Add money to paypal from prepaid card

Suits Me Simplified: Banking 101

Table of Contents Show

Connecting your Prepaid Card to your PayPal Account
Are There any Restrictions with Prepaid Cards when I Shop using PayPal?
Does PayPal have a Prepaid Card Option?
Where can I use PayPal’s Prepaid Card?
Related Posts
Linking Your Card To PayPal
Make Purchases On Your Card Through PayPal
Load Your Card From Your PayPal Balance
Move Money Off Your Card To Your PayPal Balance
Load Your Card From Your Checking Account
Move Money Off Your Card To Your Checking Account
Send Money From Your Card To A Friend
Receive Money To Your Card From A Friend
Can you transfer money from prepaid card to PayPal?
How do I add money to my PayPal with a prepaid debit card?
How do I transfer money from a prepaid card?

Here’s everything you need to know about using your Prepaid Card with PayPal

It’s hard to imagine a time before online shopping, and PayPal is undoubtedly one of the most popular services for making payments for goods and services. PayPal allows the user to make online purchases using various methods using credit or debit cards, prepaid cards, and bank transfers, to name a few. Here’s a rundown on how to shop using PayPal and your prepaid card.

Connecting your Prepaid Card to your PayPal Account

You can connect most types of cards to your PayPal account. This service accepts all the major credit and debit cards as well most prepaid cards. All you need to do to connect your prepaid card is to go into your PayPal settings and select the “Link Card” option. Then follow the prompts and fill in all the relevant fields. To verify that the card has been accepted, PayPal will automatically deduct a nominal amount from this card, but you will be reimbursed once you have confirmed the card.

Are There any Restrictions with Prepaid Cards when I Shop using PayPal?

For the most part, as long as the online vendor you are shopping from offers PayPal as a payment option, you can use the funds in your prepaid card account. However, you will not be able to use gift cards from specific stores via PayPal, even if you purchase from that store.

If you want to use your prepaid card for regular payments, such as subscription services via PayPal, you will not be able to link your prepaid card to make payments to these services. It’s also worth noting that you must have the entire purchase on your prepaid card to complete the checkout. The amount must cover the cost of the goods you are ordering as well as shipping. Otherwise, the transaction simply will not be approved, and you will either need to cancel your order or top up your prepaid card and then continue finalising your purchase.

Does PayPal have a Prepaid Card Option?

In recent years, PayPal introduced their own prepaid card, which users of this service have widely welcomed. It works in much the same way as all prepaid cards, but it is infinitely easier for those who prefer using PayPal for online purchases. The PayPal Prepaid Mastercard is only available in the US and a few countries in Europe. The good news is that this service is being expanded regularly, with more users worldwide looking forward to accessing this card.

However, there are multiple banking providers that offer prepaid cards. Some are just simple cards that you transfer funds to, however, some (like us here at Suits Me) come with an account and a wide range of banking facilities to successfully manage your money, make purchases and pay bills.

Where can I use PayPal’s Prepaid Card?

Any vendor that gives you the option to pay using PayPal will automatically accept their prepaid Mastercard. This service allows you to access your money instantly, make purchases in-store or online and even withdraw cash from ATMs anywhere in the world. Keep in mind that many of these benefits attract fees, so you need to be aware of them before you start spending.

PayPal is one of the safest services to use for online shopping as they offer buyer protection for their users. Team this with a prepaid card of your choice, and you can shop safely without maxing out your credit card.

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FAQs About Prepaid Debit Cards

If your prepaid card has account and routing numbers that support ACH transfers (like FamZoo cards do), you can link it to PayPal just like a typical bank checking account.

Why is that useful? You can:

Pay for items using PayPal and have the funds drawn from your prepaid card. Paying with PayPal can be more secure and flexible than paying with your card directly. Also, some merchants don’t accept prepaid cards for payment.
Move funds between PayPal and your prepaid card. You can load your card with funds sitting in your PayPal account, or you can pull funds off your card into your PayPal account.
Move funds between your checking account and your prepaid card. If you also link your checking account to PayPal, you can use PayPal as a connecting hub for money movement between your checking account and your card. This is useful when your bank or credit union does not support free direct transfers between your checking account and your prepaid card.
Send and receive payments from friends using your prepaid card as the source or destination of funds. You can designate your card as the source of funds when sending money to a friend. Or, when you receive a payment, you can move the funds from PayPal to your card.

Linking Your Card To PayPal

The first step to using your prepaid card with PayPal is to link your card as a bank checking account. Here are the steps:

Sign into your PayPal account.
Click on Wallet at the top of the page.
Click on Link a bank account. (Do not click on Link a debit or credit card.)
Search for a nonexistent bank name — something silly like “foo bank” — because we want to add the bank manually.
Click on Enter Your Bank Details when the search box indicates it can’t find the bank.
Select Checking.
Enter the routing number and account number associated with your prepaid card. For FamZoo cards, see here.
Click Agree and Link.
Click Request Deposits. (Do not click on Confirm instantly instead. Instant confirmation requires being able to sign into a personal account at the bank associated with the card’s routing number. That isn’t possible for prepaid cards with centralized bank transfer handling.)

