Payment chaos! German banks stop PayPal transactions worth billions

Payment chaos! German banks stop PayPal transactions worth billions

In the past few days, payments via the popular payment service Paypal have come to a standstill in Germany and throughout Europe. The reason for this are problems with Paypal's security system, which led to a temporary stop in direct debits worth billions by German banks. Reports from the South German newspaper confirm that numerous banks have blocked direct debits worth tens of billions, which has had a significant impact on payment transactions.

The Bayerische Landesbank has, like that n-tv reported that around four billion euros alone were frozen, while the total blocked amount amounts to over ten billion euros. DZ Bank and many other financial institutions have also stopped Paypal transactions. Many merchants are now forced to wait for their funds because payments are not being processed as usual.

Impact and confirmed issues

The German Savings Banks and Giro Association has confirmed the temporary problems with Paypal direct debits. These disruptions had a significant impact on payment transactions in Europe, particularly in Germany. Paypal itself stated that there is a temporary service interruption affecting certain transactions from banking partners. However, the problems are said to have been resolved as of Tuesday morning after a detailed investigation into the incidents took place.

Although payment transactions to and from Paypal are back to normal, the situation remains under observation. A PayPal spokesman acknowledged the disruptions and confirmed that the problems have now been resolved. The Paypal help page notes the service interruption that caused delays in transactions.

Market share and security

Paypal has a market share of 28.5 percent in online payments in Germany and more than 30 million users. However, a new incident that came to light last week highlights the company's security concerns: around 15 million PayPal customers' data, including email addresses and passwords, were offered on the dark web. The authenticity of this data still needs to be verified, which further burdens the situation for many customers.

The German Savings Banks and Giro Association emphasizes that subsequent disruptions are not the responsibility of the Sparkasse Finance Group. The savings banks are working closely with Paypal to process the incidents and affected customers can contact the payment service directly to receive further information.