PayPal · Decline codes
What does the PayPal PAYEE_ACCOUNT_RESTRICTED error mean?
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PayPal's PAYEE_ACCOUNT_RESTRICTED error means the merchant's PayPal account is restricted, so it can't receive this payment. The buyer has done nothing wrong. Retrying won't help until the merchant resolves the restriction in their PayPal account; in the meantime, buyers need another way to pay.
- PayPal description
- The merchant account is restricted.
- Type
- Merchant account issue
- Who declined
- PayPal (the seller's account)
- Retry
- No, not with the same account or settings
- Shopper action
- Pay another way; the issue is on the store's side
- Merchant action
- Resolve the restriction in your PayPal account
- PlatformDTC renewal
- Paused, not blamed on the customer; retried until the store fixes its PayPal account
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC treats PAYEE_ACCOUNT_RESTRICTED as a problem with the store's own PayPal account, not the customer's decline. A renewal that hits it is paused: the customer is not emailed or asked to update anything, their PayPal is not blocked, and no failed attempt is counted. It is retried automatically, at most every 12 hours, until the account is fixed, and the dashboard alert "PayPal is refusing renewals for N subscriptions" links the merchant to payment settings.
Why it happens
PayPal has restricted the seller's account. PayPal's error gives no reason; only the merchant's PayPal account can resolve it.
What the shopper can do
Pay with a card or another method, or come back later.
What the store can do
Log in to PayPal and follow the steps to lift the restriction.
Offer card payments so checkout keeps working meanwhile.
For developers
details[0].issue = PAYEE_ACCOUNT_RESTRICTED. It affects every PayPal payment to that merchant, so alert on it rather than retrying.
Frequently asked questions
- Is PAYEE_ACCOUNT_RESTRICTED the buyer's fault?
- No. PayPal says the merchant account is restricted.
- Should subscriptions be cancelled when this appears?
- No. Fix the PayPal account; PlatformDTC pauses those renewals without emailing the customer and charges them automatically once PayPal accepts payments again.
Sources
- Orders v2 API errors — PayPal
Related
- PAYER_CANNOT_PAY — Payer cannot pay: this buyer's and this seller's PayPal settings don't allow the payment.
- COMPLIANCE_VIOLATION — Compliance violation: PayPal declined the payment on compliance grounds.
- TRANSACTION_BLOCKED_BY_PAYEE — Blocked by payee: the merchant's own PayPal fraud settings blocked the payment.
- PAYER_ACCOUNT_LOCKED_OR_CLOSED — Payer account locked or closed: the buyer's PayPal account can't be used.
- MAX_NUMBER_OF_PAYMENT_ATTEMPTS_EXCEEDED — Max payment attempts exceeded: too many attempts on this order.
- CARD_EXPIRED — Card expired: the card used through PayPal has expired.
- CARD_TYPE_NOT_SUPPORTED — Card type not supported: this kind of card can't be processed; use another.
- AGREEMENT_ALREADY_CANCELLED — Agreement already cancelled: the buyer's PayPal billing agreement has been cancelled.