by Chris Banescu –
Today I received the PayPal Business Debit Mastercard that I didn’t ask for and didn’t want. A few weeks ago PayPal notified me of their decision to issue this debit card for my account. They did not bother to ask me first. They didn’t request my permission first. They didn’t give me the option to opt in. They sent it to me anyway.
First Email
Originally PayPal sent an email informing me of this “new benefit to your existing PayPal Business account” which they decided was good for me. They made that decision based on my “history as a PayPal customer.” PayPal’s long-winded email (six paragraphs long) touted the many benefits of this new card. No clear option to opt in or opt out was evident anywhere. No large or visible button or bolded “Yes, Send It” (opt-in) or “No Thank You” (opt-out) link was provided.
No clear option to opt in or opt out was evident anywhere.
I briefly scanned the first email and moved on. Figured it was just another marketing email notifying customers of features available. Never imagined that PayPal would actually send it to me without my specific request or approval. Who would do such a thing, in 2019 no less?
Second Email
A day later, PayPal sent me an “Account Update” email which told me how much I can spend with my new “PayPal Business Debit Mastercard®” and how much of my balance I can withdraw per day at “ATMs displaying the Mastercard®, Maestro® or Cirrus® acceptance marks.” Again the email provided no option to either accept or decline this card. That’s strange, I thought, why would they send this when I didn’t request it and didn’t give them permission to issue it?
Third Email
Two days later, PayPal sent a third email (see screen-shots below) letting me know that “A new card was mailed to you today.” It indicated it would arrive in 7 to 10 business days. It prompted me with bolded messages to “Watch your mail” and “Activate it promptly.” It included a big blue button to “Activate” it. It again hyped the many benefits of the new debit card. Nowhere did the email allow me to decline, refuse, or opt out of receiving this card.
Card Arrived Without My Permission
Today, the PayPal Business Debit Mastercard I did not want and did not ask for arrived. Puzzled how this is possible and wondering if PayPal executives have lost their minds, I started to investigate what happened.
This is a dreadfully inadequate attempt at providing an “opt-out” for customers.
I went back and started my research. I checked the PayPal emails history and carefully reviewed each one. In PayPal’s first six-paragraphs-long email (see screen-shot below), buried deep inside a larger paragraph at the bottom of the email, in non-bolded wording, was this sentence: “If you decide not to use it, you can close the card.” The “close the card” phrase was linked in barely distinguishable light blue color. It was not bolded. It was not underlined. It was obscured to escape quick detection by customers. This is a dreadfully inadequate attempt at providing an “opt-out” for customers. It requires customers to close a card they didn’t want or request in the first place.
It’s Called “Opt-In”
The very idea that customers should be asked for permission first, before being offered any new “benefit,” seems completely alien to PayPal executives. This is especially egregious for a financial institution and payment processor like PayPal. “Opt-in” is the only appropriate and ethical way for a company to provide any “benefit” to its customers.
Opt-in means the “property of having to choose explicitly to join or permit something.” It means that a company must get express permission from its customers before sending them or offering them anything; especially new debit cards with access to their bank accounts and money.
Or, put more simply, for the incompetent executives at PayPal: “Ask your customers first, before giving them any benefit they did not request!” I know, it’s a difficult concept to understand, especially for a bank.
I didn’t want it. I didn’t ask for it. I don’t need it. It won’t be activated.
Here sits my new PayPal Business Debit Mastercard. I didn’t want it. I didn’t ask for it. I don’t need it. It won’t be activated. It won’t be used. It will stand as a testament to the continuing incompetence and hubris of corporate executives who could care less about their customers, especially small business owners like me. It illustrates how not to market anything to existing customers. It’s actually an anti-marketing example by clueless management. It violates the most important rule of business: “Always Meet and Exceed Customer Expectations.”
First Email from PayPal
Third Email from PayPal
