Payment on hold for "government regulations"

[robotbacon]

In all of my years with PayPal, I've never seen this message on a payment :

"We've temporarily put this payment on hold while we verify that it complies with regulatory requirements. We'll contact you about this within 24-72 hours. To learn more, see PayPal goods or services regulations." (The link is dead in both this message and the email.)
A different message was in the payment email:

"To comply with government regulations, PayPal is required to review certain transactions. This payment is currently being reviewed and we will complete this process within 72 hours. This review only involves this transaction and does not affect the use of your PayPal account for other transactions."

The payment is for $10 worth of common action figures; I don't have any disputes with anyone and I file my taxes. Buyer is one state away from me, and we're bot verified. I've been on PayPal for many years and even have a PP debit card. Has anyone else ever seen this message? Is it about ME, or is it about the person who paid me? Very confused right now.

If anyone else has faced this, can you tell me what it's all about?

[mujojujo]

People have been complaining about this issue for a solid 2 years and how has PayPal responded?

NOT AT ALL.

This is the shoddiest form of customer "service" I've ever experienced, even with the worst of various banks I've had to deal with.  No answers, just obfuscation and feigned ignorance.

PayPal knows exactly why payments are being withheld: they are skimming the interest float.

This is heading for another class action lawsuit.

[Yolei]

Happened to me today while ordering some TCG cards 😕 The guy on phone said it's an automatic system and that's there's nothing he can do. Very "helpful".

[tahoesilver]

Bought several 2 oz. Ceopatra Silver Rounds - I guess if there is anything "Middle Eastern" sounding in the transaction, it may get flagged.... Big brother being a bit too nosy in my opinion....

[Recsted]

This is my first time getting this goverment Regulation thing. It happened on thursday and I waited Friday and Saturday. Will it be done processing On Sunday or Monday? Im really curious. ( 72 hours )

[MBDEV]

And thus after 10+ years with PP I have been caught in the spy game as well. Folks if you're ever going to do a website invoice for creation of a Mrs. America state website don't include the words, America, launch and destory. My own idiotic fault. I put destroy in the invoice text pertaining to usernames of my client. The site has the words, America and NYC in it. I don't blame the NSA. It's the world we live in.

Listen I agree that it's not exactly right for a lot of the things I saw most of you mention but at the same time I can't blame Paypal they have no control over it. It's called the Patriot Act and it keeps getting voted back in because no one ever complains about it until it burdens their lives such as this but then no one ever looks into the PA and contacts those in control. It is NOT just paypal. Google, Bing (MS), Apple and especially FB & Twitter. If you think that's not true I applaud you imagination of a trusting world. Try typing in certain keywords into you email and you'll have the FBI & CIA in your doorway in less than 30 minutes.

Is it a hassle? Yes. Is it over stressed, Yes. Does it make you feel spied on? Yes but is it something that is necessary to a certain degree? Definitely.

Though I must say while Paypal can't really say anything on the matter I am very surprised they haven't at least made some type of attempt to answer any questions in this thread.

So hopefully I will be reviewed and paid and if not I will make another arrangement maybe a carrier pigeon.

[Ampz]

Just happened to me today. I ordered a damascus katana from the website "wicked swords". Didn't realize katanas were against government regulations in Pennsylvania lol

[tleilaxu23]

I receive Paypal sales as a bandcamp artist under multiple project names. I was born and raised in the US and have a US Paypal account and bank accounts. In the past year, I've noticed that all of my album sales that are under my own name, which has "Abdul" in the name, automatically trigger a temporary payment hold, whereas none of my other projects' album sales that go by various other names undergo this review process, but complete immediately when received by Paypal. 

I tested this theory last week by changing my bandcamp artist name from including "Abdul" to not including "Abdul", only using the second half of my last name. I sent a test payment, and the payment completed immediately, from my own Paypal account. A minute later I changed my bandcamp artist name back to including "Abdul" and sent another test payment, using the same paypal account. Sure enough, I received the same payment pending message again, that it was under review due to government regulations. My record label who uses Paypal for their bigcartel and bandcamp sites have experienced the same scenario, only in regards to my solo album sales with "Abdul" in the name. My record label changed my artist name to not include "Abdul" and all Paypal transactions have been completing immediately since that change.

The only conclusion I can make of this is is that Paypal is discriminating against all transactions involving products with certain Middle Eastern or Muslim sounding names. It's obvious that the pending status of payments has nothing to do with my Paypal or bandcamp accounts, but with the product name itself. My test payments prove this, and I have these payment receipts and what each is paying for, clearly documented in my emails. 

I contacted Paypal compliance, and I've gotten a few version of the same vague response, so it's obvious they are keeping these so-called government regulations under wraps:

"Thank you for contacting PayPal.

In order to provide a secure online payment method, PayPal uses a complex screening process for payments.  Occasionally, transactions are blocked or reviewed because they may present some heightened risk.

We apologize for any inconvenience in relationship to this process.

Thank you for choosing PayPal.
Sincerely,
Ben
PayPal Compliance Department"

Complex screening process?  More like simplistic and racist screening process: simple word search on "Abdul" triggers a payment hold, and simply removing the word allows it to go through FOR THE VERY SAME PRODUCT. And...since when are ambient music downloads considered a heightened risk?

I've reported this to the ACLU and hope other people who have had the same experience Paypal will follow suit so Paypal can be held accountable for these discriminatory tactics.

[Tottstudios]

Here it is 2020 and im having this issue. I have had paypal do this for an art class i paid for for my minor child that has a middle eastern name. Was demanded i send a copy of her birth certificate and birth date. Told them no, i do not think so. And how dare they demand information relating to a minor. The information in the notes said "art creations class for 'her name'". I asked them why they would say it needs to be incestigated per regulatuon and where they were storing my minor childs information that is not the account sender or the recieiver. Fast forward to today and i paid the gardener, he has hundreds of properties and knows our property by address and my husbands name. Put in "yard work service for property at xxxx address under xxxx name". Paypal put it under review and is emailing saying they want the personal details for mohamed and to explain the transaction. I told them in the teply its for yard work as the description already states and i want to know why his documents and birth date would determine if yard work met regulations. Its blatant discrimination. I kept my last name and do not have a muslim sounding name so it does not happen to other trandactions. It may be an inconvenience to have to not out that but its 2020. Why am i having to omit someones name and provide paypal personal information for my husbands name and my daughter? Its ridiculous! And when i ask them what they are going to be doing with it and how yard work is an illegal activity they just demand my husbands personal details. Its not ok. Not even a little bit.

[mysinsthree]

Just happened to me as well. After some searching I found that it is due to the use of the word "Damascus" as it is the capitol of Syria and the USA/Syria relationship is trash. I don't know for sure, but it may be better to use the term "Demasteel" instead. It sucks that my seller now has to wait for the funds to clear.

[regalredstar]

Happened to me when I was trying to buy a biography of a woman who disguised herself as a man in order to hide from the Taliban. Apparently it flagged the word Taliban in the title and freaked out.