Payments · Guide10 min readUpdated November 3, 2026

How to Migrate Away From PayPal

How to leave PayPal or Braintree without losing customers: what can be exported, what stays at PayPal, the steps, and when to close the account.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 9 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

It depends on how your customers pay. Buyers who pay with a PayPal account keep their cards inside PayPal: there's nothing to export, so subscribers must sign up again on your new checkout. Cards stored on Braintree can be exported, encrypted, to a PCI-compliant processor, but not subscriptions. Close the PayPal account last, after the dispute window.

Braintree exports customers and cards but says "we cannot migrate subscription or transaction information".
A Braintree export goes only to a processor with "an attestation of their PCI compliance from a qualified provider", in "no more than two exports".
While PayPal is on your checkout, you agree not to "encourage the customer to use an alternate payment method" (User Agreement, updated September 14, 2026).
You can't close a PayPal account with "an open dispute or claim", a negative balance, or a hold, limitation or reserve.
Buyers can open an Item Not Received dispute within 180 days of paying.

Want to go further? Ask

On this page

This page covers leaving PayPal and Braintree specifically. For the general method with any processor, see how to switch payment processors. More PayPal guides are in the PayPal hub.

What you can take depends on which PayPal you use

PayPal is several products. Find yours first, because each one moves differently.

What you use	Where the card lives	What can move	How
PayPal Checkout (buyers log in to PayPal)	In the buyer's PayPal account	Nothing card-related; billing agreements only to a platform that still offers PayPal6	Buyers pay again on the new checkout
PayPal Subscriptions or recurring payments	In the buyer's PayPal account	Plan and customer details you hold	Rebuild plans; buyers re-subscribe
Cards stored on a PayPal payment gateway	In PayPal's card vault	Card data, through PayPal's Credit Card Vault tool3	Through PayPal, after contact
Braintree vault	In Braintree's vault	Customers and cards; not subscriptions, transactions, Apple Pay or Google Pay1	Encrypted export to a PCI-compliant receiver2

Fig. 1Three piles when you leave PayPal

Exported for you
Cards and customers stored in Braintree's vault, in one encrypted file.
You export and rebuild
Plans, prices, next charge dates, trials, discounts and payment history.
Customers act again
Buyers who pay with a PayPal account. Their cards never leave PayPal.

only the first pile can travel as data

Based on Braintree Data Migration docs and PayPal's User Agreement, read November 3, 2026.

Leaving Braintree: the vault export

Braintree publishes the clearest process in the PayPal family1 2:

The receiver must prove PCI compliance. Braintree first needs "an attestation of their PCI compliance from a qualified provider", then asks the receiver for a public encryption key2.
Two exports at most. One for the bulk of your customers, "and another to export any new customers created while your processing was switched over"2. No periodic backups2.
Whole vault or a list. Braintree exports the entire vault or a list of customer IDs you provide2.
Encrypted CSV. A "GPG-encrypted CSV file", sent by SFTP, SCP or FTP2.

Data	In Braintree's export?	What to do
Customer ID, email, phone, company	Yes2	Keep Braintree's customer ID: it links everything else
Card details, expiry, cardholder name, billing address	Yes2	Check the new processor maps every field
Default card	Yes`make_default`2	Check it stays the default after import
Network transaction identifier	YesWhen the card brand supports it2	Ask the new processor to import it for merchant-initiated charges
Apple Pay and Google Pay	NoTheir tokens "are not transferrable between providers"1	Ask those customers to pay again
Subscriptions and transactions	No1	Download the plans report or use the API1
ACH payment methods	Only with extra legal terms1	Ask both providers before you plan on it

If you stored cards on an older PayPal payment gateway rather than Braintree, PayPal describes a Credit Card Vault tool that can "export existing customer data from the gateway to a different payment processor", started through PayPal's sales team3. That help article dates from 2023; confirm the process with PayPal.

Customers who pay with a PayPal account

These customers are the hard part. Their card sits in their own PayPal account, so there is no card for you to export.

Billing agreements can follow, but only to PayPal. If you move to a platform that still offers PayPal, it may reuse your existing agreements. Shopify's migration docs, for example, accept billing agreement IDs that "begin with B-", if the merchant "is approved to use reference transactions from PayPal"6. You're changing software, not leaving PayPal.

Leaving PayPal completely means re-subscribing. Each subscriber pays once on your new checkout, and you stop the old PayPal subscription once the new one is live. Buyers can also cancel automatic payments themselves from their PayPal account4.

Watch out

PayPal's User Agreement governs how you present it while it's still on your checkout. You agree "not to try to dissuade or inhibit your customers from using PayPal" or "encourage the customer to use an alternate payment method", and to show PayPal "at least on par" with other methods4. Plan the subscriber message with that clause in mind: either keep PayPal on the new checkout, or remove it before you invite customers to pay differently.

The migration, step by step

Start with the new account. Nothing should renew on the new processor before a test charge and a refund have gone through.

Open and test the new processor. For a Braintree export, get its PCI attestation and public key ready2.
Export what won't be sent for you: plans, prices, next charge dates, trials, discounts and transaction history1.
Request the Braintree export for the bulk of your customers, if you're on Braintree2.
Import and map customers by customer ID and email; rebuild subscriptions with the same dates and prices.
Move PayPal-account subscribers one renewal at a time: each pays on the new checkout, then you cancel the old subscription.
Run both processors for one full billing cycle, then request the second Braintree export for customers created meanwhile2.
Stop new sales on PayPal, and keep answering disputes there.
Close the PayPal account last, once disputes are settled and the balance is withdrawn4 5.

