PayPal's Buyer Protection Program

PayPal’s Seller Protection Program

Last Updated: March 16, 2022

 

What’s Eligible

If you sell a good or service to a buyer, you may be eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection program, which terms and conditions are set forth herein and form part of the user agreement. When it applies, PayPal’s Seller Protection program entitles you to retain the full purchase amount. PayPal determines whether your claim is eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection program. PayPal will make a decision, in its sole discretion, based on the eligibility requirements, any information or documentation provided during the resolution process, or any other information PayPal deems relevant and appropriate under the circumstances. There is no limit on the number of payments eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection program. By accessing the Transaction Details page in your PayPal account you can identify transactions that may be eligible for protection under this program.

PayPal’s Seller Protection program may apply when a buyer claims that:

  • They did not authorize, or benefit from, funds sent from their PayPal account (referred to as an "Unauthorised Transaction" and the Unauthorized Transaction occurs in an environment hosted by PayPal; or
  • They did not receive the item from you (referred to as an "Item Not Received" claim).

PayPal’s Seller Protection program may also apply when a transaction is reversed because of a successful chargeback by a buyer or when a bank funded payment is reversed by the buyer’s bank.

This section describes PayPal's Seller Protection program as it applies to you, but you should also be familiar with the Impact of various Buyer Protection processes on sellers.

 

Basic Requirements

To be eligible for PayPal's Seller Protection program, all of the following basic requirements must be met, as well as any applicable additional requirements:

  • You provide us with valid proof of shipment or proof of delivery.
  • In the case of an Unauthorized Transaction claim, you must provide valid proof of shipment or proof of delivery that demonstrates that the item was shipped or provided to the buyer no later than two days after PayPal notified you of the dispute or reversal. For example, if PayPal notifies you of an Unauthorized Transaction claim on September 1, the valid proof of shipment must indicate that the item was shipped to the buyer no later than September 3 to be eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection program.
  • The item must be a tangible item except for items subject to the Intangible Goods Additional Requirements.
  • You must ship the item to the shipping address on the transaction details page in your PayPal account for the transaction. If you originally ship the item to the recipient's shipping address on the transaction details page but the item is later redirected to a different address, you will not be eligible for PayPal's Seller Protection. We therefore recommend not using a shipping service that is arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.
  • You must respond to PayPal's requests for documentation and other information in a timely manner as requested in our email correspondence with you or in our correspondence with you through the Resolution Centre. If you do not respond to PayPal's request for documentation and other information in the time requested, you may not be eligible for PayPal's Seller Protection.
  • If the sale involves pre-ordered or made-to-order goods, you must ship within the timeframe you specified in the listing. Otherwise, it is recommended that you ship all items within 7 days after receipt of payment.
  • You must accept payment from a PayPal account for the purchase (partial payment and/or payment in installments are excluded).
  • The payment must be marked “eligible” or “partially eligible” in the case of Unauthorized Transaction claims, or “eligible” in the case of Item Not Received claims, for PayPal's Seller Protection on the Transaction Details page.

 

Item Not Received Additional Requirements

To be eligible for PayPal's Seller Protection program for a buyer's Item Not Received claim, you must meet both the basic requirements and the additional requirements listed below:

  • Where a buyer files a chargeback with the issuer for a card-funded transaction, the payment must be marked "eligible" or "partially eligible" for PayPal's Seller Protection on the transaction details page.
  • You must provide proof of delivery as described below.

 

Intangible Goods Additional Requirements

For the sale of intangible goods and services to be eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection, the sale must meet the basic requirements and the following additional requirements:

  • Integration requirements:
    • Where you have integrated a PayPal checkout product, you must be using the current version of that product if you are accepting payments directly via a website or mobile optimized website; or
    • Ensure you are passing session information to PayPal at checkout if you are integrated with PayPal via a third-party or if you have a native app integration.
    • Other integration requirements may apply depending on your business model. We will let you know those requirements ahead of time, if needed.
  • PayPal has marked the intangible good transaction as “eligible” in the Transaction Details page or otherwise provided notice to you of eligibility in writing.
  • Delivered the item and provide Proof of shipment or delivery for Intangible Goods.

 

Establishing proof of shipment or proof of delivery

Physical Goods

The following is required as proof of shipment or delivery for physical goods:

Proof of shipment

Proof of delivery

Online or physical documentation from a shipping company that includes:

  • An online and verifiable tracking number
  • Date of shipment
  • An address for the recipient that matches the shipping address on the transaction details page
  • An address for the recipient showing at least the city, country, or postal zip code (or international equivalent).

