If you are looking to use Paypal along with Zelle, this post can help you with some useful information. There is a way to make Paypal work with Zelle and this post shares some tips and steps on how to achieve this.
Paypal is one of the preferred methods of online payments, especially to pay for international transactions to businesses (since Paypal works across countries). Zelle is a money transfer service that makes it easier to pay to your circle of trust i.e. friends and family and supports payments only within USA.
Another distinction is Paypal provides you a wallet where you can hold some money in balance. While Zelle is a pure money transfer service that does not hold any money on its own and ONLY facilitates movement of money between two banks in the USA, using your email id or US registered mobile number (which is linked to such a bank account or debit card) as a way to transfer.
Paypal is owned by eBay and Zelle is owned by a network of banks that include Bank of America, Chase, PNC, Capital One etc.
So you would see that Paypal and Zelle serve different purposes. Paypal is more for making payments for business transactions and supports payments outside the USA. While Zelle is for making payments to your friends and family and works only within the USA.
But coming to the main question –
Does Paypal work with Zelle?
Yes, there is a way to make Zelle work with Paypal. Paypal issues a debit card called Paypal Cash Card, which can be used to make payments using your Paypal balance. This debit card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, which happens to be a USA bank. You can add your Paypal debit card for personal account in the Zelle App and then use that as a payment method to make transfers using Zelle (this is not a surefire way though-see Way 1 note)
Another hack you may use is to link both your Paypal and Zelle account to the same US Bank account. That way, your bank account works as a bridge between the two apps. Any funds you receive in such a bank account, you can use to pay or transfer either using Paypal or Zelle. This does require to jump through a few hoops as you have to first transfer to this bridge bank and then move it to other.
However, you can’t make payments from your Zelle account to someone else’s Paypal account or vice versa, as they are incompatible. The ways explained here help you connect your OWN Paypal account to Zelle or use your own bank account as a common link between these two services. That way you can have access to funds while using Paypal or Zelle for payments to third parties.
Let’s talk about the details and steps involved for both these methods.
Way 1: Adding Paypal Cash Card as a payment method in Zelle- How to Add Paypal Cash Card in Zelle
Note: This is not a surefire way anymore as Zelle is restrictive about supporting PayPal cards. Even if you manage to add PayPal card, do note to test it out first if the transfer actually goes through.
Keep in mind that Zelle may not support a PayPal business account card, as it is mainly meant for personal transactions.
- Step 1 – Download and install Zelle App on your mobile
- Step 2 – Sign up with you mobile number
- Step 3- Next tap on Gear icon on top left of home screen to open the menu
- Step 4- Next tap on “Account” option
- Step 5- Tap on switch account which allows you to add a new debit card or bank, in case you have an existing bank account linked to Zelle
- Step 6- Next tap on “Don’t See My Bank” when it asks you to link a bank
- Step 7- Next you will get the option to link card
- Step 8- Next enter your Paypal Cash Debit card details like full number, expiration date, CVV etc
- Next enter the billing address associated with your Paypal Card
You will get confirmation that the card was added successfully.
That’s it, you will now be able to use money from your Paypal account to transfer and make payments using Zelle, using the Paypal card as a payment method.
Way 2- Using Same Bank Account linked to Paypal and Zelle
The other method is to use a common bank account which you can link to both Paypal and Zelle. That way you can use funds from such a bank account to make payments either using Paypal or Zelle.
If you already have a bank account linked to Zelle, you can add the same bank account in your Paypal Account. If you don’t have the bank account set up in Zelle, you can use the same steps (as mentioned in way 1 for adding a bank account or debit card to Zelle) or if your Bank directly supports Zelle, you can use your mobile banking app to complete the registration with Zelle.
If you are not familiar with how to link your bank account with Paypal, here are the steps involved:
Adding a Bank Account in Paypal [Steps]
- Step 1– Tap on the “Wallet” option on Paypal Home Page
- Step 2- Next tap on “Link a bank”on the desktop. If you are using the App, tap on Menu, next go to “Banks and Cards”
- Step 3- Select your bank from the list or alternatively run a search for it
- Step 4- Authenticate yourself by providing online banking details and complete the set up
Once you have added or linked a bank account in Paypal, you can use the funds from such a bank account to make payments for transactions using Paypal.
You can also transfer funds from your Paypal wallet balance to such a bank account, if you want to use these funds for making a payment through Zelle.
This way you can enjoy the benefits of both Zelle and Paypal, with the same bank account.
Wrap Up
While you can use any of the above two hacks to link your own Zelle and Paypal accounts. That way you can make payment using either of the services with a common pool.However, there is no direct way to pay from Paypal to Zelle. Zelle works only if both the sender and recipient are on Zelle.
