Is PayPal Friends and Family safe on a marketplace?

What does PayPal say about Friends and Family?

PayPal’s UK scam guide uses a clear example: you pay for a laptop with Friends and Family, and the laptop never arrives. That is the situation it tells you to avoid.

For an item sold by someone you do not know, including on a marketplace, it says choose Goods and Services. It says that type can be covered by its buyer programme if the seller is a fraudster, at no cost to the buyer. It says a seller who pushes Friends and Family is a red flag. A Friends and Family payment is not eligible, so you may not get the money back.

Open the PayPal app yourself before you send or before you hand anything over. An email that says you have been paid is not the app. Use the fake payment email guide.

PayPal’s UK scam guide says that when you pay someone you do not know for an item, including on an online marketplace, you should choose Goods and Services. It says that payment type can be covered by PayPal’s buyer programme, at no cost to the buyer, if the seller is a fraudster. It says a seller who pushes Friends and Family is a red flag, and that a Friends and Family payment is not eligible for that buyer programme, so you may be unable to get the money back. Source

What if I am the seller and the buyer wants Friends and Family?

PayPal’s page is written for the person sending the money. It does not publish a rate for how often a Goods and Services payment is later disputed. Do not invent one.

You can refuse Friends and Family. You can also refuse to hand the item over until the PayPal account you opened shows a payment you are willing to accept. A buyer who says the money is “held” and that only Friends and Family will do is describing a PayPal rule you should read in PayPal, not in their chat.

On Gumtree, PayPal can be one of the methods on the Buy now checkout. That is not the same as a Friends and Family transfer arranged in messages. Bank transfers are not supported on that checkout. The Gumtree Buyer Protection fee, where it applies, is the charge on Buy now, described on the fee page.

Gumtree’s online payments page, dated 16 September 2026, says buyers can pay at checkout by UK Visa or Mastercard, Apple Pay or PayPal, and that bank transfers are not supported. For delivery-enabled items it says secure payment is available on eligible items up to £250, and that the Buy now button shows when payment on Gumtree is available. For postage it says the seller is paid when the buyer confirms the item or 48 hours after the carrier confirms delivery with no dispute. For collection with online payment it says the seller enters the buyer’s 6-digit Collection Code, the sale is then complete, funds are released immediately, and that action cannot be reversed. Source

Is this the same as a bank transfer?

No. Friends and Family is a PayPal payment type. A Faster Payment is a UK bank transfer. Pay.UK says that once a Faster Payment is sent, it cannot be cancelled. PayPal’s guide is about which PayPal type you choose. Read both before you move money.

If you have already sent Friends and Family and nothing arrived, open PayPal and use its resolution centre only if the payment type allows it. The page you just read says Friends and Family is not eligible for the buyer programme. Then speak to PayPal from its own site.

Pay.UK says that where both banks are direct participants, Faster Payments are usually available almost immediately, although they can sometimes take up to two hours, and that some payments take longer, especially outside normal working hours. It also says that, once sent, Faster Payments cannot be cancelled. Banks follow a separate Credit Payment Recovery process when a payment was sent by mistake. Source

Where does SilentSale® fit?

SilentSale® is not PayPal. The buyer pays in the app. Stripe processes the payment and holds the funds until the order is completed. Buyer and seller each contribute a small amount to SilentCover®, a discretionary protection service. That is not PayPal’s buyer programme, and it does not repay a Friends and Family payment you already sent.

Tracked Shipping has a 72-hour window to report an issue after delivery. PIN Pickup finishes when the buyer has inspected and shared a six-digit PIN. There is no cash in that handover.

Where should I read next?

Read the Gumtree Buyer Protection fee, fake payment emails, chargeback checks for sellers, marketplace scam checks and SilentSale® vs Gumtree.