why would paypal send my payent as an e-check? UPDATE - Be careful guys
zep33
Posts: 6,897 ✭✭✭
I've never sent anyone an e-check before and I paid for an auction Saturday using what I thought was my usual checkout. There was a little more than the auction amount in my paypal balance. I was looking at my bank statement online this morning and saw that Paypal had withdrawn $3.99 from my account to use as an e-check. Any clue why this happened or did I maybe click a wrong button somewhere along the line?
0
Comments
I don't think they have my debit card, just my checking account #s
edit - I just looked at my account and the credit card they have on file expired on 07/07 so that can't be it. I don't use credit cards for purchases, just my paypal balance. I did pay for an auction earlier on Saturday that went through the normal way. After that, I was left with the 6.60 balance.
wierd
I decided to call them at this point and believe it or not, got a hold of a "real" person within 1 minute. He put me on hold and came back a minute later telling me they are having some issues with the problem I'm having right now.
No time frame on a fix yet except the canned "try again in 48 hours" response.
So I guess be careful if you guys are thinking you're paying with your paypal balance for now - you may not be.
I didn't post about this, but last month I had an "issue" with the gang, too.
I have a stack of CCs on file at PP to pay fees. When I went to my PP linked
online checking-account to look for a picture of a cashed check, I found MANY
MONIES were missing. The PP gang had hit my CA instead of my CC for EBAY fees.
It was no big deal, BUT if they did it to somebody without plenty of cash
in their checking account, it could cause the person BIG trouble; bounced
checks, etc.
When I called them, they had no explanation and were unconcerned. EBAY
can save a FORTUNE by hitting a checking account instead of a CC. They
pay a fee when you pay by CC; no fee when they jack your checking account.
NONE of my CCs were expired. All are properly linked and have been used
for EBAY fee payments for many years.
Their RICO games will not last forever.
You can read about more of their antics at
scr*w-paypal.com
substitute a letter for the *
<< <i>You can read about more of their antics at
scr*w-paypal.com
substitute a letter for the * >>
Today's letter is the letter
<< <i>what exactly is an echeck anyway? >>
//////////////////////////////////////
It's a paperless ACH transaction.
ACH credit transfers include direct-deposit payroll payments and payments to contractors and vendors. ACH debit transfers include consumer payments on insurance premiums, mortgage loans, and other kinds of bills. Businesses are also increasingly using ACH to collect from customers online, rather than accepting credit or debit cards.Many banks use ACH facility for their customers.
Debit transfers also include new applications such as the Point-of-Purchase (POP) check conversion pilot program sponsored by NACHA. FedACH is the Federal Reserve's centralized application software used to process ACH transactions. Both the government and the commercial sectors use ACH payments. The Electronic Payments Network (EPN) is the only private sector ACH Operator in the United States.
The Federal Reserve Banks are collectively the nation's largest automated clearinghouse operator and in 2005 processed 60% of commercial interbank ACH transactions. The EPN processed the remaining 40%. EPN and the Reserve Banks rely on each other for the processing of some transactions in which either the Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI) or Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI) is not their customer. These interoperator transactions are settled by the Reserve Banks.
Contents
1 Uses of the ACH Payment System
2 ACH process
3 Standard entry class code
4 Some problems with ACH
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
[edit] Uses of the ACH Payment System
Direct Deposit of payroll, Social security and other government benefits, and tax refunds
Direct Payment of consumer bills such as mortgages, loans, utility bills, and insurance premiums, rents, and any other regular payment.
Business-to-business (B2B) payments
E-check
E-commerce payments
Federal, state, and local tax payments
[edit] ACH process
In accordance with the rules and regulations of ACH, no financial institution may simply issue an ACH transaction (whether it be debit or credit) towards an account without prior authorization from the account holder (known as the Receiver in ACH terminology).
