But if you've ever tried to buy something online with this so-called "free money" then you know a lot of e-commerce sites can't or won't accept it right off the shelf—even if other credit or debit cards of the same card brands are allowed. Many consumers are forced to call the card issuer or go to a special website to register a billing address before trying to pay with the prepaid gift card. It might sound simple, but in PayPal's recent usability study, it was found that only 1 person out of every 4 was able to register their billing address and complete an online purchase successfully.

Thankfully, PayPal has offered a way to resolve the issue. Now, no more of this hassle is required if you use prepaid gift cards through PayPal Checkout.

After our customers voiced this particular pain point again and again, we knew we had to fix it once and for all. After months of research and investigations, we discovered a patent-pending and innovative way to allow the usage of prepaid gift cards so that you can seamlessly apply them to the purchase of products and services anywhere PayPal is accepted - just in time for the holidays!

The next time you receive a prepaid gift card, you no longer have to wonder where you can spend it online. As long as the merchants you are shopping with accept PayPal, you can be assured that you now have extra buying power on top of your existing debit, credit cards or banks.

In addition to the widest support of payment methods in the world that PayPal provides, this new ability to accept prepaid gift cards means that you can now pay anytime anywhere and with any card.