Possible Solution: A user claims to have found a solution, check the last comment and let us know if it works. (Change your primary paypal email address from gmail to a non-public email service.)
Update: From the comments on this page and all the hits I’m getting, it is obvious that this is a widespread PayPal bug affecting only international users and merchants other than eBay. My queries indicate a serious and permanent error in their back-end services, emerging after a recent website upgrade, that they may not be aware of yet. The contact support staff can not solve this problem if they believe it is an exceptional case. The only way to fix this is to contact PayPal and report this bug. Please contact PayPal support, they will only realize the extent of the problem if enough people report it.
PayPal confirmed it was their internal security systems that refuse the transaction. This means it is their internal, back-end services that are malfunctioning and not the front-end as I suspected. However, it still seems that their system is favoring eBay transactions (suspicious, since eBay owns PayPal).
Original post:
“This payment cannot be funded with a credit card at this time.”
I’ve decided to make this post to see how many people visit it, and get a rough estimate of how many people are experiencing the same problem: Every time you try to pay an online merchant with PayPal, you receive the following error: “This payment cannot be funded with a credit card at this time.”
I have noticed a lot of hate-speech online about people experiencing the same thing, but there are no solutions. The support staff suggests that “PayPal employs complex statistical models to identify patterns of behavior.” However, I have noticed the following irregularities which points away from that explanation:
1. I am a premier PayPal user and have never before had issues with a PayPal payment. Only recently have I started getting this error message.
2. My card is verified by PayPal.
3. I successfully payed for an item on eBay using my credit card through PayPal this weekend. Sort of… At first I received the familiar “This payment cannot be funded with a credit card at this time.”, but after trying again, the payment went through and cleared just fine. In other words, the problem probably lies closer to their front-end. [edit: This assumption was incorrect, PayPal confirmed the problem was with their back-end services.]
4. I can not donate even $1 to Wikipedia . This is contradictory to their explanation because, not only did I complete a successful payment 3 days ago (so my card is valid), but there is no way that a Wikipedia donation could be flagged as suspect.
So, they will either have to admit that their “complex statistical models” are flawed, or (more likely) that there is another problem causing this error.
Sucks to be us…
(I found this funny cartoon, which exactly explains our situation, on paypalsucks.com:)
92 comments ↓
I think it is high time that we create our own, SA version of PayPal. If we could create two SA versions of Youtube, I’m sure we can pull this off.
Problem is that we are in “Africa” and no matter how much we convince them (the rest of the world) that we are legitimate, they won’t believe us.
Let’s rally!
having the same problem for 2 days. no replies from contact people. Paid too much to do stuff all while ripping us off on all fronts….exchange rates, download fees, and ebay……what a bunch of a***holes!!
The same problem! Hope will mange to pay tomorrow…:(
I get the same message, however, my account is set up to transfer money directly from my checking account, not a credit card as the message states.
It’s my belief that the message just pops up whenever they’re overloaded with requests. Trying again later has worked for me before. Guess I’ll try again later, AGAIN!
Ron, I constantly experienced the problem for two weeks. Obviously there must be something wrong with their system. Judging by the amount of users visiting this post, they must have lost over 2000 sales because of this error in the last month. I just removed my credit card and closed my account with them.
Same problem - happened yesterday! PayPal sucks big time!
Is there any chance that things can get better or should i close my account?
Yup same problem here..still no solution after 2 days..this sucks
Hello! I’m from Bulgaria! I have the same problem for a week and I’m very angry if this! No answer for PayPal, no solution,nothing! I must pay for 2 items now and I can’t! I have 2 PayPal accounts and both of them are blocked! Please help me! Give me some advise! Why are they doing this to us !?!?!!
