[4 Reasons] No Friends and Family option PayPal (2023)

So you are not able to use Paypal to send money to your family or friends?

Is your PayPal ‘Friends and Family’ option not showing up or not working?

Why is PayPal ‘friends and family’ money on hold?

If these are your question, you have landed on the right page. This post explains all you need to know about PayPal friends and family.

First, we will start with what is PayPal friends and family, then proceed to the reasons why there is no ‘friends and family’ option on PayPal for you and then discuss other things you need to know.

So, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

F&F meaning Paypal / What is friends and family Paypal

F&F in PayPal stands for “Friends and Family.”

While sending or requesting money through your personal PayPal account, there are two options: “Friends and Family” and other “Goods and Services” payments.

The “Friends and Family” option in PayPal allows you to send or request money to and from your family members or friends, and it comes with a lower fee.

Also, the payments send via the F&F option in PayPal are not covered under PayPal’s Purchase Protection Program.

The ‘Friends and Family’ option in PayPal is only available to personal accounts. If you have a PayPal Business account, friends and family payments may not be available to you.

Note: “You must not use the “send money to a friend or family member” feature in your PayPal account when you are paying for goods or services.”

Business owners and sellers will want you to pay with F&F options as it comes with no or less fee. They know this, and they will try to lure you with offers and discounts when you pay with the Friends and Family option. So, be aware of the scammers; as stated above, the F&F payments are not covered under PayPal’s buyer protection program, which means you will not be able to claim your money, if scammed.

So, you should only use the F&F option in PayPal to pay the people you know.

Why is Paypal friends and family not showing up (No friends and family option PayPal)

There can be several reasons why the PayPal ‘Friends and Family’ option is not showing up for you, such as you do not have a personal PayPal account, the option isn’t available in your country, or you have not verified your account.

Below, we have listed all the possible reasons why the F&F option isn’t showing up for you in PayPal.

1. You do not have a Personal PayPal account

PayPal has two options to send and receive money, one “Friends and Family” and the other “Goods and Services” payment.

However, the F&F option is only available for Personal accounts.

In case you do not have a personal account, the option will not be available for you. So, make sure you have a personal PayPal account.

2. Business PayPal accounts can no longer receive Friends and Family payments

As of July 28, 2022, US Business accounts can no longer receive Friends and Family payments from US senders, so if you’re trying to send a Friends and Family payment to a Business account, this may be the reason why you can’t do so.

As PayPal announced, PayPal users those who have business accounts in the USA won’t be able to accept fee-free personal payments. So, people who use PayPal for their company will need to make a personal account to receive money fee-free payments from friends and family.

3. You have not verified your account

Well, if you have a personal PayPal and still the F&F option isn’t showing up for you, the reason might be you have not verified your account details.

Make sure you have verified your email and even the linked debit cards and bank accounts.

If you do not verify your details, PayPal will add limitations to your accounts.

4. PayPal F&F isn’t available in your country

Yes, you heard it right; PayPal ‘Friends and Family’ option isn’t available in every country.

Although PayPal is available in almost every country, its features aren’t the same or available in every country.

Like, the ‘Friends and Family’ option is mainly available in only the USA and UK.

So, if you are someone from a country, especially from Asian countries, the F&F in PayPal isn’t available there at this time.

How to send Paypal friends and family

Sending the money via the option F&F in PayPal will require both the sender and receiver to have a personal PayPal account.

Follow the steps below to send the money via the Friends and Family option in PayPal.

Login to your PayPal account.
Click Send & Request.
Under Send money, Enter phone number, email or contact name.
When prompted, select Sending to a friend.
Enter payment amount, add a note (optional) and submit.

If you are using the PayPal app, the process is pretty similar.

How do I change from goods and services to family and friends on Paypal / Where is the friends and family option on Paypal

If you have a personal PayPal account and the Friends and Family option is available in your country, you can easily change the payment option while sending the money to someone.

To send money, select the option send and request, enter the email or phone of sender or receiver, now choose the option ‘Friends and Family’ when promoted by PayPal.

If the option isn’t available for you, it might be that the feature isn’t available in your country. For more details, you can read the reason listed above in the post.

Follow these steps to find family and friends option on Paypal:

Click Send & Request.
Click Send.
Enter the receiver’s name, email or phone number and click Next.
Enter the amount you want to send. Click “Continue”.
This takes you to the preferred payment screen, with the “send payment” button at the bottom. But, at the top, in the box just under the amount you want to send, Click Change next to the default “paying for an item or service.” this will allow you to change it to sending money to friend or family.

Paypal Friends and Family Fee

Friends and Family payments in PayPal are free in the USA. However, If you are sending money internationally, you may be charged a transaction fee equal to 5% of the amount (up to $4.99).

Also, when you pay with a debit or credit card, a small processing fee will also be charged for both domestic and international transactions. Currently, the rate is 2.9% + a fixed price (varies by currency; $0.30 in the U.S.).

Updated Peer-to-Peer Goods & Services Pricing Structure : With the new fee structure (effective from July 28, 2022), Goods & Services seller fee is now 2.99%, with no fixed fee, for customers in the U.S. PayPal’s current Goods & Services fee is 2.89% + $0.49 USD.

Paypal Friends and Family Limit

If your account is verified, there’s no limit on the total amount of money you can send from your account. You can send up to $60,000 in a day, but a single transaction may be limited to $10,000. (This amount can vary, though, depending on your currency.)

Note that you will be charged a fee if you use a debit or credit card as the funding source. So, if you want to avoid the fee, make sure your funding source is either your PayPal Account Balance or your Bank Account.

Also, both the sender and receiver must be in the same country, else there can be a cross border fee applied, and there are fees for currency conversions.

Paypal money on hold Friends and Family

If the payment has been placed on hold, this is usually for 21 days, and it will then be released into your PayPal Account. If you cannot wait for this time frame, we would recommend refunding the payment, and your friend can pay you the funds in cash or a regular bank transfer.

Final words

PayPal is an American based financial technology company that support online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders.

You can use PayPal to send or receive payments for online purchases, sell goods and services, donate money, or receive donations.

PayPal is available in all countries, but its features are limited to certain countries. Like the ‘Friends and Family’ option in PayPal is only available in the USA and UK as discussed above in the post.

So, that’s all for now. We hope you were able to know why PayPal’s F&F feature isn’t showing up for you.

Further Reading:

Ankit Kumar

Ankit Kumar is an Engineer by profession and a blogger by passion. Over the last several years, he has written tons of articles, solving queries on Quora. He also has years of experience in investing in Cryptocurrencies, Funds, and Stocks.