Insidious capitalism: Paypal updated my credit card on their own

[BSdetect]

Got this email:


Your card is updated and ready to go
We took care of the details so you don't have to
We updated the expiration date for your card. We did this to make sure the card is ready to use when you need it.

They had been nagging me to update for months.

Now I'm going to delete the card.

This surely has to be illegal?

[Goonch]

1. Visa's Account Updater program....

Companies Know Your New Credit Card Number Before You Give it to Them

https://www.credit.com/blog/how-companies-know-your-new-credit-card-number-before-you-give-it-to-them-151126/

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. Seems like a convenience with no tangible downside that I can think of ...

What's the problem with it for you?

Why would it be illegal?

[Effete Snob]

5. The simple way to cancel subscriptions

Many recurring charge payment schemes are deceptive and difficult to cancel.

People have figured out that the best way of dealing with them is to simply "lose" the credit card, report it as such, and get a new one.

Then, as subscriptions hit the wall, they can renew the ones they want to continue.

This gets in the way of that.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. It's very easy to go into Paypal and remove any 'money source' from your account

From what the OP is saying s/he simply has a card listed as a linked account within PP so if one simply deletes that card, it won't be used by PP to pay anything going forward.

They also said they were being bugged to do it for months which means the card's regular/known expiration date was coming up, which PP knows as it's a linked account and you've added all that info previously.

You can also go in and cancel subscriptions where the money is set to come from PayPal, within PayPal.

[Indykatie]

3. Isn't This the Same as VISA or MC Routinely Sending You a New Card With an Updated Expiration Date?

I don't have a PayPal credit card and didn't know there was such a thing but apparently they don't just issue you have a new physical card with an updated expiration date like other companies.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

7. It's not a Paypal credit card, it's one of the OP's own CC's that they have put into PP as $ source

So that when you go to pay something using Paypal itself, you can draw on that credit card for money (or your Paypal Balance, or a different credit card, or your bank account if you've linked that, which is typical for people to do).

When I go to pay at like Amazon I often use PP and then during payment portion I have like 5 different accounts/cards I can use to actually make the payment, cause I've put them all in as sources within PP.

Part of the process of linking outside accounts involves telling their system what the card's expiration date is. So when expirations approach, PP will begin asking you to update the cards exp. date in PP's system.

Incidentally, there is a PP Mastercard, although it's managed by Synchrony, and there's also PayPal Credit (but it's not a regular CC).

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Paypal is very big on protecting companies that automatically renew subscriptions.

They will side with the company if they automatically renew your membership. They won't get involved to stop the payment. So, watch that the company doesn't slip in an automatic payment clause in the small print.

[mnhtnbb]

8. I just closed my Paypal account that I've had for 20+ years

My son used Paypal to reimburse me when I used my credit card to buy him some furniture around Labor Day. Paypal has now insisted they need my SS # so THEY can determine whether to report me to the IRS for trying to bypass reporting income from the sale of goods or service. Screw that! I'm not giving Paypal my SS #.

[intheflow]

9. That wasn't PayPal's fault.

Banking rules changed (probably under TFG since they're now more intrusive and operate under increased surveillance). From PayPal:

Recent legislative changes in the US require payment processors, including PayPal, to report gross payment information to the IRS on Form 1099-K for customers who receive payments of $600 USD or more for the sale of goods or services.

$600 is a ridiculously small amount to undergo this level of scrutiny, but them's the rules.