Using PayPal Key On Plastiq Is Now Officially Dead As A Doornail
Update 12/20/20: It appears people haven’t been able to get a tax payment through on any of the major payment sites with PayPal Key the last few days. This was a get way to make a little profit on your estimated taxes. It appears to be dead like using Plastiq is.
Original Post
Late last week using PayPal Key on Plastiq stopped working for many users. This was a nice way to get a lower fee when paying a bill with Plastiq since PayPal Key coded as a debit card instead of a credit card. It billed the lower fee even if you were using a credit card on PayPal Key to make the payment. That would trigger a 1% fee from Plastiq instead of 2.85% (the normal credit card rate).
I alerted you guys to the fact that it wasn’t dead yet for everyone. There were still some people spared from the lockout and I encouraged everyone to check their accounts instead of assuming it was dead. I also said it wouldn’t last long for those spared and to push through what you can. A few readers and Facebook Group members were able to send out a few thousand more dollars in payments over the next few days.
But yesterday everyone’s account stopped working and Plastiq sent out the following email:
PayPal has notified us they will no longer be allowing PayPal Key debit card payments through Plastiq when your PayPal wallet is linked to a credit card. Here are a few options so you can still make your payments successfully.
As of now, PayPal continues to allow Plastiq payments from a PayPal Key debit card with wallets linked to another debit card, bank account, or existing PayPal balance. Please make sure you adjust any scheduled payments.
Of course Plastiq also offers numerous other ways to make your payments outside of PayPal Key. You can pay with any major credit or debit card, or use our new cash payment feature. Log in here and add a new payment method. Thanks for choosing Plastiq as your one-stop payment platform. We’re excited to continue helping you pay your way by releasing new features and improvements you’ve asked for.
Final Thoughts
All good things usually come to an end at some point. PayPal Key is still extremely versatile and there are a lot of possibilities if you experiment with it. I like being able to use Amex on any website because of it. On Cyber Monday I wanted to take advantage of the Del Taco gift card deal and wanted to pay with my newly minted Amex Gold Business card but they only took Visa or Mastercard. Have no fear, PayPal Key to the rescue! That is the simplest form of its advantages but the fact that it codes as a debit card can open up other avenues as well.
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