Why can't I pay with PayPal Credit?

Here are some common reasons why you may be unable to pay with PayPal Credit, and what you can do:

  • Your purchase attempt might exceed your available credit.

    You can view your current credit line and available credit by logging in to PayPal and clicking PayPal Credit on your Dashboard. 
     
    If you made a payment toward your PayPal Credit balance to increase your available credit, check your balance to make sure that the payment has posted to your account. It may take several business days for the available credit to reflect the amount of your payment. 
     
    If you paid with PayPal Credit and the seller hasn’t processed the transaction, it may impact your available credit. If you wish to cancel a pending order like this, please contact the seller. Once canceled, it should be removed from your account within 30 days. If a canceled pending order is still on your account and you believe it's causing your later purchase attempt to be declined, you can request that we manually remove it by calling the number on the back of your statement.  
     
    Approval of a transaction that makes you go over your credit limit is not treated as an increase to your credit limit. You can request a credit line increase by calling the customer service number on your monthly statement. However, Synchrony Bank, the issuer of the PayPal Credit account, may, from time to time, review your account and other information to determine whether or not to increase your credit line, including after approval of such a transaction. You will not be able to request a credit line increase for a period of time after you open the account.

  • Your purchase attempt might need further verification.

For your account security, we check to make sure the information provided during checkout matches your account details. If the information can’t be verified, the purchase will be declined. 

Please make sure the information entered on the seller’s website matches the details in your PayPal account.  

Here are some common things to check:
  • Is your name spelled the same? Avoid using nicknames or abbreviations.
  • Is the phone number the same one we have on your PayPal account?
  • Does the email address you entered match the email address we use to communicate with you?
  • Did you enter the correct billing address at checkout? Is your billing address different than your shipping address?
  • Your PayPal Credit account could be closed.

    You can check the status of your PayPal Credit account by checking your most recent billing statement. If your account was closed as of the date of this billing statement, a notification will appear under the section titled "Important Account Information." If your account is open, there’ll be no notification in this section. 
  • PayPal Credit might not be offered for all purchases.

    Depending on the circumstances or type of purchase, you could be restricted from using your credit line even if the seller accepts PayPal Credit. Please try to complete your purchase using another available payment method. 

More ways we can help

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