PayPal: Complete Your Identity Confirmation

Last June 17, I received an email from PayPal—it was a notice about their upcoming security tests. I remember thinking, “Okay, no big deal.”

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On August 7, I received a second email from PayPal informing me that I needed to complete my identity confirmation. They requested proof of identity and proof of address. On the same day, I submitted the required documents—a photo of one valid ID and a utility bill.

Everything seemed fine, so I was surprised when, on October 20, I tried to transfer funds to another PayPal account and found that I couldn’t. The transaction simply wouldn’t go through.

I was confused because I was confident that I had already submitted all the necessary documents. To clarify the issue, I sent an inquiry to webform@intl.paypal.com.

My husband suggested that it would be best to speak with PayPal directly, so the following day we called their customer service line at +1 (402) 935-2050.

I spoke with an agent named Casey. I explained my situation, and she apologized that my documents had been pending review for nearly two months. She assured me she would escalate the issue immediately and advised me to wait 72 hours for an update.

The next day, October 21, PayPal emailed me requesting another copy of my proof of address (such as a utility bill, bank statement, credit card statement, or other government-issued document). I sent the same utility bill I had originally submitted on August 7.

About three hours later, I received another email explaining that the address on my document did not match the address registered on my PayPal account. I was instructed to update my PayPal address so it would match the billing statement.

When I logged in, I realized the primary address on my account was still my old one—no wonder there was a mismatch. I immediately updated it.

I then emailed compliance-apac@paypal.com, referenced my case ID, and informed them that my address had already been updated.

After not receiving a response and noticing that my account limitation was still in place, I decided to call PayPal again on October 25. This time, I spoke with another agent named Grant. He verified my updated address and confirmed that everything was now in order. He also mentioned that I would need to wait another 72 hours for an update.

However, just a few minutes after the call ended, I received an email notifying me that my PayPal account had been fully restored. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait the full 72 hours.

In total, it took us five days to resolve the issue. I can now withdraw and transfer funds without any problem.

Based on my experience, I highly recommend calling PayPal immediately if you encounter any issues with your account. Speaking directly with an agent made all the difference.

Feel free to share your thoughts or similar experiences in the comments below.