PayPal without card

[DarkLantern]

How do I link a PayPal account to my billing info without also having a debit or credit card?

[MoiraKathleen]

You add the PayPal account information by clicking on the link for adding a PayPal account on the Billing Info page. 

In order for the PayPal account add to be successful, you will need to have a verified PayPal account (which is something that you do on the PayPal side - generally, having it connected with your bank account).   I don't know whether there are other ways to verify your PayPal account within PayPal.  

If you are able to get your PayPal account verified, yet do not have a card connected within PayPal to set as the payment option in PayPal for the charges from SL, then it's best to have enough in your PayPal cash to cover a transaction from SL.

[Rowan Amore]

44 minutes ago, DarkLantern said:

How do I link a PayPal account to my billing info without also having a debit or credit card?

https://www.paypal.com/us/digital-wallet/ways-to-pay/add-payment-method

[DarkLantern]

20 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

https://www.paypal.com/us/digital-wallet/ways-to-pay/add-payment-method

I already have a PayPal account. What I want to know is how to use it in SL without having to also use a debit card (which I don't have) or a credit card (which I don't trust and will never  use).

 

 

57 minutes ago, MoiraKathleen said:

You add the PayPal account information by clicking on the link for adding a PayPal account on the Billing Info page. 

In order for the PayPal account add to be successful, you will need to have a verified PayPal account (which is something that you do on the PayPal side - generally, having it connected with your bank account).   I don't know whether there are other ways to verify your PayPal account within PayPal.  

If you are able to get your PayPal account verified, yet do not have a card connected within PayPal to set as the payment option in PayPal for the charges from SL, then it's best to have enough in your PayPal cash to cover a transaction from SL.

I tried clicking on the PayPal option on the billing info page, and the first thing it did in response was ask for card info.

[MoiraKathleen]

22 minutes ago, DarkLantern said:

I already have a PayPal account. What I want to know is how to use it in SL without having to also use a debit card (which I don't have) or a credit card (which I don't trust and will never  use).

 

 

I tried clicking on the PayPal option on the billing info page, and the first thing it did in response was ask for card info.

Hmmm....  I just took a PayPal payment method off my account and then added it back. Once I clicked the "Add a PayPal Account" link I was taken to PayPal's login screen in order to log in and connect the PayPal account for SL (Tilia) payments.    If you're not getting that in response, I don't know what else to suggest other than perhaps trying a different web browser or contacting LL support.  I'm not sure if Billing Support or Live Chat (if you're premium) can help with the web page not directing you to the correct link.  

If it's something that's happening after you login to PayPal, you'd probably need to contact their support about that.  I would think that you should have the option there to set it to use your PayPal cash balance. 

[Lindal Kidd]

1. Make sure your PayPal account is "verified". This means linking it to a credit card or a bank account. The procedure for this is on the PayPal website. The process will take a few business days.

2. Once you've done that, it's also a good idea to transfer some funds from your bank account to your PayPal account, so it's immediately available to cover your SL bills. Linden Lab does not like waiting for their money.

[DarkLantern]

I don't have access to a bank account to get "verified" on PayPal or Tilia.

[MoiraKathleen]

1 hour ago, DarkLantern said:

I don't have access to a bank account to get "verified" on PayPal or Tilia.

Well, you could check with PayPal to see if there happen to be any other options for getting your PayPal account verified when you don't have a bank account.  Outside of that, I don't know what your other options might be.  I'm not sure what the requirements are for a Skrill account, but as far as I'm aware that's the only other service available to use as a payment method for SL outside of credit cards. 

Here's a link to the SL Knowledge Base article which has a section listing accepted payment methods: 

 

[Lindal Kidd]

11 hours ago, DarkLantern said:

I don't have access to a bank account to get "verified" on PayPal or Tilia.

With no bank account and no credit card, you're out of luck. You really need to do the basics of establishing your financial life before you worry about online financial matters.

• Open a bank account. You should have both a checking and a savings account.
• Get a credit card. Most banks will be glad to issue you one if you have an account with them.
• Establish a history of paying your bills on time
• Take out a small loan for something. If you have no previous experience with that, your bank may require someone, for example a parent, to co-sign on the loan. Pay off the loan on time, or early.
• Be patient and methodical. Establishing a financial history takes time.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

20 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

With no bank account and no credit card, you're out of luck. You really need to do the basics of establishing your financial life before you worry about online financial matters.

• Open a bank account. You should have both a checking and a savings account.
• Get a credit card. Most banks will be glad to issue you one if you have an account with them.
• Establish a history of paying your bills on time
• Take out a small loan for something. If you have no previous experience with that, your bank may require someone, for example a parent, to co-sign on the loan. Pay off the loan on time, or early.
• Be patient and methodical. Establishing a financial history takes time.

Having a credit card is not strictly necessary. We don't even know which country OP is from. (This sounds like very American advice.)

Edited March 26, 2022 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Lindal Kidd]

10 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

This sounds like very American advice

Well, it is, in the sense that I'm a citizen of the United States. But credit cards are nearly world-wide. The need to establish oneself financially speaking is also universal, unless you happen to be one of the desperately poor. But in that case, you're not going to be online playing Second Life and will have other, more immediate concerns.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

43 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Well, it is, in the sense that I'm a citizen of the United States. But credit cards are nearly world-wide. The need to establish oneself financially speaking is also universal, unless you happen to be one of the desperately poor. But in that case, you're not going to be online playing Second Life and will have other, more immediate concerns.