An ACH entry starts with a Receiver authorizing an Originator to issue ACH debit or credit to an account. An Originator can be a person or a company (such as the gas company, a local cable company, or one's employer). Depending on the ACH transaction, the Originator must receive written (ARC, POP, PPD), verbal (TEL), or electronic (WEB) authorization from the Receiver. Written authorization constitutes a signed form giving consent on the amount, date, or even frequency of the transaction. Verbal authorization needs to be either audio recorded or the "Originator" must send a receipt of the transaction details before or on the date of the transaction. A WEB authorization must include a customer reading the terms of the agreement and typing or selecting some form of an "I agree" statement.
Once authorization is acquired, the Originator then creates an ACH entry to be given to an Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI), which can be any financial institution that does ACH origination. This ACH entry is then sent to an ACH Operator (usually the Fed) and is passed on to the Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI), where the Receiver's account is issued either a credit or debit, depending on the ACH transaction.
The RDFI may, however, reject the ACH transaction and return it to the ODFI with the appropriate reason, such as that there were insufficient funds in the account or that the account holder indicated that the transaction was unauthorized. An RDFI has a prescribed amount of time in which to perform returns, ranging from 2 to 60 days from the receipt of the ACH transaction. However, the majority of transactions, if going to be returned, are done so within 24 hours from midnight of the day the RDFI receives the transaction.
An ODFI receiving a return of an ACH entry may re-present the ACH entry two more times, or up to three total times, for settlement. Again, the RDFI may reject the transaction. After which, the ODFI may no longer represent the transaction via ACH.
[edit] Standard entry class code
The Standard Entry Class (SEC) code is a three letter code that identifies the nature of the ACH entry. Here are some common SEC codes:
ARC
Accounts Receivable Entries. Checks received by a merchant through mail or drop box and presented as an ACH entry.
BOC
Back Office Conversion. Checks that are converted from paper to an electronic debit at a centralized location.
CCD
Corporate Cash Disbursement. Primarily used for business to business transactions.
DNE
Death Notification Entry. Issued by the Federal Government.
POP
Point-of-Purchase. A check presented in-person to a merchant for purchase is presented as an ACH entry instead of a physical check.
POS
Point-of-Sale. A debit at electronic terminal initiated by use of a plastic card. An example is using your Debit card to purchase gas.
PPD
Prearranged Payment and Deposits. Used to credit or debit a consumer account. Popularly used for payroll direct deposits and preauthorized bill payments.
RCK
Represented Check Entries. A physical check that was presented but returned because of insufficient funds may be represented as an ACH entry.
TEL
Telephone Initiated-Entry. Verbal authorization by telephone to issue an ACH entry such as checks by phone. (TEL code allowed for inbound telephone orders only. NACHA disallows the use of this code for outbound telephone solicitations calls. )
WEB
Web Initiated-Entry. Electronic authorization through the Internet to create an ACH entry such as PayPal.
XCK
Destroyed Check Entry. A physical check that was destroyed because of a disaster can be presented as an ACH entry.
[edit] Some problems with ACH
This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
ACH payments have been around for some time now, but people are just getting used to them, especially with the ARC, POP, and RCK, where the original instrument was a physical check. One problem occurs when the account holder issues a stop payment on a physical check not knowing that the check was presented as an ACH entry.
A timeframe problem can cause potential loss towards an RDFI due to irregular timeframes provided for the return of ACH entries that are subject to Electronic Funds Transfer Act (Regulation E). An example is a POP and ARC entry, where an RDFI has only 60 days from the date of settlement to return an unauthorized debit, and the consumer has 60 days upon notification to dispute a transaction in his statement under Regulation E. With these timeframes, it is possible that the 60-day period allowed for ACH return would expire even before the consumer's 60-day protection (under Regulation E) would expire.
Another problem deals with compliance where the merchant causes an ODFI to issue an ARC or POP entry (for check presentment) and then fails to comply with the handling of the physical check and presents the physical check for payment as well. This causes a double-debit against a consumer account.