I don’t have any help, sorry. The best you can do is email support. If enough people email them, they will realise that there really is a problem with their system. You can try closing your account, waiting a couple of weeks and then re-opening a new one, but I have no idea whether this would work…
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=2008839227� - this is a link to EBay where several had the same problem… I don’t know if this makes a difference, but i gave it a shot.
i also had this bad experience with paypal. read the whole story here
http://www.penoycentral.net/technology/my-paypal-experience/
I have the same issue!
f. pp.
they suck
same here,
paypal sux!
ok i hope i can help you all i had the same problem EXACTLY the same message and what i did i USED MY IPOD TOUCH to buy what i need from paypal AND GUESS WHAT IT WORKS!!!
so i suggest u use a gadget to buy things off paypal if u have that problem
Hi, i’m from china, i am right now experiencing the same prob!! -_-
i have the same problem also
Same problem. I reported 4 times and got no response. Mesmo problema. Reportei quatro vezes e não tive qualquer resposta.
Same Problem. I’m from Russia
can’t pay for an 400$
but payment for 200$ works fine.
same for 2 days ago
Same problem for about two! weeks. I have a verified card and it works with small payments up to 20$, but the biggest problem is missing out on some great deals which are 500$+… Please keep this conversation alive in hope of finding a solution… Are there any known limitations on the amount of money I can send? My account is about month old.
I had the same problem today too. I made a payment for $200 USD and it went through, then the second time I tried for $193.97, I got that message. Does anyone have any idea what could be done about this? My merchant wants me to pay him before Monday! Help!
Have the same problem for all the week, got answer from paypal:
I’ve reviewed your PayPal account and can confirm that
the transaction you are referring to was stopped by our internal security system.
To ensure the integrity of our network, PayPal may take security measures which may affect some accounts in good standing. We also reserve the right to limit the funding sources available for a payment if the system detects a certain level of risk associated with the transaction. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
PayPal employs complex statistical models to identify patterns of behaviour. This is similar to the way banks and credit card companies identify patterns of behaviour that are out of the ordinary when approving individual transactions. When our system doesn’t allow a certain funding source for a transaction, it’s merely an indication that the individual transaction fits a pattern associated with a higher risk that we have observed in the past. Please be assured that this is a standard procedure for all transactions going through PayPal.
Please note: If your transaction has been refused, you may be able to complete the transaction using another funding source or at a later date.
………………………………….
blah blah blah…
the seller accepts only paypal, tryed everyting - allways the same message
btw, it looks like paypal thinks that everyone have ~10 or more CC - “try to add a enother credit card and test if paypal will accept payment”
god damn thing is blowing my brain. i need to pay the seller for 3 laptopz and the “cannot be funded by credit card” error keeps occuring all the time. 2 weeks ago it was all fine. dont know what this useless algorithm of paypal is for.
Same here, I am from the Caribbean, seems like they do it to the foriegn cards. I wonder why in this frigging world everyone expects the world to be based in US of A
I’m from Russia, having the same problem… paypal sucks for non-US customers
Same problem I used paypal a few times it worked then I got this error, I thought it might be the website, I used it again about a week later worked twice then the same error, I called paypal and after a 23 minute expensive long distance call they tell me ” theres nothing we can do , its not in our hands”!!!!! AAA customer service lol
My mother gave me 500 dollars limit to spend in her credit card/paypal account. I made 3 successful payments: 6.20, 23.00 and 15.35 dollars. Today I need to pay 87.00 and got this message! I emailed support, let’s see if they will give me a solution, or if the system will be ok in some hours. In either case, I’ll be back here and comment it again.
Support told me that “PayPal employs complex statistical models to identify patterns of behavior.” O_O
But I still can make payments under 50 dollars (and a little more if it’s to pay an ebay seller)…
I also faced a similar problem today and I am hoping the problem would be solved automatically. PayPal really sucks !
Has anyone been able to get some light into this? I have been able to pay for items costing around 60-70$, but Im unable to pay for one totalling 150$. I know its not a transaction limit thing, because i wasnt able to pay for a $5 charge either! Paybal sucks big time!
I experienced this after three succesfull transaction on ebay after that the same message like “Julijasas” from PayPal. Somebody have the solution of this?
Cheers!
Same problems here over in Singapore. Have been trying to get my transaction through to Taiwan for the whole damn day but it’s still not working. Funny thing is I just made a relatively fuss-free PayPal transaction to Japan yesterday. And their support forums are useless.
