Paypal keeps saying please add a debit or credit card to complete your purchase

Q: Why does PayPal keep telling me to add card?

Linking a card is Paypals way of verifying your identity. They will ask this together with you phone number and email address. If you want to know more about this, you can contact Paypal directly or click here to access Paypals help center.

Q: Why is PayPal saying right now we are not able to complete this transaction?

Why cant PayPal complete your payment? Several reasons can explain this issue: Your card has expired or out of date. You need to confirm your card.

This is the second time in the last couple of weeks that I'm seeing the following error from PayPal. (Note: I've deliberately hidden the name of the merchant at the top.)

Table of Contents Show

"Your transaction cannot be completed"
"Unable to complete transaction: Expired card"
"Unable to complete transaction. Please use another form of payment."
"Your payment was declined due to an issue with your account"
"Unable to process payment: Low card balance"
Ineligible or unavailable credit or debit card
Closed payments profile
Why does PayPal say please add a debit or credit card to complete your purchase?
Why does PayPal keep telling me to add card?
Why is PayPal not accepting my debit card?
Why is PayPal saying right now we are not able to complete this transaction?

"You cannot use this credit card for this transaction. Please use another funding source.
You will need to add and confirm your bank account. Once your bank account has been added and confirmed, you can continue this payment. Add your bank account information below."

I've used PayPal successfully for years, primarily to make purchases on [eBay][4], but I've also used it in the past for a few other non-eBay transactions such as shareware software purchases, a training course registration fee, etc. I've never disputed a PayPal payment or initiated a charge-back on my credit card.

What's particularly irritating is PayPal wants me to add my bank account to my PayPal account instead, if I want to complete the transaction. I specifically did not want to associate a bank account with my PayPal account, for privacy reasons.

I've never before had a problem paying by credit card, until these two recent occurrences. Why might this be happening? Who is PayPal trying to protect – me, or themselves?

UPDATE: There's additional information available from PayPal that reads:

Funding Options

PayPal is constantly working to protect our members against fraud. We review every transaction before it is approved, and we may block a payment when we detect a potential risk.
Our reviews take into account every aspect of a transaction, including looking at both parties. These decisions help us maintain the integrity of our payments network in the same way as other payment processors: by declining transactions with an unacceptable level of risk.
While our fraud measures occasionally block a legitimate payment, to maintain overall security, we cannot overturn any decisions about an individual transaction.
If you decide to continue this transaction using a different funding source, please note that the associated risk levels have not been decreased.

If you have problems paying for Google products, you might need to fix a problem with your payments profile.

Find the issue you’re experiencing below:

"Your transaction cannot be completed"

A variety of different situations may trigger this message. Try these suggestions to resolve the issue:

If this message is followed by instructions for submitting additional information to us, please do so. The other steps listed are unlikely to resolve this issue.
Check whether the billing address for your payment method (such as a credit card) matches the address recorded in your Google payments center settings. If they don't match, update your address in your Google payments center, and try the transaction again.
Try using a Google Play gift card to complete the transaction.
Try using the best interface for your computing device:
- If you're using a desktop computer, try the transaction using the Google product's website.
- If you're using a mobile device, try using the product's mobile app (if an app is available).
If you're using guest checkout when the error occurred:
- Try signing in to an existing Google account and placing the order again.
- Try creating a new Google account if you don’t already have one and visiting the Google Store to try the transaction again.

"Unable to complete transaction: Expired card"

Check to see if your payment method is up to date. If it isn’t, update it in the Payments center.

"Unable to complete transaction. Please use another form of payment."

Note: These steps also apply if you see the error message "Your payment didn't go through. Please try a different payment method or try again later."

Try the following:

Check to see if your payment method is up to date. If it isn’t, update it in the Payments center, then try your purchase again.
Make sure you have enough money in your account for the purchase.
If you’re still having issues, contact your bank to see if there’s a problem with your account.
Try making the purchase again with a different payment method.

"Your payment was declined due to an issue with your account"

If you see this message, it might be because:

We saw a suspicious transaction on your payments profile.
We need a little more information to protect your account against fraud.
We need a little more information to comply with EU law (European customers only).

To fix the issue, try the following:

Go to the Payments center.
Take action on any errors or requests in the payments center.
1. You might need to verify your identity before you can buy anything through your Google Account.
Make sure your name, address, and payment information are up to date.

"Unable to process payment: Low card balance"

You might not have enough funds in your account to make the payment. Check your account balance or contact your bank.

Ineligible or unavailable credit or debit card

Card is grayed out & says “verify on pay.google.com”

Your card was reported as stolen. You must verify the card before you can use it again:

Go to pay.google.com and sign in to your account.
1. If you have multiple accounts, sign in to the account with the grayed-out card.
Click Payment methods.
Next to the card that says “Verification needed,” click Verify
Charge card.
Within 2 days, you’ll find a temporary charge on your card statement along with an 8-digit code.
To complete verification, go to pay.google.com and enter the 8-digit code.

If you try to verify the payment method again:

Confirm which card you want to verify.
Check how long ago you tried to verify your card.
- If less than 2 days: Wait up to 2 days.
- If more than 2 days: Check your card statement. You should find a temporary charge from Google called “GOOGLE TEST,” with an 8-digit code.

Card is grayed out & says “card is ineligible”

You can't use this card for this purchase. Try to make the purchase again with a different card.

If the card you want to use isn’t listed, follow the on-screen instructions to add a new card.

Closed payments profile

Learn more about what to do if you temporarily or permanently closed your payments profile.

If you’re still having trouble, contact support.

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Why does PayPal say please add a debit or credit card to complete your purchase?

PayPal requires a backup funding source, such as a bank account or a debit/credit card, to make purchases via Braintree (our payment processor).

Why does PayPal keep telling me to add card?

Linking a card is Paypal's way of verifying your identity. They will ask this together with you phone number and email address. If you want to know more about this, you can contact Paypal directly or click here to access Paypal's help center.

Why is PayPal not accepting my debit card?

Your card is associated with a specific PayPal account, and you're not logging in with that particular account. Your card was associated with a PayPal account that has since been closed. You've linked the card to a PayPal account, but have not yet confirmed it. You've exceeded your card limit with the PayPal system.