How Do I Cancel a PayPal Transfer?

If you move money from your bank to your PayPal account, or from your PayPal account to your bank, you will not be able to cancel the transfer once it is authorized. You can move the money back to the originating account to correct the issue. Additionally, with payments, PayPal does not allow you to cancel payments once they are complete, but you can use the dispute process to request funds be returned.

PayPal gives millions of customers a way to make safe, secure payments and money transfers without the receiving party seeing your credit or debit card information. What happens if you want to reverse a PayPal transfer? How do you cancel a PayPal transfer? You can learn more about PayPal services by calling customer support here, and you can learn more below about how to cancel a PayPal transfer.

Transfers from Your Bank To PayPal

Unfortunately, once you authorize a transfer of funds from your bank to your PayPal account, you cannot cancel the transfer; however, you do have options. You can use the amount you transferred to pay for an item or service via PayPal. Another option is to transfer the money back to your bank account.

Note, if you transfer the funds back immediately, you may have to pay transfer fees. If you use the transfer method that doesn't include fees, your funds will not be returned to your account for three or more business days.

Alternatively, if you transfer money from PayPal to your bank, you cannot cancel the transfer, but you can use "Add funds" to move the money back to your PayPal account.

What to do if You want to Cancel a Payment

If you have made a payment via PayPal and want to cancel the transfer, you need to be aware of PayPal's policy. Completed payments cannot be canceled in PayPal. To get your money back you will need to contact the seller and try to resolve the issue that way. If you cannot come to a resolution with the seller, you can file a dispute through PayPal by doing these steps:

  1. Open PayPal's website in your browser.
  2. Log into your account.
  3. Go to the Resolution Center.
  4. Select "Report a Problem."
  5. Click on the disputed payment.
  6. Indicate the reason for the dispute, such as:
    • You didn't receive the item you purchased
    • The product or service didn't match the description
    • You have an issue with billing
  7. This allows you to message the seller through PayPal. If you cannot reach a resolution, you can opt to escalate your claim and PayPal will investigate and decide on an outcome.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is, PayPal does not reverse or cancel transactions once they are authorized or completed. You can dispute charges if you feel the product or service was not as described, or wasn't delivered at all; however, disputes can take some time to resolve. Transfers to and from your bank can be resolved by simply moving the money back to the account it was in before the transfer. For more information or assistance, you can contact PayPal customer service here.

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Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.
How Do I Cancel a PayPal Transfer?

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