To ensure the safety of its users, for both buyers and sellers, PayPal keeps track of transactions, and occasionally PayPal will place them on hold.
If you use PayPal often and you’ve had money placed on hold, you may be wondering why it’s occurring and how long it will last? I did the research and here is what I found!
Why Is My PayPal Money on Hold In [currentyear]?
PayPal places money on hold for buyer and seller safety in [currentyear]. These reasons include payment being unusual for your previous selling pattern, you were inactive for a while, the company noticed an unusual change in the selling price, you are selling a product that may upset customers, or because you recently started selling items outside of eBay.
If you were wondering how long PayPal holds can last, if there is anything you can do to get your money back faster, and more, keep reading!
How Long Will My PayPal Money Be on Hold and How Do I Get It Released?
Unfortunately, PayPal may place your money on hold for up to 21 days, or it may only be for 24 hours.
The length of the hold depends on why the transaction has been placed on hold and what you do to help PayPal get the information it needs.
If your PayPal transaction has been placed on a 24-hour hold, it’s because PayPal wants to make sure there will be enough money in your account to be able to take care of any issues.
For example, if a disgruntled customer wants their money back, the money PayPal placed on hold will take care of the problem.
PayPal will release the money after 24 hours, no matter what day it was placed on hold.
If PayPal notices any issues with the transactions, they will be reviewed, and depending on the company’s decision, allow it to go through or it will be reversed.
Furthermore, there are some things you can do to expedite the process and get your money released. You can:
- Print a USPS or UPS shipping label
- Add tracking information, or
- Update the order status
To print shipping labels or add tracking information:
- First, log in to your PayPal account, on the app or PayPal.com
- Second, you need to go to the “Activity” tab
- Third, find the transaction you need to update and click “Get your money”
- Next, click “Product,” and from there you can add the tracking information or print shipping labels
- When you are finished, click “Submit”
Additionally, to add tracking information to an order, you have to upload a supported carriers’ tracking number.
PayPal will then release the hold on your funds 1-3 days after delivery confirmation from the supported carrier (you can find a list of PayPal’s supported carriers here).
Note that once you print the shipping label, it will automatically update the tracking information and delivery confirmation.
After delivery, as long as the item is in proper condition, it will only take one (1) day to release the hold on your funds.
Furthermore, updating an order status is for untouchable items or services, meaning no shipping labels can be printed and no tracking information can be added.
To update an order status:
- Log in to your account, go to the “Activity” tab, and click “Get your money”
- Next, click “Service or virtual product”
- Lastly, click “Submit”
After you update the order status, you will receive your money within 7 days.
Why Is My PayPal Business Money on Hold?
There are several reasons why the money in your PayPal business account could be on hold. These reasons include:
- You are a first-time seller
- You haven’t sold in a while
- Several customers filed for a refund, chargeback, or a dispute
- Your selling pattern seems unusual or different, or
- You are selling more high-risk items
If you are a first-time seller, then you need to build a positive history of transactions.
Furthermore, if you were inactive for a while, then you need to build up your positive history of transactions once again.
Additionally, a good way to solve customer disputes, refunds, etc. is to communicate directly with your customers.
Fortunately, by communicating directly with your customers, you can easily solve any issues that arise so that PayPal doesn’t need to get involved.
An unusual or different selling pattern refers to a spike in your sales, an unusual change in your average selling prices, your business platform, or the type of item you’re selling.
Unfortunately, there is no way to solve this- you just have to wait it out until PayPal can gather the information the company needs and release your funds.
PayPal’s high-risk items include “tickets, gift cards, consumer electronics, computers, and travel packages.”
Likewise, there is also no way to fix this, just wait it out until PayPal releases your funds.
Why Is My PayPal Money From Friends and Family on Hold?
Transactions through PayPal from friends and family are specifically meant for personal use, and are not meant to be associated with commercial or business transactions.
If Money from friends and family is on hold, it’s because PayPal thinks the payment was for a good or service.
The company may think this because the person who sent you the money sent it through the “goods or services” option and not “friends and family”
To solve this, the best thing to do would be to update the order status.
When you update the order status, as stated previously, it will let PayPal know the money is for an untouchable good or service.
However, even though the transaction is not for a good or service, it’s untouchable, and should be released within 7 days.
Why Is My PayPal Money on Hold Even After Delivery?
If your transaction is still on hold after delivery, it may be because PayPal is unaware that the item has been received, or PayPal believes it wasn’t in the correct condition.
To get PayPal to release your funds after the item has been delivered, you can have your customer confirm the receipt.
This will let PayPal know your customer has received the item or service and it was in the proper condition.
- Log in to your PayPal account, on the app or PayPal.com
- Go to the “Activity” tab
- Next, find the original payment, select it, and click “confirm receipt”
- Finally, click “yes” to confirm the order.
Once your customer has confirmed the receipt, PayPal should release the funds within a couple of business days.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on whether or not Verizon accepts PayPal, if Instacart takes PayPal, and if Amazon accepts PayPal.
Conclusion
PayPal places holds on transactions for the safety of both buyers and sellers to make sure there will be enough money in your account to resolve any issues with customers such as disputes, returns, etc.
Any Transactions on hold still belong to you during the hold, but are temporarily unavailable until your customer has received the proper product in the right condition.
To prevent holds from occurring, you need to develop a positive transaction history on PayPal and have direct communication with your customers to solve any disputes.
