Dilemma.

I have reached the sending and receiving limits on my Paypal account.
For those that don't know, when you open a Paypal account, you are limited to an annual send and receive amount of £1700. Once you hit this point, you must provide Paypal with your bank account details, or you cannot use the account again, until the yearly limit resets to £1700.
The reason for this, according to Paypal, is to combat money laundering and terrorism. Drug dealers might use Paypal to move dirty money around, you see... Or Osama Bin Wotsisname might use it to feed his Teletubbies, or something!. I dunno!
Anyway... I hit the limit, so no more ebaying for me until August! unless I give them my bank account details. This is something that I am very reluctant to do. Not because I have anything to hide, but simply because I do not like to give these financial details over the internet. You hear all sorts of stories about people having their accounts cleaned out, and their identities stolen, because they gave bank details online.

What am I to do?

Thanks, Gareth. Does upgrading to a business account reset the limits, then? - And are there fees to pay with a business account?

I had to do it years ago ... I was a bit unsure but did it in the end because I needed to keep my Paypal account useable.

Haven't had any problems. (touch wood).

I spoke to PayPal customer service when I had the same problem/issues, and on their advice just opened another PayPal account using (i) a different email address, and (ii) a different credit card.

Simples

Thank you johnX. That might be worth a try, but I suppose it would have to be a business account, because you're not allowed two personal accounts. One business and one personal, only.

I cant see what the problem is with giving them your bank details, you've already given them credit card details or you could not have opened an account in the first place. If your a sensible person you probably have "just enough" in your current account with the rest elswhere anyway, I should imagine someone could spend a lot more on your credit card

If your so worried about identity theft etc then you need to insure against it for peace of mind, as for your current problem why not simply open up a new bank account specifically for Paypal, you dont have to keep loads of money in it

I agree, just give them your details! It's PayPal we're talking about, a multi-billion dollar company registered in the US, not some dodgy ebay seller registered in Hong Kong

Well, mine are both personal

Perhaps I should clarify. I am not afraid of Paypal having my financial details. No. - As The spider and thoughton say, Paypal are a very big and legitimate outfit. It is the sending of the information over the Interwebs, that I have fears about. Who else could get it? Keyloggers, Wi-fi hackers? That sort of thing.

Anyway... Problem over. I now have two Paypal accounts. One Personal, and another for my ebay dealings.

Thanks, All.

Give them your bank details. You've got more chance of being struck by lightning than someone nicking your details after giving them to PayPal.

Just make sure you visit the website by manually typing "www.paypal.co.uk" into your browser address bar rather than clicking a link in an email.

Scan your computer for keyloggers and trojens etc. Wi-fi attack shouldn't be an issue if you have the normal modern security on your router.

It still may be worth linking your bank account to your PayPal account to get certain advantages. I did mine before I needed to.