Not only can you quickly and easily send money to any of your friends on Paypal, you can also get Paypal’s debit card and use your Paypal balance wherever Mastercard is accepted. Paypal card users often wonder how they can put money onto their Paypal cards.
There are four different ways of adding funds to a PayPal Card:
- At retail stores
- Through direct deposit
- From a linked bank account
- By cashing a check
The only popular way of adding cash to an account you can’t do with a Paypal card is through an ATM.
Traditional bank customers can use their bank’s ATMs to deposit cash into their accounts, but Paypal users cannot.
Paypal users can withdraw from ATMs, however. They can also add cash to their accounts at popular retail stores by scanning the code within the Paypal app. Paypal includes a handy map within the app that tells users where the nearest location will accept their deposit.
If you have a check, you can take a picture of the front and back of it within the Paypal app in order to “cash it” into your account. I put cash in quotations because you’re really depositing it unless you get the full amount as available cash right away.
The two easiest ways of putting money in your Paypal account are through direct deposit or by linking an applicable bank account.
Bank account transfers take anywhere between 1-5 business days but can be done from the app, all without having to leave your house.
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How to Add Money to Paypal Card Through Walmart (Retail Store Cashier)
One of the newest ways to add money to an online account is through a retail store cashier.
Chains like Walmart and Walgreens are working with online banks and fintech companies like Paypal and Venmo to give users a way to put cash into their accounts.
If you have cash on you and would like to put it into your Paypal account, you can. Paypal has a very useful list on their app, showing every store in your area that is willing to accept a cash deposit for Paypal.
The stores don’t work for free, though, and Paypal includes their fee next to the store in question.
The fees aren’t too high, and they’re just about the same everywhere you go, so you don’t really need to worry about a better offer somewhere else.
For example, Walmart charges a $3.74 fee to make a deposit with them, while CVS, Walgreens, and 7-Eleven all charge $3.95. $3.95 is the fee just about everywhere else too.
If you’re having trouble finding a store that can accept your deposit, Paypal includes a map next to available stores and their fees. I went to Denver on the map and clicked “search this area”. About 20 or so stores popped up, giving me more options.
When you click on a store, Paypal will show you the store’s address as well as how far it is from your current location.
They will also tell you the fee, $3.95 at the Walgreens I’m looking at for this article, and they will also tell you the time it will take for your funds to reach your account.
The Walgreens on my screen says that if I were to deposit cash with them, it would reach my Paypal account in 15 minutes.
They also have information about the limits on the Paypal app. You need to deposit at least $20, and Walgreens has a maximum of $500 for deposits as well.
Daily, Paypal has a deposit limit of $1,500. If you want to deposit that much into your account in one day, you may need to head to multiple locations to do so. There’s also a monthly limit of $5,000 for cash deposits.
If you do want to head to a retail store to make your deposit, you’ll need to generate a unique barcode for the cashier to scan. When they scan it, they connect their system to your Paypal account, allowing you to put money straight onto your Paypal card.
Barcodes are only good for an hour and can only be scanned once. If you need to make an additional deposit, you’ll have to generate a new code.
There may be a small fee and deposit limits. Still, Paypal is an entirely online financial platform, so overall I’d say the ability to deposit cash at retail stores is a great feature they include with their debit card.
How to Add Money to Paypal Card Through a Linked Bank Account
Out of all of the ways to add money to your Paypal card, this way may be the easiest.
If you have a traditional checking account with a bank, like Chase Bank or Bank of America, transferring money from your bank to your Paypal card is a breeze.
First, you have to connect the two accounts. To do so, you’ll need your bank account number and your bank’s routing number. If you don’t know them, you can find them in your bank’s app or on any of your bank statements.
Open up the Paypal app and head to the wallet section of the app. This is the location in the app where you can add money through any of the methods I’ve gone over in the intro. Click “Add Banks and Cards” to add money through another debit card or checking account.
I’d always recommend using your debit card to link to your Paypal account before using your checking account number. As an ex-banker, I know firsthand how much easier it is to replace a debit card versus a checking account.
The transfer speed is the same for checking accounts and debit cards, and Paypal doesn’t charge for linking either.
If you want to link a debit or credit card, you can either manually enter your card information into Paypal or log in through your card’s issuer.
You can enter your card’s number, expiration date, and security code, or you can log into your card issuer’s website and give Paypal permission to access the information on their own.
Either way takes about the same amount of time, so it’s up to you how you connect the two.
If you want to link a bank account, the process works just about the same way.
Paypal will show you a list of popular banks and ask for you to log into your bank’s online platform to connect the two.
Your bank will usually ask you for permission before sharing your info with Paypal as well.
If you’re wondering exactly what Paypal gets from your bank, they tell you.
When Paypal accesses Chase, for example, they’ll get access to your contact details, account details, and up to 365 days of your transaction history.
If you connect Paypal to your bank through your bank’s login, the connection is sure to occur as soon as you finish. If you choose to connect your two accounts manually, it may take up to 2-3 business days
Once you’ve connected either a bank account or a debit card, your transfers to and from will be as easy as clicking a few buttons.
