Based on that, it seems Paypal would allow non-(country) phone numbers for accounts in (country).  Would make things a bit easier for those who are frequently in other countries. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[kernowlass]

@Sean133 

Paypal is country specific so you have to open a paypal account in the country you reside in and add an address / phone number / bank accounts / cards from within that country.

You can however add a U.S bank account (not card) to 'most' other countries paypal accounts. This is because paypal is a U.S company and so allows this.