how did I pay for this purchase? (no money taken)

[sydnye]

I have a zero balance in my PayPal account, but I have my bank account connected to my PayPal. I made a small purchase online for downloadable content. the purchase went through and I got what I purchased, but of course, with no money in my PayPal I assumed it would take it from my bank account, but when I checked my bank statement no money was taken out for the purchase. I'm wondering what's going on, does it take a little while for it to register? ( I made the purchase today) Usually, if I make a payment online it goes into a "holds" thing on my summary but takes the money out. No money was taken out and I want to make sure that I won't have to worry about any fees or anything and I want to make sure that the money got to the right place. Thank you 🙂

[kernowlass]

@sydnye 

You never need funds in your Paypal account balance as a buyer. When you purchase an item then Paypal credit the seller for you, this is so there is no delay in the despatch of your item. Paypal will then take the wait for the funds to transfer to reimburse them.

Funds leave your funding source from a few hours up to a few days later....this is because they use the slowest (cheapest) transfer option and why they credit the seller upfront for you.

However they only take that 'risk' if you pay...

1. Bank transfer but have a back up card linked to your account as well.
2. Debit or credit card.
If you have option 1 but have no back up card linked then your payment may go as an echeque and you and the seller will have to await clearance.