Here’s the kicker: you can ONLY add cash in the United States. If you’re sipping espresso in Rome or eating a meat pie in Australia, you are out of luck. Cash-to-PayPal is a lonely, American-only feature. The rest of the world just stares at piles of cash and weeps into their local currency.
Also, did you know that PayPal has over 430 million active users? That’s more people than the entire population of the United States. But only a tiny fraction ever use this cash feature, because most of us are sane and just use a bank account. The few who do are like digital frontierspeople, fighting the system one crumpled fiver at a time.
The Risk of Being “A Person Who Pays Fees
You might be thinking, “But I don’t have a bank account! I’m a free-range human!” Fair enough. PayPal’s cash deposit is essentially the only option for unbanked folks—and yes, it’s better than stuffing money in a mattress (which can catch fire, get eaten by moths, or be stolen by your cat).
Just know that if you do this three times a week, you’re spending nearly $60 a year in fees alone. That’s a whole Netflix subscription. Or, you know, a real mattress. An actual, cash-filled mattress.
