Yesterday, #DeletePayPal was trending on Twitter. This is not an expression of solidarity with the Daily Sceptic, although PayPal’s attempt to close our account, along with that of the Free Speech Union and my personal account, seems to have been the beginning of the company’s recent difficulties. Rather, it is a response to a change to its Acceptable Use Policy that the company announced last week, whereby it was about to grant itself the right to fine customers $2,500 if they spread “misinformation” or offended members of various victim groups. By “fine” it meant help itself to $2,500 from its customers’ deposits, so, not surprisingly, many people decided to withdraw their funds and close their accounts. That, in turn, prompted PayPal to do a reverse ferret and announce that its message setting out the changes to its Acceptable Use Policy had been sent in “error”. Cue general hilarity, including this tweet from Brendan Carr, a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission: “@PayPal says its misinformation policy ‘went out in error’. Because who among us has not fat fingered a new, seven-page policy that would take away peoples’ money for publishing ‘misinformation’ – and then released that new policy on accident?”
I suspect many of PayPal’s customers won’t be reassured by this change of heart and will continue to be wary of the woke payment processor. Consequently, I thought it would be useful to reprint a guide to closing your account produced by BGR.
First things first: Make sure to withdraw any money you have remaining in your PayPal account before you get ready to close it. Click that link to learn how to do so — and then, once any lingering issues or balance is taken care of, here’s how you’ll delete your PayPal via the company’s website.
- Click the Settings icon, next to the words “Log out”.
- Click Close your account under “Account options”.
- Enter your bank account number if you’re asked to do.
- Finally, click Close Account.
If you want to delete your PayPal account from the app instead:
- First, log into the app.
- Click on the Profile icon in the upper-left corner.
- Scroll down until you see the option to Close your account.
- After tapping Close your account, next click on the Close Account button.
One final, important note: Any unpaid money requests are automatically canceled after closing your PayPal account. Also, you will lose any unused redemption codes or coupons.
Worth reading in full.
If you need further guidance, Tech Insider has produced a video guide.
Stop Press: A reader reports that when he tried to close his account he got a message saying: “We’re sorry, we’re not able to process your request right now. Please try again later.” I wonder if PayPal’s recent behaviour has produced the digital equivalent of a run on the bank and it cannot now return its customers deposits because it’s invested them in financial products it cannot now liquidate without incurring large losses? If anyone else is having difficulty closing their PayPal account, please contact us here.
Stop Press 2: PayPal’s stock is down 6%. Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge has more. The Zero Hedge Twitter account says: “Anyone caught shorting this woke payment platform will be fined $2500.”

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Thanks very much. I have been struggling with this. Hopefully, there is enough info for the technically useless such as me. Too many websites assume competence levels at the same standing as the site designers.
I have two regular payments going out to other Sceptic sites so I need to organise alternatives first. It’s a right ball…Perhaps though we can shut PP down.
And then on the other side of the scale we have the Swiss Banks and the Bank of International Settlements…
“How may we help you, Sir?”
“I have a war to finance, and need somewhere to hold the wealth of my victims, and I will not tell you my real name nor anything else about me, and if you try to make enquiries about me I will surely find out and make your last few moments very… difficult.”
“Yes of course, Sir, please step this way. Kaffee und Kuchen?”
Ah, what a strange world we live in…
Having said this, not to be unfair to the Swiss, many BSV-related operations are registered there.
‘A reader reports that when he tried to close his account he got a message saying: “We’re sorry, we’re not able to process your request right now. Please try again later.”
I encountered this, also another message about a pending transaction. What was stopping closure I discovered was there was a Direct Debit Mandate which had been set up when I linked PayPal to my bank account. I was not aware of this.
Once I had cancelled this with my bank – I did it on-line – I was immediately able to close the PayPal account.
Toby, add a Stop Press 2!
I wonder if the ‘banning’ of numerous accounts – and thus holding on to the money for six months – has been a way for PayPal to try to keep money in its coffers. It’s possible PayPal simply no longer has the funds to reimburse all the people closing their accounts or even those moving across money on a normal basis. Woke capital is living up the the ‘Get woke, go broke’ saying!
Just checked their Trustpilot rating. Pretty bad and it’s not all due to recent events
Brilliant! I expect the 8% giving a rating of five work for the company.
My experiences of trying to close my account…first you have to cancel all automated recurring payments via Paypal. I think to do this I just went to ‘Payments’ within Paypal. When you’ve done this, and try to cancel, you may get a message saying that the account can’t be closed because there’s a transaction in progress/pending transaction. Wait a few days then try again. If there’s still a transaction in process wait a few more days then try again. Eventually you will, as I did, find that you will be able to cancel. Oh and before you cancel remember to send a complaint saying why you’re cancelling. And here’s one advantage of cancelling – all those ‘Paypal’ debits on your bank statement – it’s wonderful to see after all these years the retailers’ names! I haven’t found it ‘inconvenient’ to go back to using my Visa card for online purchases (in the circumstances, it’s a pleasure).
👍
PayPal going under would be a nice start.
You also have to delete any payment link apps using Paypal. I had this set up on Quickbooks so my customers could pay their invoices (yes bad luck Paypal your piss-poor-practice just lost a fair few quid each year from my business) and I had to delete the app in Quickbooks before Paypal would allow me to close the account.
I only hope enough ordinary decent folk get their money out before the house of cards collapses.
Netflix, Amazon, Apple and co better watch out as well. General Tobes is on a war footing!
Go analogue! Especially with your assets. Before the choice is removed altogether.
Thanks for the explanatory notes above.
Account now closed.
Now to set up new payments for Off-G and The Light.
Every little act, a million little cuts, it all counts.
I now wish I had a PayPal account, just so I could go and close it!
I have just successfully closed my PayPal account that I have had since 2003 – but not without some apprehension.
It must be clear to PayPal – and whoever they are connected to – that such behaviour would cause people to leave. So would cancelled accounts be a financial corporation’s desired objective? What if people began to predictably cancel other accounts when faced with similar corporate behaviour? Would it hasten the end of fiat money? Would it pave the way for something more unpalatable?
I am just speculating here, of course. But I am always wary about going down easy paths that seem to have been opened up by untrustworthy organisations.
When a misinformation policy goes out in error, it brings irony to a whole new level.
Someone in PayPal admin is quite the butterfingers!
Who do they think they are – PayPolice?
Had an account since 2011 but they’ve slashed on their pomme frites good and proper. . Closed it last week.
I’m quite annoyed because I can’t cancel my PayPal account twice. Having done it in solidarity with The Daily Sceptic, I now can’t cancel it again over their proposed THEFT of my money because they don’t like my opinions.
Also, make sure you delete your bank card from Paypal. Don’t want them having your debit card details.
The $2500 charge on your account if you are naughty is still in the Acceptable Use Policy for USA Paypal users:
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full?locale.x=en_US#s4-restricted-activities.
Some ‘mistake’.