Knowing when and how eBay requests credit/debit card information and what to do if your card is declined will help you understand how to solve credit/debit card problems with your eBay account.

• Providing eBay with credit/debit card information

• If your credit or debit card is declined

• Contact eBay with Credit / Debit Card problems

• Problems with your PayPal account

If you need to add, update, or remove your credit card information on your eBay seller’s account, see Changing Your Contact Information.              

Providing eBay with credit/debit card information

The following are the only situations when eBay will ask you for your credit or debit card information. If you’ve been asked to provide card information in any other manner, use your email program to forward the message to spoof@ebay.com. In order for eBay to investigate your report, you must forward the email without adding attachments, adding text or altering text. (Learn how to recognize spoof mails.)

• When you become a seller, you will need to provide credit or debit card information as part of the eBay seller verification process. This is a separate process than becoming PayPal verified. For more information about requirements, visit the PayPal Help Center for more information about PayPal Verification.

• You can keep a credit or debit card on file in your seller’s account for monthly automatic payment of any eBay fees.

• If you have a card on file with your account and it expires, you will receive an email from eBay asking you to update your card information.

• If you try to list an item and have no credit or debit card or an expired card on file, you will be asked to update your card information.

• Certain bids, such as those over $15,000 U.S., will require a credit or debit card verification.

• If you are registering a new User ID and you wish to use a free email address, such as a Hotmail or Gmail address, you will be asked to complete credit / debit card verification.

• If you wish to access the Mature Audiences section of the eBay site, you will be asked to provide credit card information for age verification.

If your credit or debit card is declined

If your credit or debit card is declined during seller verification, when making payment, or another verification attempt, contact the card issuer about the following:

• If you are adding the card on file with eBay, ensure credit / funds are available to cover a verification check of $1.00 U.S. This will appear as a charge on your credit card statement or online account, but please be assured it is not a charge. It is a temporary hold, and the amount will be released.

• Determine if your card is in good standing.

• Make sure that you do not have daily transaction limits that may affect the payment or flag your card for additional authorization. If you are making a payment, the card will be charged for the full payment amount you enter.

• Make sure your card has been activated if it is new.

• Verify that the billing address your bank has on file for you is identical to the one you are entering. If you have recently changed your address, for example, the bank may still have the old address registered for the card.

• If you have two names on the card, or a business and a personal name, make sure you are entering the names on the same lines as they appear on the statement, using one of the address boxes if necessary.

Please be aware that many pre-paid cards are not available for use during the seller verification process.
If a problem persists, you can pay your eBay fees by Direct Pay, PayPal, check or money order. View your account balance to find the total amount due.

Contact eBay with Credit / Debit Card problems

If you have specific questions about an eBay charge to your credit or debit card, please write to:

eBay, Inc.
Billing Department
PO Box 1497
Draper, UT 84020
ATTN: Credit Card Resolution

OR fax to: 801-838-1979

When contacting eBay, please include the following:

• Name

• Address

• Daytime phone number

• Email address

• Transaction date

• A copy of your credit card statement showing the charge

Problems with your PayPal account

If you need to solve problems with your PayPal account, you can find most of the answers to your PayPal questions by using PayPal’s Help Center. You can also find this section of the PayPal site by going to www.paypal.com and clicking the Help link near the top of the page. Once you have accessed the Help Section, you can find your answer fast by using the Search option.

If you require additional assistance beyond what you are able to find in PayPal’s Help Center, you can Contact PayPal Customer Service.