How to Cancel PayPal Payment in 2024? Some Proven Ways

Suchi Goswami
January 4, 2024
Fact checked by
Narayan

Have you sent a payment to the wrong person through PayPal? Do you want to reverse a payment? Don’t worry; you can cancel a payment and even get your money back through a PayPal refund. Go through this blog to understand more about cancelling PayPal payment.

Table Of Contents

Introduction
Can You Cancel A PayPal Payment?
How to Cancel A PayPal Payment?
How to Cancel Payment on PayPal – Recurring payment
PayPal Refund
PayPal Dispute
Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

PayPal is one of the most widely used payment platforms worldwide. Along with payment transactions, it can also be integrated with eCommerce portals like eBay.

The main reason people prefer using this payment platform is because of its quick and easy payment mechanism. However, these lightning-speed transactions can sometimes lead to problems when you have made a wrong payment or sent money to the wrong receiver.

And in these cases, PayPal users rush to cancel the payment, which is generally not possible if the payment is authorized. The payment transactions can only be canceled if it is yet being finalized. Let’s discuss more about it in the next section.

Can You Cancel A PayPal Payment?

You must be searching for the answer to this query. But the fact is that payments cannot be canceled once it’s authorized and the money will surely be debited from your account.

However, you can cancel or stop a PayPal transaction under certain circumstances, including:

If the recipient’s email does not have a registered PayPal account.
If the recipient’s email address is not verified by PayPal.
If the recipient has chosen to accept payments on their account manually.

In these cases, you get leverage of a few seconds to immediately cancel PayPal transactions.

The payment platform can mark your transaction as a pending payment if you have entered an invalid recipient address, and your deducted amount will be refunded within 30 days.

Now that you know, there is a slight chance of PayPal cancellation. Let’s look at the steps of how to cancel a payment on PayPal in the next section.

Also Read: How Long Does a PayPal Refund Take?

How to Cancel A PayPal Payment?

The payment goes into the pending status, and that is when you can proceed with the PayPal cancellation steps. But keep in mind that if it shows the transaction is completed, then you need to try something else.

But first, look at the steps of how to cancel a payment on PayPal that we have listed below:

Unlock your device and launch PayPal.
Log in to your PayPal account with your credentials.
Here, go to the Activity tab at the top of the page.

Locate the payment in the transaction history.

Now, select the payment, and click on the cancel button.
Lastly, tap on Cancel Payment.
That’s it, your transaction will be successfully canceled.

Meanwhile, if your money is withdrawn during the PayPal stop payment

process. Do not worry; the payment platform will refund the amount within 30 days to your PayPal account.

Also, remember that in cases of cancellation of payment, PayPal sends your money back into your PayPal account regardless of the payment mode (debit card/credit card/bank account).

Also Read: How to Cancel A PayPal Payment?

How to Cancel Payment on PayPal – Recurring payment

It is quite easy to set up a recurring payment option on PayPal, as you no longer have to worry about processing your payment again and again. However, if you have canceled your subscription or it has been ended, then you need to cancel recurring payments using the PayPal stop payment method. Otherwise, your PayPal account will automatically initiate the payment on the date set by you.

Here are the steps on how to stop a recurring PayPal payment:

Launch PayPal on your device and log in to your account.
Click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the account dashboard.

Now, go to the Payments section.

Click on the Manage Automatic Payment tab.
Here, locate and click on the automatic payment or subscription you want to cancel.
Lastly, click on Cancel.

Note: Recurring payments must be canceled at least 24 hours before the initiation to stop the transaction.

In case you were unable to stop the transaction, without wasting any time, you need to proceed with the PayPal Refund Request process; here’s how.

PayPal Refund

If you somehow fail to catch your payment on time, the amount will be transferred to the recipient’s account. But don’t be disheartened, as you still have the option to request a refund through PayPal.

PayPal refund time usually depends on the original mode of payment. A credit card and debit card payment can take up to 30 days. If payment was made using a PayPal account balance, you can get the refund on the same day, and if the payment was made using the funds of your linked bank account, it can take 5 days to appear in your account.

Please keep in mind that PayPal is just the payment processor, which is why your entire refund process will depend on the recipient.

Here are the steps to request a Refund on PayPal:

First, log in to your PayPal account.

Click on the Activity section on the top right of the account dashboard.

Here, you will see all your transactions.
Locate the transaction you want a refund for and go to the summary.
You will see the recipient’s email address on this page.
Contact the recipient and request a PayPal refund.

You need to request a refund within 180 days of the transaction. After that, PayPal won’t show you the request refund option. You can also file a dispute over the transaction. Refer to the next section to know more.

PayPal Dispute

If, by any chance, the person to whom you sent money refuses to refund the amount, or you think they are a scammer, you can file a Dispute on PayPal. After filing a dispute, you will be able to communicate with the receiver via messages in the PayPal resolution center to settle the dispute.

Follow the steps written below to open a Dispute on PayPal:

Go to the resolution center.
Tap on Report a problem.

Now, select the payment you want to dispute.
Click on Continue and choose a reason for your dispute.

That’s it; you can now talk to the recipient and get your money back. The PayPal dispute can only be filed within 180 days of the transaction and only for purchases and not for personal transfers. And even if the PayPal dispute does not resolve your issue, you can proceed to escalate your dispute into a claim. After doing so, PayPal will investigate the matter to settle the claim.

As you have understood, the process of getting your money back is not that easy. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to re-check all the details and learn the correct steps for sending and receiving money on PayPal before proceeding with the transaction. In that way, you can avoid all the mistakes and even the stress of dealing with the Payment cancellation and refund processes.

Suggested Read: How to Cancel Chase Credit Card?

Frequently Asked Questions

Ans: Payment reversals can occur when the net banking portal suspects and discovers that someone has accessed the user’s account.

Ans: To cancel a payment transaction:

Go to your PayPal account.
Click on the Activity section and you will see your transaction history.
Select the transaction you want to cancel.
Click on the Cancel payment tab and your transaction will successfully be canceled.

Ans: To stop an ongoing transaction. All you need to do is open your transaction history, locate the payment that you want to cancel, and click on the cancel payment button.

Ans: To cancel reversing a payment: