lengthy transaction time

[MorgantownKevin]

Why does it take a week to transfer money from my bank checking account to my PayPal balance, but it takes only a day to transfer money to a friend?  I could have mailed a check via U.S. Mail much quicker than that, and we all know how slow the U.S. Mail is!  I am SO frustrated with PayPal's delays sometimes.  It's almost if they don't use their own service to see how bad it can be sometimes.

[kernowlass]

@MorgantownKevin 

Transfers from bank accounts are never instant as Paypal use electronic transfers ie echeques (cheaper but slower).

Funds normally leave your bank account from a few hours > few days later but they take several working days to clear through to the seller/Paypal as they go via ACH in batches.

Its called instant because normally Paypal credit the seller upfront and then Paypal take the wait for the funds to transfer, this is so you get your item without delay.

However there are times however when its you and the seller / recipient that take the wait for the echeque to clear and here are some of the reasons...

1. Back up card has expired or needs updating.
2. You have had a recent negative balance or failed bank transfer (so paypal are not going to credit the seller in advance in case it happens again).
3. For some high cost riskier payments / transactions.
4. Friends / family payments *funded from a bank account* as this option is free then its you that takes the wait this time.
5. Clearing a negative balance.

[MorgantownKevin]

kernowlass,

Even tho you make some points that are probably correct, you sound like somebody who works for PayPal that doesn't want to acknowledge the problem with their (sometimes, not always) slow service.   Venmo (which I've been told is owned by PayPal) has always provided next day transfer service.  Zelle, another transfer service, always provides next day transfer service.  They are also free, so your argument that "free takes longer" doesn't affect them like maybe it does PayPal.

I'd be happy with 2 or maybe even 3 days.  But a WEEK?  Totally unacceptable.  A bank check via U.S. Mail is much faster than that, and electronic payments are supposed to be much faster than U.S. Mail.  That's a main purpose to do things electronically!

Transferring money from my checking account to my PayPal balance should be very fast, because I am on both ends of the transaction and there's no way PayPal can lose due to a fraudulent transaction or other issue.  Yesterday my transfer finally went through after 8 days!

Usually I get next day speed with PayPal "friends and family", so it is not consistent.  I have been a PayPal member for almost 20 years, never violated their rules or had questionable transactions, have plenty of cash in my checking account, no expired credit cards, no failed transfers, no negative balance, no high-cost transactions, so none of the possible reasons you gave apply.  Most importantly, I do similar transactions with Venmo and Zelle and never have these problems.  So even tho PayPal may have their reasons for these delays, they could correct the problem if they really wanted to compete effectively with Venmo (their sister company) and Zelle.  Apparently they don't care enough to do that.

PayPal can run their business the way they want to, but I don't have to like it, and I don't use them whenever I have another option.

[kernowlass]

@MorgantownKevin 

Gosh never heard that one before, because I post information telling you why echecks are slower than instant payments then I must work for Paypal?  🤔

I am telling you what the BANKS tell you, some transfer options are slower as per my list above as they are CHEAPER for Paypal.

Others are faster ie when you withdraw to a debit card because you pay the FEE.

OR when Paypal credit a seller for you to enable quick dispatch of items and Paypal take the wait this time for the echeck to clear.

I am just giving you the FACTS whether you or I ''like' them or not is immaterial to those facts. 

If you prefer other payment processors that may use the more instant transfer option then what's the issue? Feel free to use them instead.

I stick to Paypal as most of my 'buyers' prefer using it.

[MorgantownKevin]

The reason I said it sounds like you work for PayPal is because you seem to be happy with their (sometimes) ridiculously slow service (8 days just to transfer cash from my own checking account to my own PayPal cash balance!), when it is clear they could improve their speed if they really wanted to (like Venmo and Zelle do).  But maybe you're right that by being so slow they are making more money, and I don't fault anybody for making money.  But it won't help PayPal's reputation for being so slow or inconsistent, compared to their competitors.

And my opinion of your "facts" IS material, because some people I deal with use only PayPal (not Venmo or Zelle), so sometimes I have no choice but to use PayPal if I want to deal with my people.  PayPal has been around longer, and some people don't want to sign up for another service (like Venmo or Zelle).

In the end, your advice did not help me solve my PayPal problem at all.  You may have explained WHY it can be so slow, but I want to know how I can speed things up.  Again, 2-3 days would be acceptable.  I don't need "instant".  But 8 days!  C'mon, nobody should be happy with that.

[kernowlass]

@MorgantownKevin 

Sorry my advice was not helpful and I could only explain how it worked.

Not sure how you expect someone that does NOT work for Paypal on a 'user to user' community forum to be able to solve your issue and change Paypals policies for you, so, for the advice I did give that was not appreciated, you're welcome !!