Online or physical documentation from a shipping company that includes:

  • An online and verifiable tracking number
  • Date of delivery and "delivered" status of the item or service.
  • An address for the recipient showing at least the city, country, or postal zip code (or international equivalent).
  • Signature confirmation when the full amount of the payment (including shipping and taxes exceeds) the fixed amount (based on the currency of the payment) listed in the signature confirmation threshold table. Signature confirmation is online documentation, viewable at the shipping company's website, indicating that the item was signed for (save for Sellers having a PayPal Account registered in Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Ukraine to whom such requirement won't apply).

IMPORTANT: Your choice of carrier and shipment options with that carrier can have a big impact on your ability to meet the proof of delivery requirements. Please ensure, especially when shipping goods internationally, that your carrier can provide ‘delivered' status at the correct address, or your Seller Protection claim may be denied.

Intangible Goods

The following is required as proof of shipment or delivery for intangible goods:

For intangible or digital goods, proof of shipment or delivery means compelling evidence to show the item was delivered or the purchase order was fulfilled. Compelling evidence could include a system of record showing the date the item was sent and that it was either:

  • Electronically sent to the recipient, including the recipient’s address (email, IP, etc.), where applicable; or
  • Received or accessed by the recipient

 

Signature confirmation currency thresholds

Currency

Transaction value

Currency

Transaction value

Australian Dollar:

850 AUD

New Zealand Dollar:

950 NZD

Brazilian Real:

1,750 BRL

Norwegian Krone:

4,600 NOK

Canadian Dollar:

850 CAD

Philippine Peso:

34,000 PHP

Czech Koruna:

15,000 CZK

Polish Zloty

2,300 PLN

Danish Krone:

4,100 DKK

Russian Ruble:

27,000 RUB

Euro:

550 EUR

Singapore Dollar:

950 SGD

Hong Kong Dollar:

6,000 HKD

Swedish Krona:

4,950 SEK

Hungarian Forint:

170,000 HUF

Swiss Franc:

700 CHF

Israeli Shekel:

2,700 ILS

Taiwan New Dollar:

23,000 TWD

Japanese Yen:

77,000 JPY

Thai Baht:

24,500 THB

Malaysian Ringgit:

2,500 MYR

U.K. Pounds Sterling:

450 GBP

Mexican Peso:

10,000 MXN

U.S. Dollar:

750 USD

Ineligible Items and Transactions

The following items or transactions are not eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection program:

  • Real estate, including residential property
  • Vehicles, including, but not limited to a motor vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, aircraft or boats, except for personally portable light vehicles used for recreational purposes like bicycles and wheeled hoverboards
  • Businesses (buying or investing in a business)
  • Industrial machinery used in manufacturing
  • Payments equivalent to cash, including stored value items such as gift cards and pre-paid cards
  • Payments made in respect of gold (whether in physical form or exchange-traded form)
  • Financial products or investments of any kind
  • Art, antiques or collectibles, in physical or digital form, as represented by a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) with a transaction amount of more than $10,000 USD or equivalent value in local currency as calculated at the time of the transaction
  • Gambling, gaming, and/or any other activities with an entry fee and a prize
  • Donations, including payments received as crowdfunding or crowdlending
  • Payments to a state-run body (except for state-owned enterprises), a government agency, or to third-parties collecting payment on behalf of a state-run body or government agency
  • Payments to any bill payment service
  • Items where the buyer claims (either with us or their card issuer) that the item you sent isn't what was ordered (referred to as a "Significantly Not as Described" claim)
  • Physical, tangible items delivered in person, including in connection with a payment made in your physical store, unless the buyer paid for the transaction in person using PayPal’s goods and services QR code
  • Anything PayPal determines, in its sole discretion, is prohibited by PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy, even if the transaction is initially marked as “eligible” or “partially eligible” on the Transaction Details page.
  • Payments made using PayPal’s Payouts (formerly Mass Pay)
  • Personal payments including payments sent using PayPal's friends and family functionality
  • Payments not processed either through a buyer's PayPal account, unless you receive PayPal guest checkout transactions and your business account is registered in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Brazil, or Mexico
  • Items sent after PayPal advised you not to release the item
  • Travel tickets sold by a travel carrier where (1) the buyer claims (either with us or their financial institution) that it was an Unauthorized Transaction and (2) such claim was filed more than 24 hours before the travel date.