How Does PayPal eCheck Work?

Identification
ECheck is a payment sent directly from your bank account to another PayPal account, according to PayPal. If you want to purchase goods online, send money to a friend or relative over the Internet or pay for service rendered, you can send an eCheck. When you send an eCheck, it generally takes three to five days to clear. Upon clearing, the money is debited from your account and the recipient sees the money in his PayPal account, according to PayPal.
Sending an Echeck
You must have a PayPal account to send an eCheck. To sign up for a PayPal account, visit the PayPal website and click on 'Sign Up' at the top of the page. Then, choose the type of account that is appropriate for you --- Personal, Premier or Business. After that, fill out the required information and read the terms and conditions. Once you have an account, you must link your bank account to your PayPal account. To do so, go to the 'Add or Edit Bank Account' menu under the 'Profile' tab, add your bank information and follow the instructions. Once your bank account is linked to your PayPal account, send an eCheck by clicking on 'Send Money,' entering the sender's information and pressing 'Continue.' Change the payment method, select 'eCheck,' press 'Continue' and review all of the information, then confirm that you wish to send the eCheck.
Receiving an eCheck
If you receive an eCheck, you have a few options on what you want to do with the funds in your PayPal account. You can apply for a PayPal debit card, which is a MasterCard that allows you to make offline purchases and withdraw money from ATMs. You can also withdraw the funds from your PayPal account and place theminto your bank account. You can also send the funds to another PayPal account, or make online purchases.
ECheck Safety and Refunds
Because the recipient cannot view any of your banking information, eCheck is a relatively safe transaction, as long as you are doing business with ethical entities. If you decide prior to the eCheck's clearing that you do not want to send it, PayPal will issue a refund. Although PayPal asserts that transactions are relatively safe, PayPal is not a bank, and therefore is not secured with FDIC deposit insurance or other protection consumers often receive from traditional financial institutions. According to the FDIC, normal deposit insurance coverage is $250,000 per account owner. PayPal does not offer the level of security that an FDIC-insured bank offers.