You can add cash to your PayPal account at more than 90,000 retail store locations across the United States, including Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and Dollar General. The process takes just a few minutes at the register, and the money typically appears in your PayPal balance right away. There are a couple of ways to do it depending on whether you have a PayPal Debit Card.
Adding Cash With a PayPal Debit Card
If you have a PayPal-branded Debit Card, this is the simplest method. Walk into any participating store, tell the cashier how much cash you want to load, hand over the bills, and swipe your card at the register. The funds land in your PayPal Balance account usually within minutes. You don’t need to open the app or generate any kind of barcode beforehand.
Adding Cash Without a Debit Card
If you don’t have a PayPal Debit Card, you can still load cash at stores by generating a barcode in the PayPal app. Open the app, tap your balance, and select the option to add cash at a store. PayPal will create a barcode on your screen. At the register, show the barcode to the cashier, hand over your cash, and the deposit processes from there. The barcode links the transaction to your account so the store knows where to send the money.
Fees and Limits
PayPal charges a fee of up to $3.95 per cash deposit at a store. The exact amount varies by retailer, so you may pay less at some locations than others. This fee applies each time you load cash, not as a percentage of the deposit.
Each transaction must be between $20 and $500. Beyond that single-transaction cap, PayPal enforces rolling limits: $1,500 per day, $5,000 per month, no more than 4 transactions per day, 7 per week, and 20 per month. Some store locations may set their own lower limits on top of these, which the cashier will let you know about at the register.
Where You Can Add Cash
The list of participating retailers is long and covers pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations, and general merchandise chains. Major names include Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Kroger, Circle K, Sheetz, Speedway, H-E-B, Meijer, GameStop, Office Depot, and Pilot Flying J, among many others. In total, PayPal lists roughly 40 retail partners with locations spread across the country, so most people will have at least one option nearby.
Account Requirements
To use the add-cash feature, your PayPal account needs to have a confirmed identity. PayPal calls this its Customer Identification Process, and it’s a regulatory requirement. If you haven’t completed it, PayPal will prompt you when you try to use features like adding money.
You’ll typically need to provide a government-issued photo ID (front and back) and a proof of address dated within the last 12 months. The fastest way is through the PayPal app’s facial biometric verification: you scan your ID with your phone’s camera and then take a selfie so PayPal can match the two. If you’d rather not use biometrics, you can log in on a computer and upload the documents manually. PayPal says it reviews documents within about 2 business days, though it can sometimes take longer.
If your identity isn’t verified, you may lose the ability to add money from a bank account as well, so it’s worth completing this step early even if you don’t plan to load cash right away.
Other Ways to Fund Your PayPal Balance
Cash deposits at stores aren’t the only option. You can also transfer money from a linked bank account directly within the app or on PayPal’s website. Bank transfers are free and typically take 1 to 3 business days for a standard transfer, or you can pay a small fee for an instant transfer. To set this up, go to your PayPal wallet, link a checking account using your routing and account numbers, and then choose “Add Money” from your balance screen.
If someone sends you money through PayPal, that also adds to your balance automatically. And if you receive payments for goods or services, those funds show up in your balance once the transaction clears. For people who regularly need cash in their PayPal account, linking a bank account is usually the most cost-effective route since it avoids the per-transaction store fee entirely.