Who regulates PayPal

PayPal is regulated by different authorities in each country, as a money transmitter, electronic money institution or payment service provider, because it is not a bank.

Oversight in the United States sits at both state and federal level:

• State regulators: PayPal holds money transmitter licences state by state, and the New York State Department of Financial Services is one of the bodies that licenses it.
• CFPB: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has authority over consumer financial products and finalised a rule letting it supervise large payment apps, covering areas such as fraud, privacy and account closures.
• FinCEN: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network oversees PayPal's compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules.

Outside the United States, the main regulators are:

• European Union: The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg licenses PayPal as a credit institution, which lets it operate across the European Economic Area under rules including PSD2.
• United Kingdom: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorises and regulates PayPal UK Ltd as an electronic money institution.
• Australia: PayPal is overseen by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
• India: In May 2025, PayPal Payments Private Limited received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a cross-border payment aggregator.

Anyone reviewing a PayPal business account for Indian exporters will find that the RBI is the relevant regulator in India, where PayPal's local subsidiary holds in-principle approval as a cross-border payment aggregator rather than a final licence.