Sources: Braintree Data Migration docs, PayPal User Agreement and Purchase Protection Program, read November 3, 2026.

Fig. 2A planned exit from PayPal

Week 0New processor tested; export requested
Weeks 1 to 4Cards imported; subscriptions rebuilt
One billing cycleBoth live; second export
Last sale on PayPalStop new PayPal sales
180 days after the last saleDispute window over; close PayPal

the account closes last, not first

Based on Braintree docs and PayPal's agreements, read November 3, 2026. Export times vary: Braintree publishes no deadline.

Rebuilding subscriptions

The card file doesn't know who pays what, or when. That part is yours, and it's where migrations lose customers.

Export per subscription: customer, plan, price, interval, next charge date, trial end, discount, status.
Keep the same dates, so nobody is charged twice or skipped in the month of the move.
Cancel each PayPal subscription as soon as its copy is live elsewhere. PayPal retries failed subscription payments with its own algorithm, so an old subscription left running can still charge7.
Don't stack retries. A renewal declined on PayPal and charged again on the new processor is still a reattempt for Visa: up to 20 attempts in 30 days, and none after a category 1 decline such as a lost card8.
Tell subscribers if the statement name or the billing date changes. An unfamiliar descriptor turns into "I don't recognize this" disputes.

Tagada follows Visa and Mastercard rules and the laws that apply to payments.

Close the PayPal account last

Leave it open until the dispute window has passed. Three reasons, all from PayPal's agreements:

You can't close it while anything is open. Not with "a pending transaction or an open dispute or claim", a negative balance, or a "hold, limitation or reserve"4.
Disputes keep coming. Buyers can open an Item Not Received dispute within 180 days of paying5, and you "remain liable for all obligations" after closure4.
Closing cancels what's scheduled. "When you close your PayPal account, we will cancel any scheduled or incomplete transactions", and you must withdraw the balance first4.

Leaving under pressure

If PayPal limited or closed the account, the order changes: your balance may be held for up to 180 days, and you can't open a new account to keep selling4. The full plan: PayPal permanently limited or closed your account. If the limitation is temporary: PayPal account limited.

Switch, or add a processor?

A full switch moves all your risk to one new provider. Keeping PayPal as a button next to a card processor keeps the customers who prefer it.

Fig. 3Two ways to reduce your reliance on PayPal

Full switch

Export and re-subscribe
all volume toNew processor onlyApproved

PayPal buyers must pay again

Card processor plus PayPal

Your checkout
routes toCards to a processor, PayPal as a buttonApproved

PayPal stays a payment option

the second keeps PayPal buyers

Illustrative example.

Running several processors is allowed when each one knows your business, never to split volume under a dispute threshold. See multiple merchant accounts and token vault migration.

By industry

Industry	What changes	Guide
Supplements	Auto-ship subscribers are most of the value: rebuild schedules first	Switching processor for supplement brands
Skincare	Refill subscriptions and a recognizable descriptor	Switching processor for skincare brands
Fitness	Memberships and program plans to rebuild with the same dates	Switching processor for fitness brands
Info products	Payment plans on courses and coaching	Switching processor for info product businesses
Online pharmacy	Refill schedules and the new processor's approval of your category	Switching processor for online pharmacies
Telehealth	Memberships and recurring consult fees	Switching processor for telehealth companies

How Tagada helps

A vault you own, wherever you process

Acceptance: "If you sell something real, we will get you paid."9
A vault you own: "Your PCI-tokenized cards, your customer profiles, your subscription data, all portable."9
No lock-in: "Switch processors without re-onboarding customers. No vendor lock-in. Ever." and "Export your vault, cards, and customers anytime."9
Other processors kept if you want them: "Already on Stripe, NMI or Airwallex? We orchestrate those too."9
Onboarding: "One KYC. One signed package. We distribute it across our processor network and follow up so you don't have to."9
Security: PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR, as listed by TagadaPay9.

Tagada CRM plans are on the pricing page.

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Updated on November 3, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

Can I move my PayPal subscriptions to another processor?

Not as data. Subscribers who pay with a PayPal account keep their cards inside PayPal, so each one has to sign up again on your new checkout. If the new platform still offers PayPal, it may reuse existing billing agreements, as Shopify does for approved merchants. Braintree doesn't migrate subscriptions either.

Can I export my customers' cards from PayPal or Braintree?

From Braintree, yes: it sends a GPG-encrypted file of customers and cards to a processor that provides a PCI compliance attestation, in two exports at most. Apple Pay and Google Pay tokens are excluded. Cards inside buyers' PayPal accounts can't be exported. For an older PayPal gateway, PayPal describes a Credit Card Vault tool.

Can I ask my PayPal customers to pay by card instead?

Be careful while PayPal is still on your checkout. The User Agreement says you won't try to dissuade customers from using PayPal or encourage another payment method, and that you'll show PayPal at least on par with other methods. Either keep PayPal as an option or remove it before you invite customers to pay differently.

Should I close my PayPal account after switching?

Not right away. You can't close it with an open dispute, a negative balance or a hold, and buyers can open disputes up to 180 days after paying. Closing also cancels scheduled transactions, and you stay liable after closure. Withdraw the balance and close it once the dispute window has passed.

How long does a migration away from PayPal take?

Braintree publishes no deadline for its export, and the receiver needs its PCI attestation and key ready first. Add one full billing cycle with both processors live, then 180 days of disputes on your last PayPal sale before you close the account. PayPal-account subscribers move at their own pace, renewal by renewal.