A Look at the PayPal Debit Card

Looking for a debit card to manage your finances, but dislike paying "point of sale" fees for every purchase? The PayPal debit card is financially similar to a debit card, deducting purchases directly from your PayPal account balance, but can also be used as a credit card anywhere MasterCard is accepted. If there is not sufficient funds in your account, the sale will be denied, assisting you in the process of refraining from spending money you don't have. Requirements to Get the Card There are several prerequisites to requesting a PayPal debit card. In order to request a PayPal debit card you must be a PayPal user for at least sixty days and must have a premier or business account. There is no charge to upgrade your account, but, unlike a personal account which can accept non-credit card payments free of charge, you will be charged the standard PayPal fee of $0.30 + 2.9% of the transaction amount to accept funds (both credit card and non-credit card) from other users. In addition, you must register a credit card with your account. The statement for this card must be sent to a physical street address, not a P.O. box. Finally, your account must be verified by linking it to your bank account. The Debit Card The PayPal debit card works just like a normal debit card issued by your bank. Funds can be withdrawn from your PayPal account via any ATM with the Cirrus logo at a cost of $1.00 per withdrawal, plus additional bank ATM fees if applicable. You can also make debit purchases with a PIN. You may request up to two debit cards per PayPal account. The PayPal debit card carries no annual fee and there is no fee to request an addition card. A MasterCard in Disguise The PayPal debit card doubles as a MasterCard Premier BusinessCard. The card can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted and works in the same fashion as a standard credit card with the exception that the funds are deducted directly from your PayPal account. It is possible to overdraw your account, however, if the merchant does not request the full amount of your transaction to be immediately debited from your PayPal account. For example, when you purchase gas, a $1.00 "hold fee" will be billed to your account when you swipe your card before you pump. A few days later, this charge will be removed and the full charge will be posted. It's critical to track outstanding purchases in order to avoid overdrawing your account. PayPal Preferred Program – Get 1.0% cashback Another great feature of the PayPal debit card is the ability to receive cashback on your purchases. Any purchase in which the card is used as a credit card is eligible for cashback. While an eBay account is not required in order to sign up for PayPal and the debit card program, if you are an active seller on eBay with at least one listing every three weeks, you are eligible to receive 1.0% cashback on purchases processed from your debit card as credit card transactions. If your eBay sales drops below the minimum requirement, PayPal indicates they will notify you that your preferred status has been suspended until you list another auction. (Note that this does not suspend your debit card, but simply the ability to receive cashback.) Alternatively, you can achieve PayPal preferred status by incorporating PayPal into your e-commerce website. You must also list PayPal as the only accepted online payment option on either your eBay auctions or your website. Once enrolled in the "PayPal Preferred" program, you will begin receiving 1.0% cashback on all purchases involving your debit card in which you select "Credit" rather than "Debit" at the checkout process. Security Measures In order to provide security to your account, your debit card has daily withdraw limits of $3,000.00 for purchases and $400.00 for ATM cash withdrawals. If you decide to request an additional debit card, this limit applies to your account and is not a limit per card. If you use PayPal extensively to accept payments online, the PayPal debit card is a convenient means to spend the funds directly from your account. Even if you don't receive many PayPal payments, you can still transfer funds from your bank account in order to receive 1.0% cashback on all of your purchases. While other credit cards offer cashback rates of greater than 1%, it is important to note that the PayPal debit card does not require a credit history since it is a debit card in reality.