Can I Pay My Paypal Bill With A Credit Card?

PayPal offers a variety of convenient payment methods for sending money and making online purchases. But when it comes to paying your PayPal credit balance or other charges, you may be wondering – can I pay my PayPal bill with a credit card?

The short answer is no, you cannot directly pay a PayPal bill using a regular credit card. However, there are a few workarounds like paying with a debit card or external bank transfer. Keep reading to understand your payment options for clearing a PayPal balance.

Overview of Paying PayPal Bills

• PayPal does not allow payments on your PayPal credit or other balances using a standard credit card.
• You can pay your PayPal bill with a debit card, bank account, balance in your PayPal wallet, or external bank transfer.
• The only PayPal credit product you can use to pay your PayPal bill is PayPal Credit or PayPal Extras Mastercard if you have an available balance.
• To pay by credit card, you would need to transfer the money first to a bank account or debit card and then make the payment to PayPal.

Why You Can’t Directly Pay With Credit Card

PayPal does not permit customers to pay their PayPal balance, fees, or other charges directly with a credit card. There are a couple reasons behind this policy:

• Credit card processing fees – PayPal would have to pay card network fees on the transaction making it less cost effective.

• Potential overspending – Customers could overextend themselves by charging their PayPal balance to another credit card

• Risk of fraud – Fraudsters could steal credit card numbers and use them to pay off PayPal balances from illegal activity

So for various business and risk factors, PayPal only allows debit cards, direct bank payments, or your PayPal funds to pay off any outstanding balances or fees.

Alternative Ways to Pay Your PayPal Bill

While you can’t directly charge your PayPal bill to a credit card, there are a few easy workarounds:

• Transfer money to a debit card – Move funds from your credit card to a connected debit card account and use that debit card to pay your PayPal balance.

• Withdraw to external bank – Withdraw or transfer money from your credit card balance to your bank. Then connect your bank account to PayPal and use it pay your bill.

• PayPal Credit balance – Pay off your PayPal bill using available funds in your PayPal Credit account or associated PayPal Extras Mastercard, if applicable.

• PayPal Cash Card – Transfer credit card funds to your PayPal Cash Card. Use that prepaid debit card to pay your PayPal balance.

• Pay friend to pay you – Send money from your credit card to a friend via PayPal. Have them send the funds back and use that payment to clear your balance.

These methods involve extra steps but allow you to ultimately pay your PayPal obligations using your credit card account.

How to Link a Bank Account to PayPal

To pay your PayPal balance with an external bank account, you first need to link the bank to your PayPal wallet:

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click the icon in the top left corner.
3. Select Wallet from the menu.
4. Click Link a bank under Bank Accounts.
5. Enter your routing and account numbers.
6. Confirm your identity if prompted.
7. PayPal will send micro-deposits to verify the bank account.
8. Log back in, enter the amounts, and click Verify.

Once your bank is successfully linked, you can select it as a payment source when paying your PayPal balance or other fees.

Can I Use PayPal Credit to Pay My Bill?

If you have an available balance in your PayPal Credit account or associated PayPal Extras Mastercard, you can use those funds to pay your PayPal bill.

PayPal Credit is essentially a PayPal line of credit. As you make PayPal purchases using your credit line, the balance owed accrues. You can pay down your PayPal Credit balance using the following methods:

• Debit card
• Bank account
• PayPal wallet balance
• Personal check
• External account transfer

So if you have available credit, PayPal Credit gives you a way to indirectly use credit to pay your PayPal obligations. Any payment will reduce your overall PayPal Credit balance.

Paying with a PayPal Debit Card

Another option is funding your PayPal debit card or PayPal Cash Card and using it to settle your PayPal bill.

You can easily transfer money from a credit card, bank account, or other source into your PayPal prepaid debit card balance. Then use that debit card to pay the PayPal fees or credit balance owed.

Just make sure your PayPal debit card has sufficient funds to cover the full PayPal payment amount. This provides a straightforward way to pay from a debit card that’s funded by your credit card.

Tips for Paying Your PayPal Bill on Time

• Mark your monthly due date on your calendar so you remember to make the payment.

• Set up automatic payments through your bank account or debit card to ensure on-time payments.

• Check your PayPal account regularly to stay on top of any pending balances or fees owed.

• Contact PayPal customer service if you expect delays or need to arrange alternate payment plans.

• Avoid late fees by paying at least the minimum amount due before the monthly cutoff time.

• Take advantage of any promotional offers for deferred interest or extended payment plans.

Keeping your PayPal account balance cleared ensures you can continue sending money or making convenient online purchases through PayPal.

PayPal Balance Refunds and Overpayments

If you ever overpay your PayPal bill or have excess funds in your account balance, you can easily request a refund.

To withdraw a PayPal balance refund to your credit card:

1. Click your account icon and go to Wallet.
2. Click Withdraw Money.
3. Select Refund to original payment method.
4. Choose the transaction with the overpaid amount.
5. Confirm the refund amount and credit card.
6. Complete any identity verification steps.

The money will be credited back to the original credit card used to overpay the funds. Keep in mind credit card refunds can take an additional 5-10 days to process.

Contact PayPal Customer Service

If you have any issues paying your PayPal bill or linking a bank account, the customer service team can help troubleshoot:

• Visit the PayPal Resolution Center and click Contact Us
• Call 1-888-221-1161 anytime
• Twitter: @AskPayPal
• Facebook: @PayPal

Before contacting, gather any relevant account statements, payment verification, or error details. This helps the agent efficiently troubleshoot the issue.

Is PayPal Bill Pay with Credit Card Worth It?

While paying your PayPal obligations directly with a credit card isn’t possible, the workarounds involve fees or cumbersome transfers. Before jumping through hoops, consider whether it makes financial sense:

• Does the credit card charge a balance transfer fee?
• Will you owe interest on the credit card balance before it’s paid off?
• Does the convenience outweigh the extra steps?

Crunch the numbers to see if transferring your balance to pay via debit or bank account may be a simpler option. This can help avoid unnecessary interest charges or fees.

Alternative Online Payment Methods

If paying your PayPal bill with a credit card is important, you may want to consider using alternative online payment services.

Companies like Stripe, Authorize.net, and Amazon Pay allow credit card payments for balances owed. This gives you more flexibility in funding options compared to PayPal.

However, PayPal remains the leader in ecommerce transactions and offers competitive rates. If you can work within their payment restrictions, PayPal provides hard to beat convenience, purchase protection, and worldwide acceptance.

The Bottom Line

PayPal does not permit direct payments on your account balance using everyday credit cards. But by transferring your balance to a bank account, debit card, or PayPal Credit, you can still ultimately use credit card funds.

While not ideal, these workarounds give options for clearing your PayPal bill or fees owed using your available credit. Just allow some extra time and steps for the money transfers between accounts.