Same problem …. paypal…….all balls… cant pay and why join paypal..support is telling me to ask seller for alternate method to receive payment. and below message
identify patterns of behavior that are out of the ordinary when
approving individual transactions.
Hi,
I’m from Israel.
I tried to buy yesterday using paypal and got this message. I called their customer service, they said try again in 30 minutes, well I tried the next day and guess what, F**King same problem!.
I’m a verified user/card.
Thinking of closing my account there.
Same problem, I am from Mexico
f*** same problem…but what to do , how to release payments..
same problem
f*** , what to do?
Same problem …. paypal…….all balls… cant pay and why join paypal..
SAME HERE from… SOUTH AFRICA!!!
My ebay account is now closed because of all the unpaid item strikes i got in my account because I wasnt able to pay them with paypal. Im not going to use an international money order to pay for each item that paypal won’t accept. I’m closing my account too, and hopefully spread the word around that paypal is a piece of crap.
I have this issue aout week. I can’t pay for 4 laptopz. It’s horribly!
I’m also from Israel.
Same problem here.
Verified account too.
I have tried paying something for the whole weekend, getting this message as answer…
I’ve used paypal before without any problems, until last night. A day later and still no luck. From Colombia.
I have the same problem…
From Latvia
same problem here , im so angry , im from brazil have 2 credit cards on paypal and im a verified user , hope this problem can be fixed.
“This payment cannot be funded with a credit card at this time” <<< this sucks :<
I’m from israel. it didn’t work either. fuck those idiots.
I’m from Viêt-Nam. Same problem. The seller already canceled our deal.
PayPal sucks.
Here too, Im from Bosnia
Got exactly the same response from their “support”. This sucks!!! Have to make an important paymant…
Has anybody a solution???
Same problem from ISRAEL! paypal not answer my emails!
WTF???
I’m from Israel, same problem for 3 days already! I’m desperately seeking support from e-bay and paypal customer service, so far without positive results. I’m seriously considering closing paypal account and stop buying through e-bay.
To all desperate folks,
Try now. For me it worked at last. Good Luck
same here in saudi arabia
it seems all international users have this problem
Same story… I’m verified customer, never had any problems with paying and all the sudden this message. So my message back to paypal is “screw you!”.
Doesn’t work for me, verified from Czech Republic
I’m having the same problem here. (i’m from Romania) I have a credit card on Paypal and i’m a verrified user. I cannot make a payment of 155 USD$ and 625$ USD$. This sucks, as i’m in need of those items. I successfully payed for an item on eBay using my credit card through PayPal this weekend, so I reaaly can’t understand why this happens.
Same problem here from Saudi Arabia! my card is verified, and i paid last week over $2000. last day ican’t pay any amount, i get the this error?!
don’t waste your time calling paypal, they just say ” theres nothing we can do” and hang up, I am overseas and this always happens with me , sometimes it happens to sites were I used paypal before, doesn’t make any sense , paypal is garbage
I cannot receive payment for a NON-eBay item. When the buyer contacted me I thought I was the one having problem. She reported an exact error message. I live in Japan, she is in Singapore. I take it that the main parameter in their complex statistical model is country ? All transactions whose funding source is coming from any credit cards not issued in the US/Canada are liable to getting blocked.
This is part of the answer I got from Paypal:
“To ensure the integrity of our network, PayPal may take security measures which may affect some accounts in good standing. We also reserve the right to limit the funding sources available for a payment if the system detects a certain level of risk associated with the transaction. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
PayPal employs complex statistical models to identify patterns of behaviour. This is similar to the way banks and credit card companies identify patterns of behaviour that are out of the ordinary when approving individual transactions. When our system doesn’t allow a certain funding source for a transaction, it’s merely an indication that the individual transaction fits a pattern associated with a higher risk that we have observed in the past.”
This is so wrong. Why ? Unlike credit card companies and banks, Paypal does not evaluate our financial standing. We don’t bring our bank account, proof of income, debt records, collateral, etc when we open a Paypal account. We simply write down our email and postal address, and our credit card number. I can imagine if a credit company can build a complex statistical model, because it has a complete set of information.
