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How Can I Find My PayPal Account Number?

Nov 15, 2020

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When I first got my Paypal Cash Card, I wanted to set up a direct debit to go to it. But, I needed my Paypal account number to do it. So, I looked around for a bit and found out where it is on my Paypal account, and thought you might need help with it too, so I put together this article to explain where it is.

So, how can I find my Paypal account number? Your Paypal account number is found under Settings > Direct Deposit. Once you click on ‘Direct deposit,’ it will show your Paypal account number and your routing number. The routing number is usually required with your account number to deposit money into your Paypal account.

It’s a bit different if someone would like to send money from their Paypal account to your account, and when exactly you will need, either can be a bit confusing. So, I’ll explain what they’re all used for below.

What your Paypal Account number is used for (why you need it)

A Paypal account number is used to set up a direct deposit to your Paypal account. When banks send direct deposits, they need an account number to send it to, because they can’t send it to an email address.

You’re probably NOT familiar with a Paypal account number, I know I wasn’t even though I’ve been using Paypal for a long time. Here’s a quick video to show you exactly where it is located.

Banks also have an extra number called a routing number, which gives additional clarification to a bank exactly what bank account to send the funds to. It’s easy to make a mistake with the account number, where one number can be off.

So, a routing number provides additional safety to make sure the money doesn’t get sent to the wrong account.

Why a Paypal account number is needed

Normally, a direct deposit goes from one bank to another. For example, if you have a direct deposit for a monthly gym membership.

Your money goes from your bank account to the gym’s bank account number. Therefore, when you want to receive a direct deposit from a bank into your Paypal account, you need to give them your Paypal account number.

As you may be aware, to send money between two Paypal accounts, you will use the email address most of the time. Or, if someone is making a payment to you, you will send them a link to a special page where they can put in their contact information and put in their credit card details.

Usually, when people do this, it will ask them to set up a Paypal account. This will make it faster next time because the user won’t have to input his credit card details every time. He can just provide his Paypal account number and password to make a payment.

But, this only works for a credit card transaction and not for transfers between a bank account and a Paypal account. This is why a Paypal account number is required. It is in the format that banks can use to send payments because it works with their systems.

How your Paypal Cash Card works with your Paypal account number

A Paypal Cash Card works the same as a debit card or credit card, and you can use it anywhere that debit cards and credit cards are accepted. Which means that many people choose to send money to their Paypal account and use it as a bank account.

Either:

1) Because they get payments to their Paypal account from an online business

Or,

2) You want a backup for your bank account, or can’t use your bank account because of an economic crisis.

1. You get payments to your Paypal account from an online business

If you get payments into your Paypal account from an online business, it can be easier to have your paychecks sent there as well. That way it’s all in one place, and you don’t need to wait for money to go from your Paypal account to your bank account.

When you send money from your Paypal account to your bank account, it can take from 5 to 7 days for the money to get there. They also charge $1 if the amount you send is under a certain value, which changes based on the currency. I know in US dollars it’s if you’re sending less than $100 US dollars.

Therefore, it’s more convenient to use a Paypal Cash Card as your debit card to make everyday purchases. That way, you don’t have to wait for money to get transferred and pay the small fee if you’re only sending small amounts.

In some countries, this minimum amount can be quite a bit of money, so it makes more sense to space out transferring money from your Paypal account to your bank account. But, with the long wait times and the additional fees, using a Paypal Cash Card is better.

2. You want a backup for your bank account or can’t use your bank account because of an economic crisis.

In some countries, the economy is a bit up and down, and you may be wary of using a bank account or want a backup.

Many people will remember that there were big problems back in 2007 to 2010 in the USA when some large banks such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went out of business.

If you had a bank account with them during this time, you might have been very stressed and worried about the money you had with them.

Other times a country’s economy has major problems, and the government needs to put a freeze on bank accounts or other restrictions. Such as what happened in Greece during the Greece government debt crisis.

So, having a backup can sometimes be the only money you can access until everything goes back to normal.

All are excellent reasons – it’s more convenient, you pay fewer fees, and you want a backup – mean that a Paypal Cash Card is a solid option.

You may need friends, family, or a business to send money from a bank account to your Paypal account. In which case, you’ll need to provide them with your Paypal account number.

How do I find my Paypal account ID?

Your Paypal account ID is the email address that you used to sign up for your Paypal account. It is used to send money from one Paypal account to another. You will know what it is because you use it to log into your PayPal account.

But, if you can’t remember what email address you used to sign up for it, you can search your email inboxes for the word ‘Paypal.’ It will show any emails that will have been sent to you when you signed up for your Paypal account.

If you’ve deleted the emails and still don’t know, you can try each of your email addresses. If you forgot your password, you could use the ‘Forgot my password’ feature on the Paypal login screen.

If someone wants to send you money and they have an existing Paypal account, they can send money straight from their Paypal account to yours using just your Paypal account ID. The transfer goes through almost instantly.

Is it safe to give your PayPal ID?

Because your Paypal ID is your email address, it is perfectly acceptable to give out your Paypal ID. It’s similar to giving out your phone number or email address for someone to contact you.

Can someone hack your PayPal account with your email address?

There are many types of deception that criminals can use, such as pretending to be employees at a company. This is a common tactic that criminals use known as phishing. So technically, they can by tricking you into giving them your password over email.

But, if they just have your email address and nothing else, they can’t hack your Paypal account as long as you have a strong password.

In the phishing email, they can ask you to send them your password because there was some problem, or they can ask you to click a link to reset your password.

You never want to give out any of your passwords, either over email or phone.

For example, they might send you an email that looks exactly like it came from Paypal. But, when you look at it closely, the email address they sent it from is not a Paypal email address. It could be disguised as paypal@gmail.com.

For example, the email may contain a link to change your password, and once clicked, it takes you to a fake website that records your functioning password but doesn’t change your new password.

So, you need to be very careful about anything to do with passwords and never give it out, and double-check where the email came from. If you’re in doubt, contact the company, for example, Paypal directly and ask them about the email you received.

Cybercriminals can’t do anything to you with just your email address. So, it’s fine to give it out.

What a strong password protects your account from hackers?

Cybercriminals can run a computer program that will attempt to log in to your account. They do this by trying 1000’s of different passwords that would make sense for you to use. This is a method known as a brute-force attack.

Such as some combination of your email address. For example, if your email address is ben.smith@gmail.com, they will try passwords like ben123, ben.smith1000, etc., to try to guess it.

However, after a few attempts, Paypal will flag your account and send you an email to notify you of suspicious activity.

That’s why it’s important to choose a random password and with lots of characters because it makes it much harder for them to guess it. So, as long as you don’t give out your password and have a strong password, it’s fine to give your Paypal email address out.

In Conclusion

You can find your Paypal account number in Settings of your Paypal account, under the ‘Direct Debit’ tab. It shows your Paypal account number and your routing number. You will generally need both of these numbers to receive payments to your Paypal account from a bank. For example, when someone wants to make a direct debit to your account.

Related to that, your Paypal account ID, is the email address you used to sign up for your Paypal account, and it’s safe to give it out as long as you have a strong password. You should never give out the password to your Paypal account to anyone.