Jumpstart reserve. What is it?

[6F22]

Yo! As the title says. Jumpstart Reserve. What's it all about?

More specifically, I am trying to locate the blurb about said reserve on the UK PayPal website and/or the UK PayPal user agreement. I could be being a total muppet, but I cannot find a thing.

The UK user agreement states:

'There are two types of reserves that may be placed on your PayPal account, and one or both may be applied at the same time...'

Then mentions the two reserves type, these being, 'Rolling' and 'Minimum' reserves.

The only info I found on the Jumpstart reserve is from US PayPal site and from an article called 'How to resolve payment on hold or unavailable funds'. Which has the two aforementioned reserves listed and then has the mystical Jumpstart reserve, and states:

'Jumpstart reserve. This is when we hold funds from your available balance immediately. For example, if we make the determination to keep a $5,000 jumpstart reserve and there is $15,000 in your account balance, we move $5,000 to reserves right away.'

So, does anyone know where this type of description would be located on anything relating to the UK PayPal user agreement?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Please and thanks. 😻

[PayPal_JonK]

Hello @6F22, 

Welcome to the PayPal Community Forum! I'm sorry to hear you've been had reserves on your account recently. I can certainly understand how frustrating they can be. Jumpstart reserves are also called Upfront reserves, which are mostly just minimum reserves that go into effect right away. Upfront reserves are mentioned in both the UK and US legal agreements under the Minimum reserve section. 

My apologies for the confusion on the wording. I hope that helps!

 - Jon K

[6F22]

@PayPal_JonK 

Yo! Mighty thanks answering my post, Jon. Appreciated. 😎👍

So it's a Minimum reserve AKA Upfront reserve AKA Jumpstart reserve.

To confirm, you're saying these three reserves are all the exact same thing? Right?!

The reason I ask is, the description on the article from the US PayPal site I quoted from above 'How to resolve payment on hold or unavailable funds' shows the Minimum and Jumpstart reserves as two separate things!?

To quote:

'Minimum reserve. This is a specific minimum amount of money you’re required to keep available in your business account. We either take the minimum reserve as a percentage of money held until it reaches a certain amount, or a one-time amount. For instance, 10% of your daily transaction volume is held until a balance of $10,000 is reached, or a one-time amount of $10,000 is taken from the available balance and deposited in the reserve balance.'

and 

'Jumpstart reserve. This is when we hold funds from your available balance immediately. For example, if we make the determination to keep a $5,000 jumpstart reserve and there is $15,000 in your account balance, we move $5,000 to reserves right away.'

On paper, they seem quite different in how they operate and obviously have different consequences for a business. For example, being hit with a sizable 'Minimum reserve' could be a pretty heavy-duty event for some.

If you could confirm on the question I pose above, I would most grateful indeed. Please and thanks! 🌈🦄

[PayPal_JonK · Accepted solution]

Hi @6F22, welcome back!

I'd be happy to clarify further. The actual amounts and percentages placed on reserve may vary depending on the merchant's business model, what's being sold, cash flow, how much information we have regarding the business, and much more. But yes, Upfront reserves are Jumpstart reserves, which is a form of a Minimum reserve. 

Most Minimum reserves may just take a specific percentage or amount of your transactions until a specific number is hit. Upfront reserves put a specific amount of your balance on reserve. 

The important thing to remember is every reserve PayPal places is going to be specific to that merchant's business model, cash flow, etc. Not every account receives a reserve or payment hold. If a hold or reserve is placed, the account owner will receive a notification detailing the amounts reserved or placed on hold, release time-frames, release criteria, and as much of the reasoning behind the reserves or holds that can be shared. 

Also, Payment Holds are more commonplace, less restrictive, and normally have a faster release time-frame than Reserves. If you're just starting off selling with PayPal, you're more likely to encounter a Payment Hold than a Reserve. You can read more about Payment Holds and their release criteria here. 

I hope that helps!

 - Jon K

[6F22]

@PayPal_JonK 

Hey, right on, cheers for the in-depth, response! Appreciated, yo! 😁👍

In your gracious reply, you said:

'If a hold or reserve is placed, the account owner will receive a notification detailing the amounts reserved or placed on hold, release time-frames, release criteria, and as much of the reasoning behind the reserves or holds that can be shared.'

Alas, I've received none of the above in 50 days since the PayPal wizards cast their spell. The very minimal information I retrieved about the reserve was by hammer and nailing the customer service phone lines. I thought maybe having an account with PayPal for 20 years might count for something. What a fool I am.

Any huw, I'll not sour the tone. You have been helpful, and I thank you for that.

[PayPal_JonK]

@6F22, 

Happy to help! Thank you for your kind words. I'm sorry to hear you haven't received any notification. At your earliest convenience, you may find a bit more assistance by contacting our Customer Support via Social Media, listed here: How do I contact PayPal customer service?
 

They can get your request for more information about any reserves placed into the right hands for review. 

Thanks for your time, and have a wonderful start to your week!

 - Jon K