PAYPAL and Venmo have crashed, leaving users panicked about where their money has gone.
Several reported being unable to access their accounts or make and receive payments, leaving at least one person unable to pay rent after the global outage first hit at midday on Thursday.
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PayPal has experienced a global technical outage on August 1 (stock image)Credit: Reuters
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Venmo is also having difficulties (stock image)Credit: Getty
Thousands of reports of technical difficulties came through earlier this morning involving PayPal and Venmo, per Downdetector.
Nearly half of users cited payment issues and app malfunctions, with around a quarter noting an inability to login.
Some feared they lost hundreds of dollars in an instant.
“I went to send $860 for rent and the transaction is no where to be found,” a frustrated customer, Taylor, wrote in a comment.
“PayPal balance reflects what I sent however there is no transaction details. I have no email saying it sent either.”
Others echoed similar transaction problems.
MONEY MISSING?
“Sent $60 from Cash App to PayPal and it’s supposed to be instant but is not in my account. What’s going on with PayPal?” fellow user Anna questioned.
“My girlfriend sent me $400 and it is not reflecting in my account AT ALL,” a third, Aaliyah, wrote.
Someone else speculated that PayPal had “been hacked” and they allegedly received “no response” from the company.
PayPal confirmed on its website on Friday that the outage was indeed global, and that technical teams were continuing to resolve issues.
Huge Global Data Breach: 16 Billion Accounts at Risk
As for Venmo, 79% cited failed payments this morning nationwide.
At least 17% couldn’t make transfers and 4% couldn’t even login.
“Can’t pay rent!” an anonymous Venmo user cried, similar to those with PayPal.
“Unable to receive or send funds this morning,” another echoed.
Check if your bank or service provider is down
THERE are a few different ways to find out if your bank or other financial service provider is experiencing an outage.
Senior consumer reporter Olivia Marshall explains how you can check.
If you’re trying to send money to someone or you want to check if you have enough cash for a coffee, finding your online banking is down can be a real pain.
Most banks and e-money firms have a dedicated news page on their website to show service problems, including internet banking, mobile apps, ATMs, debit cards and credit cards.
You can also check on any future work they have planned and what it might mean for you.
Plus, you can check websites such as Downdetector, which will tell you whether other people are experiencing problems with a particular company online.
“Trying to do an online grocery order and both paypal and venmo keep getting declined even though I have the funds,” a shopper, George, also wrote.
Except, the outages for both PayPal and Venmo have now ceased this afternoon, according to what a PayPal spokesperson told The US Sun.
“PayPal and Venmo experienced a temporary interruption this morning that has since been resolved,” they said.
NOT AGAIN
This is the second time PayPal has experienced a global outage in the past nine months.
In November, a glitch also impacted thousands of personal and business accounts with the platform.
Some users were also left unable to make transactions or login, similar to this month’s outage.
While banks and financial technology companies typically don’t have payout compensation for drops in services, those who incurred unexpected costs due to service issues could get their money back.
For example, if a rent payment didn’t go through due to an outage and a customer was charged a late fee, they could submit a formal complaint with PayPal through its website.
Depending on the complexity of the problem, it could take around 15 days for payment-related complaints to be resolved.
PayPal also announced a new payment method to help consumers avoid “complex” banking rules last month.
The company’s CEO also introduced “updated” pricing in January.