Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
PayPal using EU rules to require user phone numbers (paypal.com)
17 points by justinclift on March 13, 2020 | hide | past | favorite | 9 comments


PayPal also removed the option to opt-out of currency conversion. We are now forced to use their currency conversion which I'm sure is stacked against the user. Scummy. My credit card waives the conversion fee and I'd much rather use that directly.

The primary reason I used to prefer PayPal was the fraud protection. That's also moot now. I was scammed by an instagram ad that purported to sell a cycling gear. Even after I reported it they never blocked the site from accepting PayPal. The scam was so obvious but they made me jump through hoops to file various complaints with various law enforcement agencies to refund my money. Save yourself some pain and stop using PayPal.Edit: It's still active: [1]

[1] https://iridesce.shop/products/make-your-bike-smarter/


> PayPal also removed the option to opt-out of currency conversion.

I managed to pay in the seller's currency recently, though I did notice a while back that the UI had changed and it took some digging to figure out how to do it.

Or is this perhaps a country-specific thing? I'm in the UK.


When logging in to PayPal now, they require all users to give their mobile phone number due to new EU legislation. With no "skip" option, as there has historically been.

The light text, hard to see disclaimer at the bottom of the form requires people to agree their phone numbers can be used for marketing purposes.

They're misusing the EU legislation for nefarious purposes.



PayPal has always used scummy tactics like using their EU banking license and declaring themselves a payment processor at the same time to get all advantages and avoid all disadvantages of both.


Time to cancel the PayPal account. Haven't used it more than once every 1-2 years anyway.


Hang on, someone's changed the title I submitted this with, removing the most important point.

ie: PayPal is misusing the EU rules, for spamming purposes.

@dang Please change the title back.


The same contrived reason why Twitter and Facebook required mobile numbers for setting up 2FA.


Yeah, the PayPal version seems to be SMS-only 2FA too, so potentially reducing security in some circumstances. :(




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: