PayPal Will Soon Start Charging Canadians Up To $20 If They're Not Using Their Account Enough
Here's how to avoid getting burned by the inactivity fee. ⬇️
If you've received an email warning you about a "PayPal inactivity fee," it's likely not a scam! The online banking company is in fact charging Canadians who aren't using their account enough, and you could lose up to $20 as a result.
The deadline for not getting fined is December 15, 2021, and there are a few simple actions to take before then to not lose any money.
The inactivity fee only applies to accounts that are — surprise, surprise — inactive, which means that eligible accounts with zero activity over the past 12 months are in danger of being dinged. The PayPal fee could be anywhere up to $20, depending on how much money you have in your account.
If you've not used PayPal in a year and you have less than $20 in your account, the fee will take you down to a balance of $0. If you have more than $20, you'll lose exactly $20. If you have no money in your inactive account, you won't be fined anything!
You can avoid the charge with a few remarkably easy steps; the first of which is to simply log in to your account. Beyond that, buying something with money from your PayPal account, donating to charity with PayPal money, sending money to family or friends or withdrawing money from the account will all stop the fee from coming into effect.
(There's also an exception for accounts in Alberta with more than $250 that have been inactive for five years or fewer.)
So now's the time to keep an eye on that PayPal balance and reset your password if you've forgotten — you've got until mid-December to show some signs of life!