Why I Can’t Use my Paypal Balance?

I have Paypal since year 2009, I can’t remember why I registered but it was only year 2011 when I started using it. It is one easy way to send or receive payment without going to the bank. 

I used it in reserving hotel, hostel or buying stuff online. That’s why I do appreciate online shopping site that has Paypal or COD payment because as much as possible I don’t want to use my credit card online. My credit card was hacked before even though I rarely use it online.

Read: My Credit Card Was Hacked  

I never had any problem with my Paypal until last Friday, I tried to use it when I was paying my order at Beauty MNL but it would not let me use my Paypal Balance. It doesn’t allow me to change my payment method. The only payment option is via credit card. I just brushed it off and I did not use Paypal anymore.

Read: My First Shopping Experience at Beauty MNL

Today, because Christmas is near I’m starting to shop for Christmas gifts. Again, I chose Paypal. The seller sent me an invoice and when I clicked the invoice it would not let me use my Paypal Funds. 

I have enough funds to pay the transaction but it automatically chooses my credit card. I try to send money but I have the same fate. I checked my payment settings and everything was correct. 

Choose a payment method at checkout 

If you have a PayPal balance, we'll use it first. 

But still, I can’t use my Paypal Balance and I don’t know why! I was able to use it last June when I bought clothes online. So I was really surprised that all of a sudden, I can’t use my PayPal funds. Why o why? I really don’t know what to do. 

I already contacted the support and still waiting for the reply. I hope it will be fixed soon. So for now, I need to go to the bank just to pay my order. Waah! Have you experienced this?

Update: This was the reply 

"I saw your attempt to send money for the amount of PXXX PHP using your account balance was not available because it was temporarily being review by our internal security model. 

PayPal internal security model is similar to the way many banks and credit card companies work when approving payments. When a payment is stopped, this means our system detects a pattern associated with your PayPal and the merchants PayPal account indicating a higher ­than­ normal risk. 

For now please avoid re­submitting the payment. It will be best to wait after a couple of hours up to a day from the last attempt because the more the customer attempts to complete the payment and it is being reviewed, then the more the system is triggered. 

You have my assurance that you can still use your PayPal account for future transactions. As a business, we would also like this payment to go through because that's how we earn money. However, we'd rather prioritize your security than our profit. We value your business and are committed to your satisfaction. 

Update: October 26, 2016

I placed an order online and tried paying via Paypal, I was able to make a payment using my balance but it does not allow me to choose the currency. I need to pay in PHP amount but the payment was deducted in my USD balance. I messaged them again and here's the reply. 

Thank you for contacting PayPal. My name is XXX from PayPal Customer Support. 

I understand that you wanted to use your PHP balance for your payment to XXXX. Since your PHP balance is more than enough, it would have been used for your payment. This could be a possible system issue. Don’t worry, we will look into this further and we’ll let you know once the investigation is complete.

What I like in Paypal is I received answers within 24 hours but I hope no more issues in the future.