PayPal FAQ

Knowing your payment provider is an important part of running an online business. That’s why we collected a list of PayPal’s most frequently asked questions.

Can my customers pay by credit card without a PayPal account?

All PayPal services allow paying by credit card without registering a PayPal account. However, your customers may be prompted to sign up at PayPal to pay depending on the country where you or your customer is located. PayPal has different rules for different countries – see the details in this PayPal community post.

Can I accept payments in my store via PayPal if I have a PayPal Personal account?

No, you must have a PayPal Business account.

A customer has paid via PayPal, but the order shows as "Awaiting Payment" in Control panel. Why?

A Paid status in your Control Panel shows the funds have transferred to your account, while an Awaiting Payment status shows the funds in limbo. You can check the specific reason from PayPal in the Payment details section of the order details page in your Control panel → My Sales → Orders.

PayPal informed that the payment is pending – you haven’t received the money yet.

PayPal orders may have the status of Awaiting Payment for several reasons:

An eCheck that has not cleared is the most frequent cause of a pending payment. This often resolves itself when the eCheck clears (usually 3-5 days).
The customer did not provide a confirmed shipping address and your Payment Receiving Preferences requires you to manually accept or deny these payments. To change this preference, go to the Preferences section of your Profile in PayPal.
The payment is pending because you hold a non-U.S. account and do not have a withdrawal mechanism. You must manually accept or deny this payment from Account Overview in your PayPal account.
You do not have a balance in the currency sent, and you do not have your set to automatically convert and accept such payments. You must manually accept or deny this payment.
The payment is pending while PayPal reviews it for risk.
The payment is pending because you must upgrade your account with PayPal. The Business or Premier plans allow you to accept credit cards and increases the monthly limit for transactions on your account.
The payment is pending because you have not been verified yet. After verifying that you will be able to accept this payment.

Error "This order is in the "Awaiting Payment" status, because the order total and the amount actually paid do not match. Please check this order in your PayPal Admin Area for possible issues."

These payments normally go through (PayPal will show as paid), but Online store finds an error and does not mark the payment as complete. There are three possible explanations for this error message in order details in your Control Panel → My Sales → Orders:

The Online store payment doesn't match payment returned by PayPal. Taxes or shipping rates appended to the order total may cause this when we redirect your customer to PayPal. To fix this, disable the tax and shipping settings in your PayPal manager account.

The currency set in your store differs from the one set in your PayPal account. Make sure you setup the same currency on both sides.
The payment was sent to an email different from the one you specified in your Control Panel → Payment → PayPal.

Error "The payment is pending because it was made to an email address that is not yet registered or confirmed"

You receive an email notification from Online store about a new order, but it’s not reflected in your PayPal account. The order details in your Control Panel → My Sales → Orders show an Awaiting Payment status, and the Payment Information section shows::

First, make sure you have the right email address in PayPal settings in your Control panel → Payment → PayPal. If the emails match, your PayPal account probably needs to be confirmed or verified. If this is the case, the money is in limbo until your account is verified.

If the email doesn’t match and you’re working with a test order, update your PayPal settings in your Control Panel and submit another test order to ensure the orders arrive as Paid.

In case you’re dealing with a live order and need to ship a product, the money will remain pending on the PayPal side for the next 45 days. If nobody (you) claims the funds, PayPal will return the funds. Now you have two options:

If PayPal returns the funds, we suggest contacting the buyer and explaining the situation. Creating an invoice in your PayPal account for the same amount and asking your customer to pay it may be the easiest option.
Register a PayPal account for the wrong email, and verify it. After that, PayPal will transfer the money to the account with the "wrong email" and you can forward the funds to your main business account.

When you receive the money, you can manually update the orders status to Paid in your Control Panel → My Sales page → Orders.

How to place a test order using PayPal?

You cannot test PayPal’s payment method using the same account as buyer and seller because PayPal does not allow you to buy from yourself. If you want to check your seller's PayPal account, you can do the following:

Create another PayPal account for testing purposes using an email that is not connected to your store PayPal account.
Create a cheap test product ($1 or less) in your store.
Use the test account to make a purchase in your store specifying PayPal as the payment method.
If needed, you may create a chargeback when the payment is received.

Alternatively, you can ask you friend or family member to place a test order in your store and pay with their PayPal account.

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