You can add cash for free, whenever you’d like. It should take between 1-5 business days for free transfers and instantly if you pay a fee.
How to Put Money on Paypal Card by Cashing a Check
If you have a check, you can deposit it straight onto your Paypal card.
Another relatively new invention that has come thanks to the advent of digital banking, taking a picture of the front and back of your checks, has saved millions of Americans from having to head to the bank.
Paypal has added the feature to their app amazingly.
If you ever get paid by check, Paypal will let you “cash” it into your account.
To do so, head to the wallet section of Paypal and click the button that says “Cash a check” in the top right hand portion of the screen.
Like I said earlier, Paypal can cash a check into your account by taking a picture of the front and the back.
To do so, Paypal will need your permission to access your device’s camera.
Once you’ve given them the greenlight, they’ll ask you for a couple more thumbs’ ups.
After you let Paypal use your camera, they will ask you to agree to their privacy disclosure as well as their terms and conditions for using this portion of their app. Once you’ve accepted the privacy notice and the terms and conditions, Paypal will ask to verify your contact information.
I know what you’re thinking, “I’m a Paypal user, and I’ve already given them my name and information. Why are they asking for it again?”
Technically, Paypal isn’t asking for your info. Rather, it’s their partner Ingo Bank that needs it.
Paypal does some banking and finance on their own, but for the portions, they contract out to other companies, they need separate permissions to facilitate the transactions. Basically, Ingo Bank wants to get your info as well, as they’re the ones actually processing the check.
After you’ve given Ingo Bank your full legal name, date of birth, and social security number, you should be all set to deposit checks straight into your Paypal account. Paypal lets their customers know that deposits could take up to 10 business days to clear.
There are limits on how much you can deposit through check deposit on Paypal. You can submit multiple checks on Paypal that total amount to $5,000 per day and per week and $15,000 per month.
How to Put Money on Paypal Card through Direct Deposit
The last way to put money on your Paypal card is through direct deposit.
This is the most popular way to fund Paypal cards by people who have jobs that offer direct deposit, as they can put their paycheck straight into Paypal without any hassle.
To begin putting money onto your Paypal card through Direct Deposit, head to the wallet section of Paypal. On the app, it’s the fifth and final button on the bottom portion of the screen.
Click on “direct deposit” towards the top of the screen. When you do, Paypal will show you a screen advertising their ability to receive your tax refund straight to Paypal, usually a couple of days early. Click through that and you should see your direct deposit information.
As an ex-banker who worked for Chase Bank for many years, I know direct deposits.
There are many ways to set it up, some with the banker and some with your employer. The easiest way to set up direct deposit with Paypal is to get your account numbers from them and give them to your employer.
When you click past the tax refund screen, you’ll see that your Paypal account has a routing number and an account number — just like a traditional bank account.
Give those account numbers to your employer and they should be able to send your paychecks straight to Paypal!
Paypal has partnered with a couple of large companies in America to give their users the ability to set up direct deposit on their own.
If you work for Walmart or DoorDash, you can set up direct deposit from your phone. This process works for government agencies as well.
If you work for McDonalds, a company run by a multitude of franchisees, you may not have the same payment processor as other McDonald’s employees in another location.
Paypal paid attention, and when you find your employer to set up your own direct deposit information through Paypal, Paypal will then ask for the specific payment processor as well.
Suppose you work for a smaller company that doesn’t have this fancy, automatic set-up, no worries.
Paypal can still provide you with your account and routing number so you can give them directly to your boss. They can input those numbers into the direct deposit system and send your paydays straight to Paypal.
You can even get your paychecks up to 2 days early through Paypal, if your employer’s system communicates with Paypal early. Paypal does let their customers know that it could take up to 2 pay periods to set everything up.
Where Can I Load My Paypal Card for Free?
This is a question I saw asked all over Google, Quora, and Reddit, so I thought I should answer it.
I saw plenty of answers online too, but most of them were just plain wrong, so then I really thought I should answer.
As I mentioned in the article, there’s a small fee to add cash to your Paypal card through a store. Walmart, Walgreens, and 7-Eleven all charge around $4 to accept paper deposits in-store.
Other websites claim that Walgreens may offer free Paypal deposits, but that simply isn’t the case.
If you go to the Paypal app yourself, you can check. Head to the wallet portion of the app and click “Add cash at a store”. Paypal will generate a list of stores that will accept your deposit.
Next to each store, at least for me in sunny (frozen) Colorado, there’s a fee associated with making a deposit. You can view the list as a map as well, looking at stores in your locality that will help you add your funds.
None of them are without a fee, sorry folks.
Can I Add Cash to My Paypal Card at an ATM?
This was another question I saw asked all over the internet.
While normal bank users are used to using their branch’s ATM to make their deposits, with both cash and checks, online bank users don’t get to share the same luxury.
Unfortunately, Paypal card users can’t add money to their Paypal cards through an ATM. If you have cash and want to put it in your Paypal account, you can always look for a retail store who will accept it.
