I've send $100 to a Russian friend. The money are frozen + her account is considered as merchant ?!

[eternal1000]

Hello,

I'm from (North) Macedonia, and my friend lives in Russia - he made a brand new PayPal account today. From my PayPal dashboard I've used the only possible method to send a payment with the amount of $100, sent it with a "happy b-day" note, I've hide the address because it wasn't necessary, I'm not buying anything but merely transferring money. The transaction was marked as completed, but the Russian friend got an email from PayPal and I ended up being embarrassed for pushing her to use PayPal and putting her in an unpleasant situation, the translation to English would look like this:

Your funds have been blocked because we have discovered that you are a new PayPal merchant. It will take you a long time to create a positive sales story. The amount will be kept on the blocked balance of your account and will be unblocked after the order is completed, unless the buyer makes a claim and there are no problems with your account.

Question 1:
When will her funds be unfrozen so she could withdraw them. Is "up to 21 days" the correct answer ?
Question 2:
Why is she considered a merchant ? Is it because A) All Russian users are considered merchants and they can't possibly receive money as "individuals", or B) Her merchant status was given because it's me from (North) Macedonia who can only send money for "items and services", and not in the most regular way so I can "Pay my Pal".

Answer to Question 1 alone will steady my nerves because this has been the most unpleasant 'happy b-day' money transfer ever. Perhaps I'm at fault for missing something, but I couldn't have known about her merchant status. I hope she won't have to pay taxes too for that. I'm so sad right now, kindly help me.

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@eternal1000 

Its down to how the payment was SENT to an account.

1. If sent using money > goods / services option then paypal would see the recipient as a seller and apply the new seller hold. They would also charge a fee.

2. If sent using the send money > family / friends option then the recipient would have the payment instantly (as long as it wasn't an echeque pending with a clearance date) with no fee. (However that option is not available in every country and both of yours are countries that do not have that option).

[eternal1000]

What a mistake I've made then. Very disappointed, I couldn't have known I need to have that option on my account to send money the "regular" way. Again, my bad.

Thank you.