At this point, PayPal initiates a first-time only security dance. After a couple days, two small deposits will appear on your card followed by one withdrawal of the combined amount. If you turn on card activity alerts, you’ll know as soon as they’re delivered.

Note the amounts of the two deposits, and complete the linkage to PayPal as follows:

Sign into your PayPal account.
Click on Wallet at the top of the page.
Click on the bank entry corresponding to your card.
Click on Confirm bank.
Click on Enter random deposits. (Do not choose Confirm instantly.)
Enter the two small amounts that PayPal deposited on your card, and click Confirm.

With the linkage to your card confirmed, you can perform any of the operations below.

You can also link your FamZoo card as a debit card (instead of a bank account) for making purchases and performing instant transfers.

Make Purchases On Your Card Through PayPal

Making purchases with your linked prepaid card through PayPal is useful when:

You don’t want to enter your prepaid card information on a site. You may have security concerns about the site, or you may just wish to avoid having to update billing info in multiple places in the future when your card expires or is replaced.
You need to pay a merchant who doesn’t accept your prepaid card directly but does accept PayPal. As a classic example, my older kids have used this workaround effectively for Uber.

If your card is the only payment method listed on the PayPal Wallet page, and you don’t carry a balance in PayPal, your card will be the source of funds when making purchases.

If you have multiple payment methods linked, you may want to set your card as your preferred payment method. To do so, click on your card on the Wallet page, and click on Make this preferred when paying online.

Load Your Card From Your PayPal Balance

If you have money sitting in your PayPal account, you can load funds onto your linked prepaid card for free as follows:

Sign into PayPal.
Link your prepaid card as a bank account if you have not already.
Click on Wallet at the top of the page.
Click on Transfer Money.
Click on Move money out.
Specify the amount, select your linked card account as the destination, and complete the transfer.

The money should arrive on your card within 1 to 3 business days.

You must open a PayPal Balance Account before you can accumulate funds in your PayPal wallet. If your PayPal Balance and a Transfer Money link are not visible when signing into PayPal, please see here.

If you want to perform an instant load for a fee instead, see here.

Move Money Off Your Card To Your PayPal Balance

You can move money sitting on your linked prepaid card into your PayPal account as follows:

Sign into PayPal.
Link your prepaid card as a bank account if you have not already.
Click on Wallet at the top of the page.
Click on Transfer Money.
Click on Add money online.
Select your linked card account as the source of funds, fill in the amount, and complete the transfer.

The money should arrive in your PayPal account within 1 to 3 business days.

Load Your Card From Your Checking Account

In most cases, the best way to load your prepaid card from your checking account is with a direct transfer from your bank or credit union’s online banking. However, some institutions still charge a fee for ACH transfers. If you’re willing to wait twice as long and deal with a two-step operation, you can avoid that fee by using PayPal as a middleman. Here’s how:

Link your checking account to PayPal using the same steps you used to link your prepaid card above. Just use the routing and account numbers for your checking account instead of your prepaid card.
Move money from your checking account into PayPal using the same steps you use to move money from your prepaid card into PayPal. Just pick your checking account as the source of funds instead of your prepaid card.
When the funds arrive into PayPal, load them onto your card as described above.

Move Money Off Your Card To Your Checking Account

This is just the inverse of the previous recipe.

Link your checking account to PayPal.
Move money from your prepaid card into PayPal using the the steps here.
When the funds arrive into PayPal, move money from your PayPal balance into your checking account using the same steps you use to move money from PayPal to your prepaid card. Just pick your checking account as the destination of funds instead of your prepaid card.

Send Money From Your Card To A Friend

You can send funds on your linked prepaid card to a friend through PayPal as follows:

Click Send & Request at the top of the page.
Pick the appropriate Send to... option
Enter the recipients email address or mobile number.
Enter the amount.
Select your linked card as the payment source and complete payment.

Receive Money To Your Card From A Friend

Tell friends to send you money via PayPal using your email address, mobile phone, or PayPal.Me link.

When the money arrives in your PayPal account, follow the steps here to move the money from your PayPal balance to your linked prepaid card.

Can you transfer money from prepaid card to PayPal?

You cannot transfer money from a prepaid card to PayPal. You can only link the prepaid card to your PayPal account, and use it to make payments. PayPal accepts any prepaid card that has a Visa, American Express, MasterCard or Discover logo. However, prepaid cards can not be used for automatic recurring payments.