What should I do if my balance is negative?

If your account balance is negative, check your recent Activity to find out why.

Your PayPal balance could be negative because:

  • You tried to pay using your bank account, but your bank was having technical problems, or there wasn't enough money to cover the payment.
  • A buyer opened a dispute, but there was insufficient balance to cover the amount.
  • A chargeback was filed through the card issuer – more information.
  • A refund was issued on your behalf to cover a buyer complaint.
  • A payment that wasn’t eligible for Seller Protection was reversed.
  • An unauthorized payment was made from your PayPal account.

If you think your balance is negative because someone used your account, report it immediately in the Resolution Center.

You can resolve your negative balance by logging in to your PayPal account and clicking the "Resolve Negative Balance" link. You can choose the amount and how to add it, to bring your balance to zero.


While your account balance is negative, any payments you receive in your PayPal account will be applied to the outstanding balance, and any refunds you attempt will be funded by your primary bank.

If you don't resolve the negative balance within 120 days, your account will be locked, and you won’t be able to log in without contacting our customer support first.

Note:
If you have multiple currency balances in your account and one of the currency balances becomes negative, we may resolve this by using the money you maintain in a different currency balance.

If your negative balance in non-U.S. dollars has been present for 21 days or longer, we’ll convert it to US dollars.

You can always bring your negative balance to zero by adding money to your PayPal account.

More ways we can help

Resolution Center

Fix transaction and account related issues

Tax center

Get your 1099-K and other tax info here

Business Help

Get help with using any of our PayPal products

Technical Help

Find out how PayPal works for your business

Message Center

Send, receive, and view your PayPal messages

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