How can Paypal possibly build a complex model with limited number of data (address/email) ? I feel like somehow Paypal applies a profiling to its users, based on their countries.
And if Paypal were able to build such model, that would mean we have to go through two walls of evaluation, one from credit card issuer, one from Paypal.
And my credit company never hassles me. Paypal does.
same problem here in saudi arabia, and I am a verified user. Fuck you paypal.
Same in Slovakia. I’m attaching follow-up communication form PayPal, which followed after the communication cited here above. It’s ridiculous.
“Mr. XXXX, I understand that you have tried several times to send the payments in question and have been blocked by our internal security system.
Unfortunately, I can neither give you detailed information as to why our security system has blocked this transaction nor am I able to override or manually change the security settings.
Please understand that even though we always aim at processing all transactions immediately we still have to take standard security measures.
When a payment is blocked, this is not a reflection of you or your account activities but rather fits a pattern we have observed in the past to be associated with higher-than-normal risk.
We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and would like to ask you to initiate the payment at a later date or use another funding source.
I would like to suggest you also to contact your seller directly asking them to send your a Money Request as you could have more chances to complete your transaction even if we cannot guarantee it.
To review our User Agreement please click the Legal Agreements at the bottom of the page.
We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and wish you continued success on PayPal.”
Also I have just discovered, that PayPal won’t let me make any payment over 50 USD. Anything up to 49,99 USD it will. Funny!
Oh gosh,the same problem in Bulgaria…I’m very very angry!!I already wrote to Paypal and you know they aswered the daily shits!!
I’m having the same problem here that’s why im browsing the internet and see if i can find solution and it’s sad to know that many people is having the same problem too…
same here from Venezuela, tyed to contact them 4 times, each time they responded with the same statistical BS esponse… Paypal SUCKS!!! they all should ot in hell!!! at least I read some people kept tying and got it though but no fro me… God dam Paypal, dam them all to hell!!!
After following advice from some other website, I tried Internet Explorer instead of Safari or Firefox and it worked! The payment went through.
Hope this helps.
I tired IE. Didn’t work. Still have the same error. Damn paypal!
Same issue here. We’ve had problems accepting large donations/foreign credit cards on PayPal. This should have been disclosed earlier since we would not have gone with PayPal. Now we are probably going to drop PayPal and sign up with YourPay or some other comparable service.
I have to pay big sum on e-bay and when I try i get the same message :[ I’m from Bulgaria too. I’s there some kind of hope to pay it someday?
i m facing this problem each time i buy from ioffer.com
but not from ebay.com
i emailed paypal at least 4 times only appologizing for the internal securtiy bug and no solutions
they adviced me to try alternative payment method
Hello.
I had the same problem for a long time, and today i’ve found a 100% working solution.
I found this page on google, so people can find this solution, i wrote here.
The solution is to change your PRIMARY EMAIL address in paypal account, i had a gmail one, and have this problem, but then i’ve changed it to my own domain email address, and now all payments going fine, i have send big payments just fine.
same shit.
two days user, Account type: Personal , Status: Verified
, first payment for 85usd - no problem, second for 85usd - eRROR, waiting for an hour, money sent, and i have to pay more - now, i’m waiting for coupla days, and still nothing.
Will try to change PRIMARY EMAIL, i have them three.
hi,
damn it, this problem is bugging me to my nerves. Had been trying with 6 different credit cards verified by paypal, none of them works. however, when i tried sending US$1 it works. Up to US$10 max. Can someone from support ever be responsible enough to come out clean and sort out these complaints?
hey the first solution helped me a lot
Possible Solution: A user claims to have found a solution, check the last comment and let us know if it works. (Change your primary paypal email address from gmail to a non-public email service.)
I change my gmail to my t-com mail and send money works great
Im from Croatia btw thanks a lot
Tried the thing above.. does not work.. same problem.. i need to pay for an item ASAP and i cant get it !
I am from Indian and have a verified paypal. I can use the credit card online without any problems, but when I try to use paypal for online payments, I get this error message. PayPal really sucks! I will now try changing the primary email to my domain name and see if it works.
