As a small business owner, you might have thought that it would be a good idea to use PayPal as your payment processor. And well, there’s nothing wrong with that!
After all, with PayPal, getting set up is quick and easy, and the actual accepting and processing of payments is equally painless.
BUT that doesn’t mean that PayPal is without its disadvantages.
Key among them, is the fact that PayPal has a tendency of locking up PayPal business accounts — which effectively halts that business’s operations for the three to five days that it takes to get things working again.
More likely than not, the reason you’re here is to figure out why PayPal has locked your account and what you can do to get it unlocked and back in proper working order!
So, let’s cut to the chase, shall we? We’ve answered the most commonly asked questions by those in your exact situation below:
Why Did PayPal LOCK My Account?
Unfortunately, there are many different reasons why PayPal may have locked your account. The best way of knowing for sure is going to PayPal’s Resolution Center, where details will be provided as to why your account may have been closed.
The most common reasons, in no particular order, are as follows:
- PayPal found something suspicious about a transaction on your account (i.e., you sent or received money to someone flagged as suspicious or received payment for recently added high-ticket goods or services previously unknown to PayPal’s algorithms.)
- Unusually high number of chargebacks or buyer claims filed against you.
- Any activity on your account that PayPal suspects might have been made by someone else without your knowledge or permission.
- And any activity that goes against PayPal’s regulations (i.e., selling prohibited weaponry or drugs.)
It should also be noted that your account may be ‘locked’ or limited, as it were, if PayPal requires more identifying information from you because they found inconsistencies in the information that you’ve provided them thus far.
How Do I Unlock a Locked PayPal Account?
Believe it or not, unlocking a locked PayPal account is relatively easy. It just takes a while, which is the real problem here.
Earlier I mentioned that you should go to PayPal’s Resolution Center to find out what needs fixing, and well, that’s not the only thing there! You should also be able to find the kind of information that PayPal requires (i.e., transaction history, shipping information, buyer information, personal identification, etc.) from you in order to unlock your account.
If you want to tackle the issue directly, you can also log in directly into your PayPal account or make use of PayPal’s “Contact Us” page in order to connect with a representative that will communicate with you, one-on-one, on what needs to be done.
On average, resolving the issues that cause a locked account will take around 3-5 days. Which is probably not what you want to hear right now if you’re a business owner looking to keep your business afloat. But that’s why we’ve answered the question below as well:
Is it Possible to Keep PayPal from Locking My Account?
It is perfectly possible, some particularly small businesses often have very little trouble with this, actually. All it usually takes for them is foreknowledge on PayPal’s terms and conditions (which you can have a PayPal representative explain to you in more detail if you wish) and adherence to said terms and conditions.
The question you should really be asking yourself though, is whether you wish to keep using your PayPal account when the risk of it being locked during inconvenient times is so high.
Here’s the thing, if you have any inclination towards seeking growth for your business (which I imagine is true for everybody — but you never know), then sticking with PayPal is probably not the right choice for you. You don’t have to take it from me, here’s a direct quote from the payments expert, Jed Morley (the CEO of Platinum Payment Systems):
“I’m a firm believer that just about any merchant processor can process payments for you. It only takes the right equipment, after all. BUT the same cannot be said for their ability to provide the level of support that you’ll need while those payments are being processed.”
And that’s exactly what you’re missing out on with PayPal. With them, you’re just another one of the millions of merchants that they signed on under their own large merchant account.
The complete opposite of what you’d be working with if you signed up with a processor like the aforementioned Platinum Payment Systems (PlatPay), as an example, who sticks very closely with their clients throughout the whole underwriting process and is there, to share every other step in their journey, so that they can grow their business painlessly.
