PayPal Defaulting on Payouts
With funds not being FDIC-insured
PayPal has defaulted on payouts for at least some European companies, including ours (but not yet the U.S. company).
In a message this evening, after close of business day in Europe and right before the week end, PayPal have advised us that they will from now on hold our funds for at least 21 days.
This announcement is consistent with running out of liquidities and trying to prevent a run to the “bank”. It will also allow PayPal to launder money through people's payments to cover short-term needs.
The policy has been implemented so far only outside of the United States for the time being, with our account in the U.S. not yet affected, probably because those not located in America have far less recourse against a U.S. company. It is important to note, however, that whether one is located in the U.S., Europe or any other country, PayPal is not an actual bank, and as a result, deposits are not guaranteed by FDIC or equivalent schemes in other countries.
As it stands, we have disconnected PayPal from our non-U.S. web sites, and will be disconnecting the payment option from U.S. web sites as well shortly. All outstanding PayPal invoices previously issued have been cancelled, and each party will be contacted directly for alternate payment options.
Generally, we still accept payment by credit card for most transactions, as well as Zelle in the United States, e-transfers in Canada, Vipps in Norway, and direct bank payments to our accounts in Norway (usually available through your online banking in most countries) in most countries.