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PayPal and your debit card

Linking your card can save you time on online purchases.

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By

Tim Falk

Updated

Fact checked

By linking your PayPal account to your debit card, credit card or bank account, you can pay for your online purchases and send quick and convenient international money transfers without entering your card or account information each time.

How does PayPal work?

PayPal’s online payments system lets you send and receive money online from almost anywhere in the world. It uses encryption software to help people send electronic money transfers to other PayPal customers, allowing you to instantly pay for purchases online and on your phone.

There are three ways you can pay for purchases through your PayPal account:

  • Using your PayPal balance: This is always the first option when buying something online.
  • Using your bank account: You can link your current account to your PayPal account to pay for purchases online.
  • Using your credit or debit card: You can also add money to PayPal from your debit card or credit card.

To add a new debit card:

  1. Log in to your PayPal account with your email address and password.
  2. Click the Wallet option in the menu at the top of the page.
  3. Click on Link a credit or debit card and then click on Debit or credit card.
  4. Enter your card number, card type, expiration date, CVV and billing address.
  5. Click Link card.

In some cases, you may need to confirm your card with PayPal by requesting a PayPal code. To do this you will need to:

  1. Log in to your account.
  2. Click Wallet followed by the card you want to confirm.
  3. Click the Confirm card link.
  4. Check that the information is correct, and then click OK.
  5. Wait for the £0.01 temporary charge to be applied to your debit card.
  6. Navigate back to your Wallet and then to the card that needs to be confirmed. Enter the 4-digit code that appeared on your bank statement or transaction history along with the £1 charge from PayPal and click Confirm.

You can now add money to PayPal from your debit card.

Linking a credit card to PayPal is exactly the same as linking a debit card – just follow the same steps from above.

How do I remove a debit or credit card from my PayPal account?

If you no longer want your debit card to be linked to your PayPal account:

  1. Log in to your PayPal account with your email address and password.
  2. Click the Wallet link near the top of the page.
  3. Click the card you’d like to remove and then click Remove card, which is near the bottom of the page.
  4. Click Remove this card.

Bottom line

It’s easy to link your PayPal account to a debit card, credit card or bank account so that you can spend your money online without having to enter your card or account information for each purchase. But to make your money even more accessible, compare current accounts to find one that offers online banking, good customer service and money management options that fit your needs.

PayPal and debit cards FAQ

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