Knowing how to verify your PayPal account is crucial to being able to use your PayPal account fully. Whether using a business account or a personal account, you can easily verify your account by linking your bank or credit account. Let’s take a look at the reasoning behind why you need to verify your account and the documentary requirements and steps.
What Does It Mean to Verify My Account?
You’ve probably heard of the term “verification” before, but what exactly does this mean? Verification is the process of presenting documents to prove the identity of an individual or business entity using a particular service. Most services that deal with money are mandated by law to require their users to verify their accounts by providing documentation, and PayPal and Venmo are no exception.
In the case of PayPal, the company wants to make sure that you are who you say you are before they permit you to send or receive money through the application. This gatekeeping function works both ways; it protects the app from potential fraudsters, and it also helps to keep other users safe as they have a way of knowing which users to trust.
Receiving a “verified” status on PayPal is not unlike receiving a stamp of approval. It removes basic restrictions to your account and allows you to send and receive as much money as you need through PayPal. More importantly, it lets other PayPal users know that your information is truthful and accurate.
However, it’s worth noting that there are variations in the verification process per country/region. In the U.S., PayPal only requires a user to link a bank/credit account to the service to verify the account. This is unlike other countries like Germany, where PayPal requires users to complete a bank transfer to verify their account.
Is the Verification Process on PayPal Mandatory?
That being said, PayPal has made the verification process mandatory for all of its users. That is, they have placed temporary restrictions on unverified accounts. These restrictions include limiting the amount and number of transactions sent and received using the account. Case in point, having an unverified account limits the amount you can withdraw per month to just USD 500. However, these restrictions only apply when the account is verified, after which the restrictions are lifted. The service will be limited until the account is verified. Case in point, a verified user, no longer has any limitations as to the amount they can receive or send through the service.
Why Does PayPal Require Users to Verify Their Accounts?
PayPal has millions of users worldwide. With this in mind, they have no way of knowing which users are telling the truth about themselves and which are not. Having said this, they need to find a way to screen users and collect information about users to set them apart from each other. This is where the verification process comes in.
What are the Advantages of Account Verification?
At this point, you might be wondering what the advantage of verifying your account is for yourself. The primary benefit is that it removes withdrawal and spending limits on your account. Having an account verified is much like getting a seal of trust from PayPal. You can already send and receive as much money as you want on PayPal from that point on.
Another benefit to verifying a PayPal account relates to security and trust. By taking steps to verify your account, you are giving other PayPal users a reason to trust you and transact with you. In the same way, you would only want to transact with people who are verified users.
As for the larger picture, the verification process helps to build trust within the PayPal community. It gives people a way to determine which individuals and businesses are trustworthy. In turn, the probability of users falling into a fraudulent scheme is reduced.
How to Verify Your PayPal Account to Remove Limitations
There are two ways you can verify your account. The first and less popular option is to apply for PayPal Credit, which requires you to submit verifying documents and your bank details. Meanwhile, the other is to link your bank account, debit card, or credit card to your PayPal account. If you find this process a little too complicated, then you might want to try an alternative payment app like Venmo. In any case, here are the steps for verifying your PayPal account:
Link Your Bank or Credit Account
The easiest way to verify your account is to link your bank account to PayPal. By linking your bank account, you are giving PayPal the chance to check your identity based on the name on your card. It also allows you access to funds in your bank account via PayPal.
Note that you will be considered a “verified” PayPal user once you have linked your account. You will no longer have a limit on what you can withdraw from your bank account, so we recommend that you spend wisely. In any case, verifying your account should be a straightforward process with the following steps:
- Open the PayPal app on your phone or desktop computer and log into your PayPal account.
- Click on the “Summary” tab from the corner of the screen.
- Make sure to confirm your email address and password before proceeding to link your account.
- After you’ve passed those security measures, go back to the “Summary” page and select the “Link your bank” option.
- Log into your bank account through your banking software, and the two services will automatically link together. Note that the linking process may take at least a few minutes to complete.
- The system will prompt your bank to send you a security code, which you have to input into PayPal. Key in the verification code in the area provided, and then you will be good to go.
Apply for PayPal Credit
Another way to verify your account is to get approved for PayPal credit. PayPal Credit is a reusable credit line that you can use to pay for items or services right away or over time with credit that PayPal will provide you. You will be given a specific period to pay the amount due. Should you fail to pay the total amount after the deadline lapses, your account will be charged interest on top of the amount due. If you frequently default on your credit loans, you may need a reliable budgeting app to help you out.
Applying for PayPal Credit will require you to fill up some paperwork with your personal and banking information. PayPal will use this information both to verify your account as well as to assess your creditworthiness. Here is how you can go about verifying your account by applying for credit:
- Fill out a credit application through PayPal or other stores that offer PayPal as a mode of payment.
- Wait for confirmation through the PayPal app as well as through your email.
How to Verify Another User’s Account
Account verification is always a two-way process. If a user can verify the account of another user or business entity on the application, then the reverse should be true as well. Having said this, you can verify an individual or business account on PayPal.
Whether using a business account or a personal account, you can verify an external account. And all you need to verify the account is the email address of that particular PayPal account. Here are the steps for verifying someone else’s account on PayPal:
- Sign into PayPal and take note of the email address of the individual or business that you want to verify.
- While still signed in, copy and paste the following URL link onto your web browser: https://www.paypal.com/verified/pal= username@emailhost.com. Make sure to copy the link precisely as you see here.
- Replace the “username @emailhost.com” with the email address of the individual or business that you want to verify. Make sure to copy both the email address and the link input precisely, and leave no spaces in the link.
- The landing page will give you an indication as to whether the PayPal page is verified or not.
Note: If the user or business PayPal page appears, the account is verified, and there is a higher probability that you can trust it. On the other hand, if the PayPal page fails to appear or links to another user’s PayPal page, you may want to rethink whether to continue transacting with that particular account.
Final Thoughts on How to Verify Your PayPal Account to Remove Limitations
This ends our review of the inner workings of the verification process for your PayPal account. If we’re honest, the process can hardly be described as simple due to documentary requirements. However, it can be a lot easier if you go into it with all the necessary documents already on hand.
Of course, it’s not as though the verification process is optional. PayPal is, after all, required by law to ask for documents to prove the identities of its users. Having said this, there’s no way to avoid the verification process. So you might as well take care of it as soon as possible, preferably right after you create your account.
But even when security is a key priority in using PayPal, you should keep in mind that PayPal is not the only source of risk for your privacy and security. As opportunistic as they are, criminal entities take information wherever they can find it, whether that be your email, social media account, or personal files.
One of the more sinister things that can happen is that your data can be sold on the dark web to the highest bidder, at which point it will be used to attempt to burgle your account. This is why you never go online without some layer of protection, and you can get this protection by setting up a VPN or installing a reliable antivirus program. You also have this list of the best cybersecurity practices to follow.
