Shopping online has never been easier with a variety of payment platforms and methods available to purchase goods quickly and safely. PayPal is one platform that has grown and expanded with the boom in online payment services to provide safe and effective options for those buying or selling goods online.
If you’ve never used PayPal before or have always wondered how your accounts and money are kept safe, this article will answer some top questions when it comes to PayPal safety features.
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PayPal is a multinational US payment platform that facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers online. Customers can also add money to their Paypal digital wallets to make or receive international transfers or maintain a balance to shop with. Paypal expanded its operations into Australia in 2005, where it now has over 7 million Australian customer accounts.¹
PayPal has been a reputable and widely used payment service for many and due to their large global customer base, they actively implement a variety of features to help keep their users and their money safe. This makes it a generally safe platform to use for online transactions.
To see what we mean by this, we’ll go through some ways your money is protected when using PayPal. This includes how it’s regulated, security features and gives you some extra tips to keep your account and money safe.
PayPal Australia operates and is subject to meeting laws and regulations set out by several Australian regulatory bodies including Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) where it holds a Purchased Payments Facility licence² and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) where it holds an Australian Financial Services Licence number which is 304962.¹
Paypal must also ensure they are compliant with Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing laws overseen by AUSTRAC and are expected to meet Australian consumer protection laws overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).²
PayPal keeps your money safe through a combination of fraud protections, security controls and buyer and seller protections. We’ll expand on these now.
PayPal monitors every transaction to prevent suspicious behaviour to protect your money and you from identity theft. Users can also report unauthorised transactions to their customer service team.
PayPal offers buyer and seller protection programs. For buyers, eligible purchases up to $20,000 per item are protected and reimbursed by PayPal if they do not arrive to a buyer or do not match the seller's description. ³
PayPal does not share any financial or other sensitive personal details including debit or credit card details with any service provider.⁴
The PayPal Australia website does not specify any limits on how much you can hold, send or receive with your PayPal wallet at any given time. However, for unverified accounts, there is a limit of $700 per calendar month for withdrawals. This is lifted once an account has been verified.⁵
As a platform that holds sensitive financial details of its customers, hackers are known to impersonate PayPal to gain access to users accounts or their private information. Here are some of the ways that PayPal protects its users from scams.
All official emails sent by Paypal are authenticated with Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) technology. Emails that are not marked with this technology are usually sent to the spam or junk folder or not delivered at all.
Paypal provides customers with information on how to detect common scams through its website, including common scams to look out for and gives advice for users on ways to protect themselves online and when using Paypal.
PayPal has customer service dedicated to answering any phishing email queries and a dedicated email to report unusual correspondences.³
All communication, personal and payment data that PayPal handles is protected with encryption technology.⁴
PayPal has a privacy policy in place to protect users' personal information.⁷ They state that they do not share financial details with sellers, employees or third-party service providers and offer options to control how users personal information is used and shared.⁴
PayPal states that it retains customer data for the legally required retention time.⁸ In Australia, entities that are overseen by AUSTRAC are required to retain the personal data of each of their customers for a period of 7 years after they have ceased using the service.⁹
In Australia, you do have the right to request your personal data to be deleted. To do this with PayPal, you will need to email or message customer support and make a request for your personal details to be deleted.
You should be aware that in some instances, PayPal may need to keep your records until it's legally able to be deleted in their systems.⁸
Although we’ve touched on a few ways your account is protected, here is a breakdown of the protective systems in place that ongoingly protect your PayPal account.
PayPal does not disclose specific technical details about their overall security mechanisms as a means to keep their platform safe.⁴
| Read more: PayPal rewards (credit) card in Australia. |
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PayPal runs periodic audits of accounts to check for any unusual transactions. If there is an issue with a transfer or transfers, the transaction may be put into a hold and not released to the intended account.
For the funds to be released, further information will be required to be provided about a given transaction and PayPal may limit the use of the account until the issue is cleared. Certain activities such as withdrawing, sending, receiving or spending may also be stopped.¹²
It's important to note that no online service is completely immune to risks, and users should always be cautious when using any online platform to spend money. Here are some ways that you can keep your account safe by your own due diligence.
Create a unique and strong password for your PayPal account. You can do this by using a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. You should also not use the same password across different platforms or websites.
Ensure that the devices you use to access PayPal are protected with up-to-date security software, and only use trusted Wifi networks when making transactions.
You can keep up to date with some of the common scams by visiting PayPals website. Otherwise, it’s important to be** aware of phishing emails**, messages, or websites that ask you for your PayPal login details or any other personal information.
Log in every now and again to keep an eye on your PayPal account activity. You should also review your transaction history and if you notice any suspicious or unauthorised transactions, you should report them to PayPal immediately.
| Read more: Are international transfers safe in Australia. |
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If you need to contact PayPal for any reason, it is recommended to have a look through their extensive help centre for support resources for common issues on the platform. In the case you need direct support, you can use the PayPal resolution centre to submit a query or call PayPal directly on 02 8223 9500.
The Wise Account enables you to store over 40 international currencies and get local account details for a number of different countries, including AUD, NZD, EUR, USD and GBP. You can use these to easily transfer your money to Wise or get paid by others.
You’ll also avoid high international transaction fees and get access to the mid-market rate on all conversions and money transfers. The best part — you can open and manage your Wise account completely online.
Safety is super important at Wise and it’s regulated wherever it operates. In Australia, it is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL number 513764). On top of this, Wise has dedicated compliance teams and systems working around the clock to keep our customers’ money safe.
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Sources:
Sources checked on: 15th May 2023
This publication is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to cover every aspect of the topics with which it deals. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content in this publication. The information in this publication does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its affiliates. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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