How can I set my credit card to be the default payment method?

[meshmesh]

I added a bank account and a credit card to my paypal. Whenever I try to make a purchase, it defaults to the back account. How can I change it to use my credit card instead?

[PayPal_Adrian]

meshmesh -

Welcome to the boards!

If you have both a bank account and a credit card on file, the default funding method for your account will always be an Instant Transfer from a bank account.  However, if you want to charge your card, you still have the option at each checkout to designate the card as the source of your payment.  To do so, click on "More Options" during the checkout process and you'll be able to switch it over to that card for that payment.

Thanks!

Adrian

[doris406]

Adrian -

The real issue here is that people want their credit cards to be their default payment method, and paypal stubbornly refuses to let their clients set their own preferences.  Yes, you can pay by credit card instead, but I at least, resent having to make the same change every single time i use paypal, and getting that doubly annoying "you're sure you want to do that" prompt.  Paypal has become a lot less user friendly over time.  I'm starting to use my credit card directly for ebay purchases

[JFC]

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@PayPal_Adrian wrote:

meshmesh -

Welcome to the boards!

If you have both a bank account and a credit card on file, the default funding method for your account will always be an Instant Transfer from a bank account.  However, if you want to charge your card, you still have the option at each checkout to designate the card as the source of your payment.  To do so, click on "More Options" during the checkout process and you'll be able to switch it over to that card for that payment.

Thanks!

Adrian

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I guess he has that answer in macro. Adrian: it's a bad idea, please change this policy and add an option to change the primary payment method.

[ca_scottsa]

Adrian,

With regard to the contstant reply from PayPal that the user can "simply" change the method of paymend during checkout:

This is a GARBAGE response.

Please note and respect I am being as polite as I can be!

I have been a very long-standing user of this service. I now ONLY use this service when I have no other proper options. When I use PayPal, I don't want to use the bank account, I actaully WANT to use my credit card. My reasons are irrelevant to this discission.

What IS relavant is that it is my choice as to how I want to pay and it, NOT PAYPAL!

PayPal gets its pound of flesh for the service it provides.

In the past, a helpful person from PayPal customer service got frustrated with my many requests and deleted my bank account. This, of course, put me into another of PayPal's frustrating traps because it is now mandatory to have one.

What has happened in the past, and it is very annoying as well, is when I forget to make the change, it takes time for the transaction to be rejected, then the day the currency conversion takes place is different and I LOSE AGAIN, because PayPal won't let me make the transaction THE WAY I WANT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT, WHEN I WANT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT.

To say that I get ticked off each and every time i go to pay for something is an understatement. After having just purcased several low-value items through eBay, my blood presure has been elevated... just a tad! But I presume you've noticed.

Every chance I can pay for something through other valid and acceptable means, I do. I will continue to do so until PayPal smartens up and lets me set the default WAY I WANT TO PAY -- WITH MY CREDIT-CARD!

-- a VERY ticked-off user!

PS. I know _why_ PayPal does it this way, so they don't have to give the Credit Card companies a % of the transaction. It is a cost of doing business. PayPal already factors that into their fees, so this is basically DOUBLE-DIPPING by PayPal against its users! That is unethical, but we are powerless to do anyting about it because of the monopoly on eBay.

[GrandpaLarry777]

Greetings,

I have yet to find a way to easily change the default payment to a credit card but if you are concerned about your bank account being directly linked to your PayPal account, you can do what I did...Remove your bank account.

Here are the steps I took.

1. When you are in your PayPal account, click Profile toward the top of the page

2. Be sure your have a "Confirmed" credit card registered at PayPal

3. In the box on the click the My Money link

4. Click Update in the Bank Account area

5. Click the Remove button at the bottom of the Bank Account page

Once you get through any warning messages and the page that prompts you to register a Bank Account the default payment method will switch your "default" credit card account.

You should receive confirmation email about the change.

Hope this helps...BTW, it isn't that I distrust PayPal, it's just putting another layer of security between me and anyone who might hack them.

GrandpaLarry777

[PayPal_Adrian]

Before we go any further, let's clear one thing up:

PayPal has never been hacked.  Ever.

That out of the way, I strongly recommend against removing the bank account.  You lose your Verified status immediately upon removing the bank, and this can affect not only your available funding sources, but some sellers on eBays only accept payments from Verified buyers.  In some instances, removing a bank account from a PayPal account that has already reached it's lifetime sending limit can prevent the account from sending any money until it becomes Verified again.

If bank account security is one of your greatest concerns, there are a few things you might consider to help put your security fears at ease.

The first would be to either get a physical security key or a text message SMS key (SMS keys are free!).  This prevents anyone who doesn't have your key, your cell phone, or your full financial information anyways from getting into your account.

The second would be to simply have a separate bank account for PayPal and eBay.  Most banks will allow you to open a secondary checking account for free, especially if you already have one, and you can keep just enough money in it for your purchases. 

Thanks!

Adrian

[GrandpaLarry777]

It is very interesting that I lost my Verified status when I removed my bank account for a couple of reasons.

1.  I don't remember anywhere during the removal did I see ANYTHING about losing my verified status.

2.  What about ME changed just because I removed some of MY personal information.  I never changed my name, address, phone number, log in information, etc.  I didn't even change my CONFIRMED credit card.  How did that one change make ME unverified?

I'm sure that it is a PayPal policy, but just like the inability to make my credit card my DEFAULT payment method it needs to investigated and changed for the benefit of its USERS.

Will my actions and this email make any difference?  Probably not...it may not even get posted.

[bormo]

Folks, I have same problem I do not want to remove my bank account but I have to have my CC as default source. Reason - I have banking plan with limited transactions per month. Yes, I can change it each time I paying with PayPal, but what about recurring payments? I have about hundred domains with autorenew, so about hundred transactions per year, and dollar for each. So I switched there from PayPal to CC. For me PP still more useful for paying in USA, from Canada - conv rate is better than on CC but this "feature" eats all difference. For now I switched to Cc about $3000 a year and if it won't be changed, I'll switch about &10,000 more. Peter

[ess_tee]

Hello,

I had removed my bank account and discovered that once you reach a certain limit your Paypal account becomes unusable unless you add a bank account.
 
My question: Has anyone ever received a valid and intelligent answer from Paypal other that to say "that’s the way it is"
 
Or are they refusing to allow the default to be changed intentionally to annoy clients

Or is this a deal they made in order to have Paypal in Canada and to ease Revenue Canada's efforts in trying to tax on-line purchasing?