How to cancel subscriptions paid through PayPal
In PayPal a subscription is an automatic payment. Cancel it on the web under Settings, Payments, then Automatic Payments, or in the app by unlinking the business. That stops PayPal paying, but PayPal itself says it typically doesn't cancel your subscription with the service, so cancel there too.
What PayPal calls a subscription
PayPal files every recurring charge under one name. From its help center: "An automatic payment, also known as a subscription, billing agreement, or recurring payment, allows you to save PayPal as your preferred way to pay with a merchant". Whatever the service called it at checkout, in PayPal you look for automatic payments.
These charges are also the hardest to spot on a statement, because your bank shows PayPal rather than the service. That makes PayPal one of the first places to check when you look for subscriptions on your bank statement. The list of businesses you have authorized is the real record.
How to cancel an automatic payment on paypal.com
- Log in at paypal.com and go to Settings.
- Click Payments.
- Select Subscriptions and saved businesses or Automatic Payments, whichever your account shows.
- Select the merchant.
- Cancel the automatic payment on that page and confirm.
PayPal's help describes that last page in one line: "On this page, you can cancel the automatic payment and change the backup payment method." The merchant's contact details are there too, which you will want in a minute.
How to cancel in the PayPal app
- Tap Menu.
- Tap Subscriptions or Linked Businesses.
- Tap the merchant.
- Tap Account.
- Tap Unlink, then tap Unlink again to confirm.
Cancelling in PayPal is half the job
This is where people get caught. PayPal's own guide says cancelling a payment method through PayPal "stops future charges to your PayPal account, but this action typically does not cancel the underlying subscription or contract with the service provider." The account with the service stays open. Its user agreement adds that "you may still owe the seller money for purchases that have been authorized but not completed", so a service that expected payment can suspend you or chase the balance.
So do it in this order. Cancel with the service first, in its own account settings, and keep the confirmation email. Then cancel the automatic payment in PayPal, so nothing can come through it afterwards. If the service bills through an app store instead, its own guide applies, for example cancelling on iPhone or on Google Play.
Give it three business days
PayPal's US user agreement lets you cancel a recurring automatic payment "3 Business Days or more before the date of the next scheduled payment". Inside that window the payment may already be on its way. Weekends and public holidays don't count as business days, so give it a full week when a renewal is close.
If a charge arrives after you cancelled
Go to the merchant first. PayPal's help calls contacting the seller the best way to resolve a problem, and the seller may be able to issue a refund. If that fails, open a dispute from the Resolution Center within PayPal's time limit. If the dispute doesn't resolve it, you have 20 days to escalate it to a claim.
All of the above comes from PayPal's US pages. Menus and terms can differ in other countries, so check the help center for yours.
Keep the dates where you can see them
A subscription paid through PayPal renews as quietly as any other, and you see it later than most because the statement line hides the name. Write down the next payment date when you sign up, and get a reminder before the next charge, with enough lead time to clear the three business days.
Which of those renews next?
Put every subscription you found in PayPal into Subby with its next payment date, and Home lists them in date order, each with Mark paid. The reminder arrives before the charge does. Free to use, with ads, and no account or bank login.
Free · No account · No bank login