# What info does PayPal need from a merchant to charge someone's account? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-info-does-paypal-need-from-a-merchant-to-charge-someones-account/714883 "2015-03-13T01:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-info-does-paypal-need-from-a-merchant-to-charge-someones-account/714883/1 "2015-03-13T01:01:07Z")
I just got an email from PayPal that my account was charged today by Roku. I have a Roku device but we haven’t used it in a week. The charge was $7.99 for Hulu Plus. I logged into my Roku account and they show the purchase, but they also show that there is no payment method on file for my account. So did they just take my email address and use that? How much information does a merchant need? At least with a credit card they have to have 16 digits. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-info-does-paypal-need-from-a-merchant-to-charge-someones-account/714883/2 "2015-03-14T02:00:46Z")
C’mon, I know somebody knows this. ---
**Author:** ![aaelghat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@aaelghat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaelghat)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-info-does-paypal-need-from-a-merchant-to-charge-someones-account/714883/3 "2015-03-14T02:18:55Z")
Roku didn’t initiate the charge, Hulu did. If you log into your account at [Hulu.com](http://Hulu.com), I bet you will see that you have a payment method with them. Perhaps you signed up for the three month and forgot to cancel? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-info-does-paypal-need-from-a-merchant-to-charge-someones-account/714883/4 "2015-03-14T16:27:52Z")
I did not even know I \*had \*a Hulu account, but sure enough I could log in and saw the charge there. There is nowhere with an “on file” payment method. You specify a payment method if you order a subscription, and there is not a payment method pre-filled when I click on that. I never ordered a subscription. I never get the free trials of _anything_ if I have to give a payment method to do it, for this exact reason. So I have no idea how they got to my PayPal account. But my question in general is: What info does someone need to charge your PayPal account? ---
**Author:** ![aaelghat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@aaelghat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaelghat)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-info-does-paypal-need-from-a-merchant-to-charge-someones-account/714883/5 "2015-03-14T18:34:16Z")
I can’t charge your account without your permission. If you tell me your email, I can send you a PayPal invoice for a certain amount, but you have to click a button and go through a process to pay it. I can even send you a notice to initiate a subscription (recurring payment), but again you have to take action. It sounds like Hulu doesn’t have your payment information because they set up a recurring subscription through PayPal. Here’s how to cancel it: Log in to your PayPal account. Click the ‘Settings’ icon at the top of the page. Under ‘Payment settings’, click Pre-approved payments… Use the filter to select the seller whose agreement you want to cancel and click Cancel. Click Cancel Profile to confirm your request. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-info-does-paypal-need-from-a-merchant-to-charge-someones-account/714883/6 "2015-03-16T00:18:58Z")
Thank you, that was extremely helpful. I still can’t figure out how they managed to set that up in the first place. I cannot remember ever authorizing such a thing.