Products · Product
PayPal
Raised as a usability problem by 409 people on Hacker News over 20 years (2007–2026), in 285 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
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- 2Hard to pay with a credit card insteadUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Account locked with no explanation and support refuses to helpUnreviewed
20072026- Account got locked right after bank verification, forcing a support call and ID scan2026-02-20
- Account locked with no explanation and support refuses to help2025-08-27
- Locked out after old phone number disconnected; no support path without logging in2023-01-24
Hard to pay with a credit card insteadUnreviewed
20072026- Pay button keeps moving, pushing users toward a PayPal credit card signup2020-11-27
- Switching between bank account, credit card, and PayPal balance is confusing and seemingly deliberate2020-10-18
- Can't change the default payment method; PayPal Credit stays selected without the user's choice2015-05-20
Cancelling subscriptions directly with merchants is hard to figure outUnreviewed
20072026- Merchant cancellation process doesn't work, forcing repeated emails to stop a renewal2025-05-02
- Recurring subscriptions are hard to find to cancel, buried in menus2023-07-13
- Recurring payments drain PayPal balance before the intended payment method is used2023-02-23
Some pages take up to five seconds to loadUnreviewed
20072026- Web interface is painfully slow to use2025-09-16
- Site is slow and buggy to interact with2021-05-28
- Website feels bloated and hard to use2019-11-06
Account blocked after sales, forcing repeated lengthy card verificationUnreviewed
20072026- Fraud complaint interface is counterintuitive and built for normal complaints2025-09-16
- Account gets blocked and must repeat lengthy card processing verification after a few thousand in sales2021-12-26
- Reporting each fraudulent purchase gets throttled, making disputes harder than with a bank2020-04-29
Locked out for a week due to unreliable SMS codesUnreviewed
20072026- Each payment requires switching to phone, finding code, and typing it, taking half a minute2024-01-03
- Login forced SMS code, which never sent, blocking access despite a YubiKey2022-12-13
- Password reset forces SMS to an old phone number even after security answers; support only reachable via automated bot2022-11-15
Cannot change account country or close account, forcing a new accountUnreviewed
20072026- Cannot change account country or close account; must create a new account2023-10-27
- Account can't be closed; support gives conflicting reasons and never follows through2022-11-04
- Cannot log in from abroad; told to open a new account instead2022-01-24
Can't log in to delete account because SMS 2FA goes to a lost numberUnreviewed
20072026- 2FA code sent to an old phone number that was supposed to be deleted2023-05-26
- Locked out of account because 2FA only accepts an old home phone number2023-02-23
- Can't log in to delete account because SMS 2FA goes to a lost number2022-08-27
Long generated password silently truncated with no character limit warningUnreviewed
20072026- Silently truncated passwords locked user out with no warning about the length limit2024-10-18
- Login silently truncates passwords longer than its limit, so the full password fails2024-09-25
- Password truncated on creation but not at login, locking user out2024-02-23
Currency conversion option is buried and silently flipped backUnreviewed
20072026- Currency conversion toggle is hidden, so users forget to switch to their bank's rate2026-07-15
- Hidden setting to use bank rates was removed, forcing PayPal conversion rates2024-10-12
- Currency conversion option is buried and gets flipped back without warning, costing users money2023-02-01
Scattered API documentation and overlapping APIs cause confusionUnreviewed
20072026- Poor, outdated documentation and a slow, hard-to-understand API made integration painful2019-09-19
- Documentation is poor, multiple competing APIs, and the admin UI makes finding transactions hard2018-03-08
- Docs mixed up services and APIs, making the current one hard to identify2017-08-01
Phone-call verification abroad makes login nearly impossibleUnreviewed
20072026- Login forces phone number sharing after CAPTCHAs, with no usable alternative verification2021-05-29
- 20 character password limit is infuriating; cannot use foreign phone number, must close account when moving2019-07-05
- Travelling abroad, the phone-call verification made login nearly impossible, risking account lockout2018-03-05
Forced time span selection makes multi-day transaction searches very slowUnreviewed
20072026- Forced time span selection makes searching transactions take forever over several days2016-02-09
- Simple searches by email or date range take a very long time2014-12-03
- Old, slow-feeling interface makes finding three-month-old transactions hard2013-01-07
Payment page looks like it requires signing up to pay by cardUnreviewed
20072026- Forced to log in to pay by card, with no option to skip it2023-01-24
- Guest card payment blocked; forced to log in or create an account to pay2017-04-29
- Payment page looks like it requires signing up to pay by card2015-09-18
Linking a bank account to PayPal is very slowUnreviewed
20072026- Linking a fingerprint to PayPal takes many steps across several settings screens2014-10-12
- Can only link a bank account to one PayPal account, forcing money shuffling2012-04-18
- Linking a PayPal account to a bank account is very slow2010-11-18
Dark patterns cause users to pay accidentallyUnreviewed
20072026- App uses UI dark patterns that push users into holding money in PayPal balance2025-09-15
- Interface uses dark patterns that cause users to accidentally pay2023-01-24
- Too many ways to pay people, and dark patterns steer users toward fee-charging methods2022-05-23
Users sent off-site and many never make it back to merchantUnreviewed
20072026- Users get sent off-site and many never make it back to the merchant2016-04-10
- Forces visitors to leave the site to pay, disrupting their experience2010-11-18
- Checkout sends customers off site, making the user experience slow2009-12-03