But it doesn't sound like you're even aware of debit cards, your advice sounds like a credit card is the only way to "establish oneself financially."

A debit card isn't a fancy term for a prepaid card or some other esoteric option that wouldn't work in most online payment systems. A debit card simply takes money from your bank account directly and immediately, instead of using credit that you can pay off later. It's completely standard and you can get by your entire life without a credit card (while still having a card) in Europe (where we don't even have a credit-score system), for example.

Edit: Obviously I am not knocking the "get a bank account" part -- they definitely need that. My point is that credit card/history/score is not universally applicable advice.

Edited March 26, 2022 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Alwin Alcott]

18 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

But it doesn't sound like you're even aware of debit cards, your advice sounds like a credit card is the only way to "establish oneself financially."

as OP does't have a bankaccount, debit ánd credit cards (and paypal) are out of reach, so not needed to mention it as answer.

[Rowan Amore]

19 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

But it doesn't sound like you're even aware of debit cards, your advice sounds like a credit card is the only way to "establish oneself financially."

A debit card isn't a fancy term for a prepaid card or some other esoteric option that wouldn't work in most online payment systems. A debit card simply takes money from your bank account directly and immediately, instead of using credit that you can pay off later. It's completely standard and you can get by your entire life without a credit card (while still having a card) in Europe (where we don't even have a credit-score system), for example.

A debit card doesn't establish a credit history as there is no credit involved.  

The OP also mentioned not having a bank account so no debit card either.

[DarkLantern]

I have a cognitive disability that requires someone else handle any large financial matters for me. I have a rep-payee, and she tried to set me up the PayPal account so I can have small amounts of money to do with as I please. But there needs to be a buffer between me and the bank account. I am not allowed -by law- to have a bank account solely in my own name, and even if I were allowed to have a credit card (which I don't think I am) I have a strong personal conviction against ever going into debt.

[MoiraKathleen]

1 hour ago, DarkLantern said:

I have a cognitive disability that requires someone else handle any large financial matters for me. I have a rep-payee, and she tried to set me up the PayPal account so I can have small amounts of money to do with as I please. But there needs to be a buffer between me and the bank account. I am not allowed -by law- to have a bank account solely in my own name, and even if I were allowed to have a credit card (which I don't think I am) I have a strong personal conviction against ever going into debt.

Ah...  that does complicate things.  The only solution I can think of - and this might be outside the realm of the rep-payee's responsibilities or willingness to do - would be for her to create a SL account which does have a payment method, and she could log in at the beginning of the month (for example), buy a pre-determined amount of L$'s and then pay your avatar that amount (basically transferring them to you).  Unfortunately, while she could purchase the L$'s from her account's web dashboard, she would need to actually log in to SL in order to pay them to you.  

[DarkLantern]

Yeah, that won't work. I keep trying to talk her into joining and she keeps saying no. Besides, I didn't just want to buy $L. I wanted payment info on file so I could open a shop in Marketplace to sell some of the things I make.

[Rolig Loon]

The reason that Linden Lab requires a PayPal account to be verified is that they want to be sure that you have a guaranteed backup source of funds for the PayPal account, in case that account doesn't have enough cash in it to pay Linden Lab for whatever you are trying to buy.  In fact, that's why PayPal and other financial services (like Skrill) offer the verification option. Businesses don't want to be scammed by customers who buy things with PayPal but don't have enough money in their PayPal accounts to pay the bills.  In your case, you have a legal barrier in place that is designed to keep you from using a credit card (or debit card) or a bank account as a backup source so, as others have said already, you are out of luck. 

[Mollymews]

3 hours ago, DarkLantern said:

I wanted payment info on file so I could open a shop in Marketplace to sell some of the things I make.

without payment info on file then the best we can do is have a inworld shop to sell our stuff

[DarkLantern]

I don't sell enough to justify the cost of an in-world shop. I tried that once and ended up losing money. I'm lucky to move 1 item per year.

 

Just to be clear, I do already have *one* shop in MP for one of my alts that I opened before payment info was a requirement, so it got grandfathered in. I want to open a different shop with unrelated items under an alt account so I can keep the two types of items separate. But even with everything in one shop as it is now, business is super slow.

[Mollymews]

if you want to progress the matter any further Dark, then you need to file a JIRA request. Request that PIOF status should not be required for a marketplace store

for making JIRA requests go here: https://jira.secondlife.com/secure/Dashboard.jspa?null

Linden will probably close your request tho without taking any action. As Linden changed from Non-PIOF to PIOF for reasons.  Reasons that only Linden can enumerate

[Rolig Loon]

I can relate to that, Dark. I had a series of shops in world for many years, selling barely enough each month to pay the rent. Even now, while I have had a shop in MP for more than a decade, I don't earn enough from it to count for much more than pocket change. Unless you are highly focused on the business and can keep turning out new innovative products, a shop in SL is a hobby.  I don't think it's fair to view it as unsuccessful even if your shop loses money most months (and a MP shop can't).  Most of us with shops are doing it largely for fun, as a creative outlet. That's one refreshing thing about SL; you can relax your profit motives and survive in a low-risk business.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Rolig Loon

[Lindal Kidd]

I left out "debit card" for the reason Rowan mentioned, and also because it's pretty much included with a bank account nowadays. And also because LL won't accept it as a payment method.

Thanks, Dark, for clarifying your situation. I am not sure what to recommend to you in your circumstance; LL's system is definitely not set up to deal with third party accounts, or payment by another person (your conservator). You should probably contact them directly and see if they have any suggestions.