Just a followup from my previous post. By changing my primary email address to my domain email, the problem got solved. So the solution works! Thank you
Tried changing the primary email address to my work address did NOT work
It worked for me. Thank you very much. I was frustrated with PayPal responses. I cant believe that they are not able to identify the problem. I wonder if they are doing it on purpose.
I can confirm that indeed, changing your primary e-mail address to a non comercial address, somehow fixes this issue.
I hope it works for most people.
same problem from brazil.
they are so rich already that they don´t give a fuck of loosing this sales.
Happening to mein Taiwan. I am going to get extra fes if I can’t pay soon.
I just verified my cc too.
Same thing happened to me today for a $1150 purchase. I am in Canada. I called PayPal and they gave me the same BS that they have told everyone else. I got through to a “supervisor” and they told me that there was nothing anyone at PayPal could do and that the transaction was flagged permanantely. It wouldn’t let me use my Bank Account, only eCheck (slow) or my Credit Card (which I didn’t want to use).
I have a perfect Ebay/PayPal record with over 110 tranactions on Ebay and probably double that on PayPal itself. They told me that their Security BS detected my transaction as possible security problem because of the amount of the purchase. I told them I made a purchase for a greater amount than that just 11 days ago, they went silent. The merchant on Ebay that I am trying to buy from today (Henrys) has over 120,000 transactions with 99.8% feedback so it’s not the seller either. I have used Henrys numerous in the past.
I will no longer be using PayPal in the future. It’s a shame because I have never had a problem with them up until this point.
Changing from gmail worked.
“Thank you for contacting PayPal in relation to sending payment. Firstly, I would like to apologise for the inconvenience this situation is causing Ms. xxxxx. After reviewing your account I can understand that transaction in question was completed. However I can see that your credit card is already confirmedtherefore sending limit does not apply to this card. The error message you received that you have reached sending limit was not correct. I apologise for confusion. In fact the transaction you are referring to has been stopped by our internal security system. Please be advised that we employ complex statistical models to identify patterns of behaviour. This is similar to the way banks and credit card companies identify patterns of behaviour that are out of the ordinary when approving individual transactions. When our system does not allow a certainfunding source for a transaction, it means that there may be a higher-than-normal level of risk associated with the transaction. This may include but is not limited to a transaction being challenged to be unauthorised. Please be assured that this is a standard procedure for all transactions going through PayPal and it’s carried out in accordance with our User Agreement. I do sincerely apologise for any frustration caused. Please let me know if you need further assistance. ”
BS BS BS!!
Hi, it’s me again.
I got this error message too before. I did manage to pay my 88 dollars bill, but to do that I had to make smaller payments. But strangely, I successfully paid 150 dollars to an ebay seller. O_O
The one I couldn’t pay was not an ebay seller.
Since that I’ve buying a lot from ebay and never got the error message again.
It seems it’s ok to pay ebay sellers, but not the other ones. Why?
just to update this. Same thing is still happing.
I changed from gmail to private address and it worked for me! It was a non-ebay transaction, don’t know if that had anything to do with it .. but yay! Thanks for the solution!!
I was told that I couldn’t send the money because
Paypal has never seen me send large amounts and they
Froze it because of that reason. I guess when there is no activity for a while and then you send a large amount of
money, it looks suspicious and paypal freezes it or prevents you from sending $
Hi,
The problem is still among us. In a way it is good to know that I am not alone. I have now struggled two weeks with this, until I got yesterday this “statistical pattern behavior” bullshit into may email signed by “Natalie”. I made some questions related to that mail and asked them to confirm if AmericanExpress has really stopped cooperation with PayPal and does not accept any transactions with them. That was the explanation from AMEX when I tried to figure out why they do not accept my transaction via PayPal. What was the reply: Exactly the same letter word-by-word but signed by “Enrique”. I feel a little bit that these persons do not even exist but these are just random names created by an automatic reply machine.
I think that I have to apologize both my AMEX and VISA customer care people about pushing them to solve the issues within their systems.
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