How to activate PayPal
To activate PayPal, sign up on PayPal's website or app, choose a Personal or Business account, verify your phone number, confirm your email and link a card or bank account.
- Sign up: Visit PayPal's official website and click Sign Up to begin.
- Choose an account type: Pick Personal or Business based on whether you mainly pay for things or collect payments.
- Enter your details: Add your mobile number, legal name and email address, and set a strong password.
- Verify your phone: Type in the code PayPal sends to your phone by text message.
- Confirm your email: Open the confirmation message PayPal sends to your inbox and click the link inside to activate your email address.
- Link a payment method: Add and confirm a debit card, credit card or bank account so the account is fully verified for sending and receiving money.
Linking and confirming a payment method is what fully verifies a new account. PayPal only requests essential details at sign up, and it may ask for more information later as you use the account.
If you are setting up PayPal for a business, the same email confirmation step applies, and PayPal's business guide describes activation as a short sequence of steps completed after sign up. For a general PayPal overview covering personal and business use, the account selection page on PayPal's site compares both options.