A wide range of purchases — including NFTs, gift cards, vehicles, donations, crowdfunding payments, friends-and-family payments, and items bought for resale — are completely excluded from PayPal's Purchase Protection, regardless of the purchase amount.
Consumer impact (what this means for users)
If you pay using PayPal's friends-and-family option, buy a gift card, contribute to a crowdfunding campaign, or purchase an NFT, you have absolutely no Purchase Protection coverage — meaning there is no refund pathway through PayPal if something goes wrong.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Broad Ineligible Items and Transactions List and similar clauses.
Many common PayPal payment types (friends and family transfers, gift card purchases, crowdfunding contributions) carry zero Purchase Protection, which consumers may not realize at the time of payment, leaving them fully exposed to fraud or non-delivery.
View original clause language
The following items or transactions are not eligible for PayPal's Purchase Protection program: Real estate, including residential property. Vehicles, including, but not limited to, motor vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, aircraft, and boats, except for personally portable light vehicles used for recreational purposes like bicycles and wheeled hoverboards. Businesses (when you buy or invest in a business). Industrial machinery used in manufacturing. Payments that are equivalent to cash, including stored value items such as gift cards and pre-paid cards. Payments made in respect of gold (whether in physical form or exchange-traded form). Financial products or investments of any kind. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Gambling, gaming, and/or any other activities with an entry fee and a prize. Donations, including payments on crowdfunding platforms as well as payments made on crowdlending platforms. Personal Payments including payments sent using PayPal's friends and family functionality. Items intended for resale, including single item transactions or transactions that include multiple items.
(1) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: The exclusion of friends-and-family payments from Purchase Protection engages FTC Act Section 5 (15 U.S.C. § 45) if consumers are not clearly informed at the point of payment selection that they are waiving buyer protections. The CFPB's consumer protection mandate covers payment processor disclosures. NFT exclusions may intersect with SEC jurisdiction if NFTs are determined to be securities in specific contexts, though this policy does not address securities law directly. State consumer protection statutes may require clear pre-transaction disclosure of material exclusions. (2)
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Applicable agencies
FTC
The FTC enforces disclosure requirements for consumer protection program exclusions and has issued guidance on payment scams exploiting friends-and-family payment channels.
The CFPB oversees payment processor consumer disclosures and can investigate whether PayPal's exclusion list is adequately communicated to consumers at the point of transaction.