Is it completely safe to link current bank account with PayPal account ?

[CatLovesMeBest]

I’m attending a wedding where a PayPal account is being used to receive cash gifts and I want to send some money to it.

I have a PayPal account, but I prefer to only have it linked to my Credit card account. I don’t want to transfer the money using my PayPal account as things stand, as I’ll be charged a fee for doing so (my understanding is it is equivalent to withdrawing cash on a credit card).

I’ve researched the options (adding the cash to my PayPal balance first, or moving the money from my bank via PayPal) and they both involve linking my current bank account or debit card to my PayPal account. I don’t mind doing this temporarily, but when trying to set this up, a PayPal message explaining the conditions said I would be giving them the right to access my bank account for 90 days, the reason given being to protect against fraud. This has made me a bit nervous … having 3 months where my PayPal account is linked in some way to my current account, even if I ‘unlink’ my current account after the cash transfer has reached the recipients PayPal account.

Am I being overcautious or is this a reasonable concern ? Does anybody with knowledge of all this have a view on how safe it is ? I’m aware I could just ask the happy couple to give me their bank details for an old fashioned ‘bank to bank’ transfer, but I’d like to try and comply with their instructions if I can. Thankyou.

Tell them you don't have a PayPal account so do they want cash, cheque or bank transfer.

A lot of people don't have PayPal so I'm surprised it's the only option given.

My bank account has been linked to PayPal for more than a decade. Never had a problem

I let people know I don’t use PayPal but am happy to transfer money if they let me know the bank details.

As others have suggested advise the couple you can can't use PayPal.

Alternatively, you can set up another current account that you only keep minimal cash in. I've done that myself. A lot of banks let you have more than one current account or you can get one with a different provider.