(We are indebted to Surbiton HC and Sidmouth & Ottery HC who researched this the hard way. We are very keen to update this with other clubs' experiences over time...)

This article is relevant if your club uses our EPayments feature, or is looking to reduce PayPal fees on transactions you manage separately.

PayPal rates and club status

- PayPal charges a transaction fee 3.4% for processing 'commercial' payments. For not-for-profit (NFP) organisations the rate reduces to 1.4% (go here for their current rates - new window)

- To qualify for NFP rates your club must be a registered charity, a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) or have a constitution that clearly states it is a NFP organisation. 

Applying for not-for-profit (NFP) status

1 You need to have an account with PayPal for your club. Existing clubs have found that this should be a personal account, rather than a business account. If you create a business account, it seems your club will be subject to money laundering restrictions depending on the volume of transactions.

2 Once your account is open, you need to call PayPal Support. Once logged in to your PayPal account, select Help > Call us > (note the passcode number) > call 0800 368 7141 ask for Business Support and explain that your are applying for not-for-profit status. You can email business.support@paypal.co.uk if you have difficulty getting through, but experience has shown that a phone call is swiftest if you can get through.

3 PayPal will send you a request for information which will allow them to make a decision. See the example email below, which points out the main issues.

4 Upload the documents required into the PayPal site (NB all documents must be in pdf format), and reply to the email.

5 You should receive a response from PayPal within 48 hours and if your NFP status is accepted, lower charges will be applied to your account within 7 days. Experience has shown that your status may change without you being notified.

__________________________________________________________

Example email response from PayPal

Dear Sir or Madam

Subject: APPLYING FOR CHARITY/NOT-FOR-PROFIT ACCOUNT STATUS WITH PAYPAL

Thank you for contacting PayPal regarding your desire to be considered for the above-mentioned account status

The following documents are required for review in order to proceed with your application:

For a non-U.S. (or UK) based organisation, provide: 

- Evidence of tax-exempt status and/or registration with any applicable regulatory bodies governing your jurisdiction THIS WILL BE YOUR CHARITY OR CASC REGISTRATION NUMBER IF YOU HAVE ONE

- Link to confirm the organisation's registration status online (if applicable)

- A brief organisational summary or Mission Statement THIS COULD BE YOUR CLUB RULES/ CONSTITUTION

- Subordination letter from the parent organisation (if applicable) PROBABLY DOESN’T APPLY

- An authorisation letter on headed paper, signed by an official member of your organisation THIS IS TO AUTHORISE YOU TO ACT FOR YOUR CLUB (PAYPAL MONEY LAUNDERING RULES)

- A detailed explanation as to how you have been or will be using the PayPal account and what type of transactions you have been processing or will be looking to process. AGAIN TO COMPLY WITH PAYPAL MONEY LAUNDERING RULES – IMPORTANT TO GIVE AN INDICATION OF INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIPTION AMOUNTS AND ESTIMATED ANNUAL TOTALS.

All documents should be faxed to 08707 303 194, ATTN: Compliance - Due Diligence.

Alternatively, you may directly upload required documents to your PayPal Account by taking the following steps:

If documents are already scanned into your computer, please proceed to take the following steps in order to successfully upload same document(s) directly to your PayPal Account.

1. Open a web browser and log into your PayPal Account; now open another browser window tab and type www.paypal.com/il/uploaddoc into its address window.
2. Hit the “Enter” key on your computer’s keyboard
3. This should take you straight to the document upload page of your PayPal Account (but if you are required to log into your PayPal again, please do).
4. On this page, click ‘Browse’ to find the scanned document on your computer.
5. Once you have found the file, fill in the required fields: 
    - Give the file a title
    - Select a type of evidence from the drop down menu
    - Enter a description
6. Now click ‘Attach this file’Kindly note the following:
    * The name given should include no more than 3 numbers.
    * You can provide a description of the file you are sending, up to 100 characters.
    * Information that you upload appears in the Attachments box. You can preview the file or delete it from there.
    * You can attach multiple files, up to a total file size of 5000kb.
7. When all files are uploaded click ‘Send files to PayPal’
8. Respond to this email to let us know you have submitted the documents

Remarks:

- Kindly endeavour to convert to gif or jpeg or PDF as Word and other formatted documents sometimes appear blank when opened for review. IMPORTANT

It is our pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing PayPal.Yours sincerely, 

Business Support Department 
PayPal