When you are trying to make a purchase or send money, seeing the error message "Check your account at your card issuer before retrying this card" on PayPal can be incredibly frustrating. This specific alert is PayPal’s way of telling you that your bank—not PayPal—has blocked the transaction. While the message is vague, it usually stems from a few common security or administrative triggers.
Transfer money from your bank account directly into your PayPal balance.
Banks are more suspicious of $0.00 auth checks than actual small purchases.
Go to your PayPal account and double-check your card details. Go to the section. Click on your card. When you are trying to make a purchase
A transaction attempted via PayPal was rejected. The decline did not originate from insufficient PayPal balance but from the (the bank or company that issued the credit/debit card linked to PayPal). PayPal is advising the user to contact the card issuer before attempting another payment.
Your bank might block "instant transfers" or specific online merchants. Steps to Fix It Reasons for PayPal Payment Decline
Your card might be disabled for international or peer-to-peer transactions. Authorization Holds: Transfer money from your bank account directly into
If you have tried to make a purchase through PayPal, only to have it rejected with the cryptic message: you are likely feeling frustrated and confused.
PayPal acts as a middleman between the merchant and your bank. When this error pops up, your bank has refused to authorize the payment funds. The most common reasons for this block include:
Here are a few variations of that message, ranging from professional to user-friendly, depending on where you need to use it. Go to the section
Fix PayPal: "Check your account at your card issuer before retrying this card"
If you need to complete your checkout immediately, bypass the broken card link.
If the troubleshooting steps in this guide don't resolve the issue, here are the direct channels for help.