Paypal hoops

[Grogan]

I've had a merchant account for decades that I don't use. I was going to sell services and hosting from my web site at one time (it didn't pan out... I had but a few paying webhosting customers and when they didn't want it anymore, I just stopped doing it... I was spending WAY more time doing things for their sites than the money was worth anyway).

Now Paypal wants me to confirm my information. I went through their shit, having to start over a few times due to site errors and at the end of it all was "upload documents proving your address". There is no way in all of Hell's creation that I am uploading such documents to them. Why would they need that? They have a bank account and if there's some legal issue the bank knows who and where I am.

So I think I'll just close the account... fuck Paypal. It's never the only choice of payment processing anymore and I don't need them, their shit, or their ideological biases.

[Zema Bus]

They haven't done that to me yet, it's probably coming though. Down here the Patriot Act forces financial institutions to require that information, that can make it tough to use a virtual address with them or even a PO box. The CC companies I have accounts with allow using a separate mailing address but my credit union does not, so after I move I'm going to move to a different credit union, probably an online one.

[Grogan]

The only thing I use paypal for anymore is to give donations, and it's seldom the only payments accepted (e.g. I could also sign up for Patreon or something else)

Since I don't really trust paypal anyway, I'm leaning towards closing the account. I'm still thinking about it though, so as not to cut off my nose to spite my face, as I'm often wont to do. They already have my address, I just don't want to give them documents.

Any time I've ever received money from paypal I've gotten it out of their system, and out of the bank account connected to them, immediately. I even asked for the overdraft protection to be cut down on that account so paypal couldn't snatch much out of the mostly empty account. I never keep any money in it, just enough (e.g. $30 balance) so it doesn't go into overdraft for any fees. I could close THAT if I close the paypal account.