Proof there is hope for PayPal: Here’s an email saying it won’t hold funds for some users

PayPal seems to finally be doubling down on unwanted account freezes. The payment processing firm is contacting users with “outstanding account performance” and informing them it will no longer temporarily hold their funds “in the event of a dispute, claim, or chargeback.”

This past weekend, we wrote about an email PayPal’s newly appointment President David Marcus
sent to a frustrated customer who had his two accounts limited. Marcus promised things would finally be changing at the company. If you missed that story, you should definitely check it out. Here’s an excerpt:

If anything, please know that I’m now going to use your story to radically change how we deal with holds, and communicate with our customers. I’m driving a lot of changes at PayPal (I took over 5 months ago), and I hope that over time we will earn your trust again. Not with words, but with delightful products, and amazing service.

To me, these were empty words for two reasons: I wasn’t going to judge until action had been made, and this email had only been sent to one person. This week, however, an email titled “Rewarding your PayPal performance” was sent out to a number of PayPal users. One such user sent us a screenshot of the email:

Previously, PayPal used to require funds to be held in a pending balance while the outcome of a dispute, claim, or chargeback was determined. Now, some users will be able to keep using their money regardless of complaints.

This is a massive change. PayPal has PR disaster after PR disaster when it comes to holding funds and freezing accounts. It looks like Marcus is finally taking steps to make sure stories like these are thing of the past.

For reference, here’s the full body of the email:

Dear [redacted],

PayPal appreciates your business and continues to design its products and services with you in mind. Our goal is to make sending and receiving payments simple and seamless.

With that in mind, we want to share some good news with you. Due to your feedback and outstanding account performance, PayPal will no longer temporarily hold your funds in the event of a dispute, claim, or chargeback. These processes used to require funds to be held in a pending balance while the outcome was determined. Going forward, your funds will not be held in a pending balance.

Please be aware that we still need your assistance by responding accordingly in a timely fashion, and that the dispute, claim and chargeback process will remain the same. Although PayPal is not placing a temporary hold on your funds, a lost dispute, claim, or chargeback will still result in your PayPal account being debited at the time the case is closed. Please note there are other transactions that can still result in funds being temporarily held and this new change only applies to claims, chargebacks and disputes.

Your account performance will consistently be monitored and the terms of this feature are subject to change based on your selling performance. In order to maintain this feature, above-standard performance is necessary. PayPal sends system-generated e-mails which may cause you to see references to held funds in e-mails, disputes, claims, and chargebacks. Despite this, your account is exempt from such holds at this time.

The PayPal Debit MasterCard Business Card® will also provide you with fast access to your funds. Thank you for your continued commitment towards the PayPal community as we partner with you to grow your business.

Sincerely,

PayPal

Hat tip to Hacker News

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