How to Close a PayPal Business Account

8 min read

So, you’ve found a better way to get paid. Now you want to close your PayPal business account. Or maybe it’s that PayPal doesn’t offer all the features your growing business needs. We get it. And we’re here to help with this easy step-by-step guide (and to help manage your separation anxiety).

Let’s review. PayPal accounts come in different flavors. According to PayPal, there are two main types:

Personal account: Recommended for users who shop and pay online, or who wish to send or receive personal payments for shared expenses in the case of, for example, a divided restaurant bill or rental charge.
Business account: Recommended for merchants acting under a corporate or group name. This account offers additional features such as limited access to 200 employees on your account and the alias of the Customer Service email address so that difficulties with your customer are handled appropriately for faster tracking.

Though PayPal is a big name in the payment processing industry, it’s certainly not the only one. At the end of this article, we’ll provide you some alternatives and links to other resources on the Ecwid site to make your transition away from PayPal Business a smooth one.

Ready, Set, Woah!!

If you’ve checked and are positive you have a Business Account, make sure you’ve considered the following before closing your account:

There’s no such thing as “deactivating” a PayPal Business Account and saving it to reactivate later. If you close your PayPal account, it will be permanently closed. Be sure to record the bank account you linked your PayPal Business Account to so you can easily set up your next payment account.
Because you can’t reopen your account, your entire transaction history will be deleted. So we recommend downloading your records by going to Activity > All Transactions, and changing the Date to the ranges you would like to save. You can then hit the Download link on the top right of the results to pick the kinds of records you want to save to your computer.
This one should be obvious, but: be sure that you look at your PayPal Balance and Transfer Money to your bank before you close your PayPal account. Remember, you can also request a Check by Mail from the same dropdown menu.
You can’t close your PayPal Business account from a mobile phone. Be sure you’re at a laptop or desktop computer. You’ll probably want to do this anyway because the screens are easier to navigate on a monitor and you may want to download your transaction history (covered above).

Ready Now? Let’s Go.

Log in to your PayPal account.
Click on your Profile link in the top right of the screen.
Click on Account Settings.
In the Account Settings menu on the left of your screen, select Account Preferences.
Click the Close Account link in the Account Type row. (Just to be safe, make sure it says “Business” as the account type.)

That’s pretty much it. PayPal will want to verify that it’s you who’s closing your account, so make sure you have your password and any other credentials you’ve used to log in handy.

On the final screen, you will see a scary warning telling you your decision to close and delete your PayPal account is final. Be brave. There’s a world of options out there for you, and we’re here to help you decide what the right fit is for you and your Ecommerce dream.

Tips for an Easy, No-Stress Transition

If you’ve done business with PayPal for a while, you know that changing things through the platform can take time. Be patient. It may take a few days for your request to close and delete your PayPal account to process.
Know that you can use the same email address in the future to reopen or open a new PayPal account once you close your existing account.
Closing a PayPal account is typically pretty easy. But if you run into issues closing your PayPal account, make sure you don’t have Pending payments. If that’s not the problem, try clicking on Activity > Open Cases. Then, under the Resolution Center submenu, look for anything outstanding on that screen. Finally, while you’re there, you can click on the big blue button that says Report a Problem if there is a transaction with an issue that’s holding you up.
Still can’t close your PayPal business account and want to get ahold of a customer service agent in person? That can be tough, but here’s where you do that.

Click on Help in the top blue bar of any screen you should see a menu slide out from the right of your screen. The tiny link you’re looking for is the Help Center at the bottom left of that menu. This will take you to a page with three options at the top.

The one you’re looking for is the Message Center. Click that and you’re in business. You can send a message there or click on Contact Us at the bottom of that screen to text or call a (hopefully helpful) support person.

Getting Over the Breakup

No matter what your reason was for closing your PayPal business account, Ecwid is here to make sure your Ecommerce business continues on without a hitch. That’s why we offer over 50 credit card payment providers — and Ecwid does not charge any additional transaction fees!

Consider your options. On this page you’ll find the list of online payment systems available in your Ecwid account.
Make the switch: On your Payment page in your Ecwid admin area you can change or activate a new payment provider.
Special orders don’t upset us. If you use a payment gateway that’s not on the list, you can use the Ecwid Payment API. We can even set you up with a Ecwid Customization expert if you fill out this form.

That’s it. You’re free from PayPal. Now go out and do something wonderful with your business.

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Apr 26, 2021

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.