Tell me more ×
Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people who want to be financially literate. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 5 down vote favorite

How can I limit the value of my bank account tied to PayPal?

share|improve this question
I may be a bit naive. Why would you want to? – NickC Oct 26 '11 at 23:40
@Renesis Risk mitigation, perhaps? – Chris W. Rea♦ Oct 28 '11 at 12:04
@Chris, yes, I would guess that much, but risk of what? I'm wondering if there are risks of the ACH system or Paypal's use of it that are unknown to me. – NickC Oct 28 '11 at 14:47
Perhaps if the PayPal account were compromised (hacked), it would limit the amount of funds that could be transferred out. – Chris W. Rea♦ Oct 28 '11 at 17:50
Paypal and eBay both allow a 2nd level of authentication. You can get a battery powered credit card or a smart phone app that generates secrets you will need to enter. A pain, but you get used to it. The real pain is when the battery powered secret card dies and you need to undo the security.... – Paul Oct 30 '11 at 7:20
show 2 more comments

2 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

Short answer, you can't. Don't link your primary checking account to PayPal. Open a separate bank account like ING Direct and keep very little balance. I wrote about this a while back in my blog.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

You can limit the value of your checking account tied to paypal by not putting money in that account.

In fact, you should always limit the balance in your checking account to what you plan to spend, plus a reasonable buffer. Anything you have above and being that should be in separate accounts (both to minimize exposure as well as maximize your interest earned).

share|improve this answer
2  
Many banks will waive fees if you keep a certain minimum balance. With interest rates so low, it is generally more cost-effective to ensure you meet this minimum balance rather than moving the money out into an account that pays interest. – ChrisInEdmonton Oct 28 '11 at 14:10

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.