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Managed Payments at eBay

If you sell on eBay, we will manage the payments of your sales for you. This information sheet includes a short introduction to eBay’s Payments Terms of Use which govern all the global eBay sites. This page also explains the structure of eBay’s payment entities, the available payment methods, and how payments work on eBay.

1. Introduction to eBay’s Payments Terms of Use

The Payments Terms of Use outline the terms and conditions for how eBay provides payment services to sellers. The general terms of the Payments Terms of Use apply to all sellers and cover basic rules for using eBay's payment services, like how payments are processed and fees are collected. The entity-specific terms provide additional rules that apply only to sellers in certain regions, detailing how local eBay companies handle payments and comply with local laws. 

These terms cover a lot of information about payment processing, including receiving payments from buyers, managing transactions, and disbursing funds to sellers. The Payments Terms of Use make sure that transactions are secure, compliant with legal requirements, and efficiently managed. 

2. eBay’s Payment Entities providing Payment Services

Because there are many regulations around how money can be moved, eBay's payment services are provided by different eBay entities around the world. Depending on where you list your items, you will either receive payment services by only one eBay payment entity or by multiple entities. The simplest case is if you only list and sell on the eBay website located in the area where you live. In this case, the entity closest to you will process all your payments and pay out your funds to you. We call the entity closest to you the “Payout Entity”. If, on the other hand, your selling activities on eBay involve cross-border sales, i.e., if you list an item on an eBay website which is not your domestic site, then additional eBay entities will be involved in processing your payments. We call these additional entities “Responsible Payment Entities” because they are each responsible for managing payments on one or more of the global eBay websites. eBay will figure out which Payment Entity should manage your payouts, so you don’t need to worry about this. Regardless of the eBay entities from which you receive your funds, the experience will be the same on your end.

When you create listings or sell items on an international eBay site in a foreign currency, eBay may convert your earned funds into your currency before sending it to you. We use the current exchange rate and may charge a small fee for this. 

The following eBay entities manage eBay’s payment services:

eBay Commerce Inc. (eCI)
  • Receives and manages payments for sales on eBay.com and all other sites not covered by other eBay entities.
  • Pays out your money if you live (or if your business is established) in the United States or any of the countries not associated with the other eBay entities. 
eBay S.à r.l. (eBay Sarl)
  • Receives and manages payments for European Economic Area (EEA) sites and eBay.ch.
  • Pays out your money if you live (or if your business is established) in the European Economic Area (EEA), except Iceland, and in Switzerland.
eBay Commerce Canada Ltd. (ECCA)
  • Receives and manages payments for eBay.ca. 
  • Pays out your money if you live (or if your business is established) in Canada.
eBay Commerce Australia Pty Ltd. (ECA)
  • Receives and manages payments for eBay.com.au. 
  • Pays out your money if you live (or if your business is established) in Australia.
eBay Commerce UK Ltd. (ECUK)
  • Receives and manages payments for eBay.co.uk and related regions (Jersey, Guernsey or Gibraltar).
  • Pays out your money if you live (or your business is established) in the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey or Gibraltar.

3. Payment Methods

eBay offers a variety of payment methods which buyers can use to pay for their purchases. We may change the available payment methods over time. These include:

  • Credit or Debit Cards: Buyers can use cards like VISA, Mastercard, and Discover. 
  • Digital Wallets: Options such as Google Pay and Apple Pay are available. 
  • PayPal and Venmo: PayPal is widely accepted, and Venmo is available for buyers in the US. 
  • Direct Debit and "Pay Later" Methods: These include installment payments and "Buy Now Pay Later" options. 
  • eBay Coupons and Gift Cards: If applicable, buyers can use these for their purchases. 
  • Stored Value Accounts or Balance: In some countries, sellers can use their sales funds to pay for an item they buy on eBay. 

4. How Sellers register for Managed Payments 

If you want to sell on eBay, you must register a seller account. As part of the registration, we will ask you to provide some information about yourself, like your name and address. We may also request certain documents from you, so we can verify your identity. This could be your drivers license, your ID, or other suitable documents. As payment service providers, we are required by law to do certain anti-money laundering checks on our customers to make sure they are who they say they are. 

5. How Payments on eBay Work

When a buyer makes a purchase on eBay, the payment process involves several steps:

  1. Buyer Payment: The buyer selects one of the payment methods and completes the purchase. 
  2. Notification to Seller Confirming Payment: eBay sends a notification to the seller that the buyer has paid. 
  3. Settlement of Payment to Linked Seller Account: We receive your funds from the buyer and will pay them out to your bank account or your payment account on file. In some countries, you may also leave your funds on a balance in your account, so you can use them to pay for an item you buy later on eBay.
  4. Holds Delaying Settlement of Payment: We may place holds on funds if we see risks with a transaction or seller, such as unusual account activity, unusually large sales changes, or other concerning activity. These holds can delay the payout of funds. A transaction hold pauses the payout of a specific sale. An account-level hold on the other hand impacts payouts for all sales. For example, if a buyer opens a case under eBay's Money Back Guarantee program, eBay may hold the transaction amount until the case is resolved. On the other hand, if the verification of a seller cannot be completed, an account level hold can be placed. 

Refunds and Disputes:

  • Refunds: If you, as a seller, want to issue a refund to your buyer, you can let us know on the eBay website, and eBay will process the refund on your behalf. The refund amount will be deducted from your funds. 
  • eBay Money Back Guarantee Claims: If a buyer is unhappy with their purchase, for example if the item did not arrive or was different than expected, he/she may involve eBay to resolve the issue. eBay will let you know about the case, may ask you for evidence, and will eventually make a decision. If the decision is in favor of the buyer, we will issue a refund to the buyer.
  • Disputes: If buyers are unhappy with their purchase, they can also open a payment dispute (e.g., a credit card chargeback, or a PayPal buyer protection claim). In this case, eBay will manage the dispute process and will tell you, the seller. You may choose to accept or challenge the dispute. If you do challenge it, you may need to provide certain documents or evidence to defend the case. The buyer‘s payment provider (e.g. PayPal, VISA, etc.) decides the outcome of the dispute. If the payment provider decides the buyer is right, we have to issue a refund to the buyer on your behalf. 

6. Termination

The Payments Terms of Use are valid until they are being terminated by eBay or you. eBay may terminate the Payments Terms of Use by giving written notice via email to your registered email address. In certain scenarios (e.g., if we are required to do so by law or court order), we may also terminate on less notice or with immediate effect. 


If you want to close your payment account, you can let us know by sending an email to paymentsinfoIE@ebay.ie or Paymentsinfouk@ebay.co.uk or by contacting the Customer Service via any of the available communication methods (e.g. phone, Contact Us form, chat). Your account will be closed, at the latest, 1 month after we hear from you. Once you close your payment account, you will not be able to sell on eBay because the use of the eBay website requires that you use our payment services.