Verification rejects documents with no alternative options offeredUnreviewed
20072026- Verification rejects documents and support gives no alternative options2019-01-12
- Identity verification upload form does not work, blocking recovery of frozen funds2017-04-29
- Verification form shows 'please try again later' error; support only sends copy-pasted steps that can't be followed2011-12-07
Forced to solve two captchas after correct password and TOTPUnreviewed
20072026- Password reset page fails to load after completing captcha, leaving user locked out2026-02-21
- Forced to solve two captchas after entering correct password and TOTP2023-02-24
- Must solve two captchas and fill the login form twice2022-11-04
Bank account setup refuses the user's phone numberUnreviewed
20072026- Bank account setup fails because it refuses the user's phone number2023-08-15
- Forced to dig up bank account number through bank login to pay2012-07-29
- Repeatedly refuses to link the user's bank account, forcing credit card use2009-05-26
Wrongly told email is unconfirmed, blocking account useUnreviewed
20072026- Account gets blocked with no feedback, leaving the user anxious and unsure of status2024-02-13
- Wrongly tells user their email is unconfirmed, blocking account use2023-04-26
- Still gets emails despite ban; logging in shows ban notice, can't close account or opt out2023-03-28
Locked out after Google Voice 2FA blocked, support requires authenticationUnreviewed
20072026- Locked out after Google Voice 2FA blocked; support requires authentication to get help2023-01-26
- Locked out after adding TOTP 2FA; support says email them to reset it2022-08-27
- Repeated login challenges and lockout on phone despite strong 2FA, needing support2022-01-23
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Button labelled continue to login actually starts passkey setup; cancel is needed to log in2026-09-18
- Withdrawing money requires extra steps and cancelling a transfer takes two clicks2026-08-28
- Pages render blank on Firefox mobile2026-08-27
- Currency conversion toggle is hidden, so users forget to switch to their bank's rate2026-07-15
- Uses dark patterns to push sign-in and makes signing out hard2026-07-15
- Too many screens and hidden opt-outs before entering card details2026-02-25
- Password reset page fails to load after completing captcha, leaving user locked out2026-02-21
- Account got locked right after bank verification, forcing a support call and ID scan2026-02-20
- Product feels slow and dated to use2026-02-20
- Endless document requests with no human review, so appeals feel futile2026-02-09
- PayPal refuses to enrol passkeys and Amazon gives an error on Linux Firefox2025-12-23
- Web interface is painfully slow to use2025-09-16
- Plugin for accepting Bitcoin was so complicated the commenter gave up2025-09-16
- Fraud complaint interface is counterintuitive and built for normal complaints2025-09-16
- Transfer to external wallet address never completes despite UI saying it's possible2025-09-15
- Support tickets restart from scratch and phone reps are nearly impossible to reach2025-09-15
- App uses UI dark patterns that push users into holding money in PayPal balance2025-09-15
- Account locked with no explanation and support refuses to help2025-08-27
- Managing a merchant account is extremely complex compared to other payment solutions2025-06-04
- Impossible to find support contacts; only redirects to useless FAQs2025-05-14
- Merchant cancellation process doesn't work, forcing repeated emails to stop a renewal2025-05-02
- Multiple passkeys all labeled "macOS Chrome", so user can't tell which to delete2024-12-31
- Passkeys only work in Safari or Chrome, and multiple security keys cannot be enrolled2024-12-11
- Silently truncated passwords locked user out with no warning about the length limit2024-10-18
- Password sign-in hidden behind a confusing 'try another way' option; OTP login can't be disabled2024-10-14
- Customer service loops through escalations and reopened tickets without resolving a mixed-up account2024-10-13
- OTP page doesn't auto-submit after typing 6 digits or on Enter2024-10-13
- Modals and banners cover the page, and receiving money pushes users toward instant transfer or keeping funds2024-10-12
- Opt-out option for data sharing is hard to find; not on the advertised settings page2024-10-12
- Hidden setting to use bank rates was removed, forcing PayPal conversion rates2024-10-12
- Account deletion attempts repeatedly fail; buttons lead nowhere and dark patterns block it2024-10-12
- Login silently truncates passwords longer than its limit, so the full password fails2024-09-25
- PayPal emails are unreadable whether shown as HTML or plain text2024-09-05
- Small payments blocked with vague 'cannot proceed' message and no way to appeal2024-08-23
- Passkey login still forces a TOTP code afterward when TOTP is enabled2024-04-26
- Password truncated on creation but not at login, locking user out2024-02-23
- Account gets blocked with no feedback, leaving the user anxious and unsure of status2024-02-13
- Asks for 2FA on every action, which the commenter finds very annoying2024-02-07
- Each payment requires switching to phone, finding code, and typing it, taking half a minute2024-01-03
- Amount typed in cents with right-aligned digits; users accidentally send far too much money2023-11-29
- Cannot change account country or close account; must create a new account2023-10-27
- Payment goes through immediately with no chance to back out2023-08-29
- Bank account setup fails because it refuses the user's phone number2023-08-15
- Login bounces back with a nondescript error in Firefox2023-08-15
- Can't register a backup security key, so losing the primary locks the user out2023-07-14
- Recurring subscriptions are hard to find to cancel, buried in menus2023-07-13
- Artificial five second wait after clicking log in makes the site feel slow2023-07-12
- Account shut down and sent to collections without notice; reinstatement required many hoops2023-06-29
- The site is suboptimal and hard to use, though one-tap payments work fine2023-06-21
- 2FA code sent to an old phone number that was supposed to be deleted2023-05-26