Is Vanilla prepaid visa gift card decline paypal ?

[LewisUS]

I can not add my Vanilla prepaid visa gift card with my paypal. Anyone have this same situation as me?

[kernowlass]

@SolidSonicTH 

Or you could try actually READING???

I wrote..........

Paypal does not accept all cards so you may get the message the card is declined.

If the Visa you are trying to add is virtual or issued online you may need to try another card.

[MsFuddleDuddle]

I have been having this problem too. I have two, $500 Visa Vanilla gift cards bought in cash from the local drugstore. When I go to VanillaGift.com and enter the card info, it says that the cards have already been activated (which they were at the register). There is no option to re-activate or enter personal payment information or anything of the sort. They appear to be fine on that end. But when I try to link these cards to PayPal, it says they have been declined by the issuing bank. I tried contacting PayPal support via chat and they said to contact the card issuer because the problem is not PayPal's.

So I called the number on the back of the card and was transferred to the absolute most useless call center. I cannot understand a word they say (appears to be in India or Bangladesh or elsewhere in that part of the world), and they get annoyed when (as politely and calmly as I can) I mention that I am having trouble understanding them, and ask them to repeat. First they said Visa Vanilla was not allowed for use with "mobile wallets" (I tried the card also with Venmo, which I didn't know was also a PayPal company, and later CashApp), and then that I should try ordering directly from a merchant or using it in person. So I tried buying something online that I know I already intended to get, and it was declined there too. But according to some respondents here, it is a PayPal problem and not a Visa one? I just don't know what to believe at this point anymore.

I am caught in a kind of catch-22, as I am in the US and trying to purchase a gift for someone from a small business in Canada that uses Shopify as its storefront operator. Apparently(?), come to find out that Visa Vanilla cards can only be used directly with merchants in the country of purchase. The workaround to do international purchases is to go through PayPal... but either PayPal or Visa (one or the other, or both) will not allow me to use the cards on PayPal! What is the use of these things if you're geolocked in a global marketplace in the year 2023? Why all the frustrating red tape? Someone fix this please!

[MarcLeBlanc]

Issue on Vanilla end for sure around time they added captcha to their site this issues started occurring.

I figure whatever system changes they made broke everything pretty much impossible to use anywhere.

Only works at walmart and stuff like that. Will bind to amazon but will be declined by amazon

[HS1212]

Spoke to Vanilla and it's actually on their issuing bank side (Metabank, Sutton Bank etc.). Unfortunately I do not have a solution but only this information. My paypal linked gift card worked fine on 03/23 and when I tried again in May for an online purchase, it declined for same merchant. Vanilla support told me it is unlikely to be solved by them alone since it's the issuing bank's policy. I hope that is not true as that pretty much makes their cards useless for online purchases.

[Cprasse]

I have the same issue except also with Google wallet and PayPal and my card is virtual. I tried calling Vanilla and got to speak to a customer service rep after hitting the option for report lost/stolen card and they immediately offered the option of giving me a refund via mailed check. I'd try that option if anyone else is also at their wits end with this stupid gift card.

[cluex]

So I'm trying to add a physical vanilla visa gift card to my paypal, since apparently it doesn't work for the places I want to spend at. It has $100 balance and is activated when I called customer services. When I try to add it, it says that "Your card was declined by the issuing bank. Please try a different card or contact your card issuer with questions."

Any fix/way to add it?

[kernowlass]

@cluex 

Paypal does not accept all cards so if you get the message the card is declined you would need to add an alternate one.

[I3e4ns]

The vanilla website clearly states you can add the card to Apple Pay. But does not work, please explain that?

[kernowlass]

@I3e4ns 

No idea, this is a paypal forum not Apple Pay !!

[Revcorkesr]

My redemption worked 2 weeks ago but not now