Payoneer login blocked funds to thousands of users

Taking into account the situation with the Payoneer payment option described below as well as discussions in the European Parliament you may consider using an alternative payout system and change your payout preferences. Many hosts use TransferWise which works very well for Airbnb hosting and to get paid on other platforms. It’s quick, cheap, multicurrency and there’s no monthly fee for the borderless account.

This payment system will allow you instantly create virtual bank accounts in USD, EUR, GBP and many other currencies.

How to add TransferWise as an Airbnb payout method:

Register with TransferWise here
Go to Airbnb account
Select Payments & Payouts and click on the Payouts tab.
Click Add Payout Method
In your TransferWise account > left column > Balances click on the currency you want to use for payouts. Click Open a balance to see the entire list of available currencies.
When you click on a currency balance you will see your virtual bank account details and address to use.
When you add your TransferWise account as an Airbnb payout method you will need to change the Billing country accordingly. Like the United States for USD account and select Bank Transfer payout option.
Submit details and wait for verification.

⚠️ The name you have on your Airbnb account needs to be exact letter by letter match with Transferwise's beneficiary name.

Add TransferWise as Airbnb payout method to get paid in USD

What happened with Payoneer in June 2020 (timeline)?

Hundreds of hosts worldwide reported they are unable to access the funds in their Payoneer accounts. Many hosts reported that accounts, prepaid cards, all types of withdrawals, receiving new payments onto cards and available funds are currently frozen by Payoneer. Login to Payoneer user account was temporary restricted, now users are able to access their virtual accounts.

As you may have seen on the news, Wirecard AG filed for insolvency on Thursday. Your Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard® Card is issued by its subsidiary, Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WCSL) in the UK. Today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which regulates WCSL, issued requirements on WCSL, freezing all prepaid card activity for the time being. We believe that cardholder funds are properly safeguarded and that the freeze will be temporary.

What does this mean? The FCA has communicated that they have taken these measures with the primary objective of protecting the interests and money of Wirecard customers. Pending further actions from the FCA, you will temporarily be unable to withdraw the funds on your card, nor receive new payments onto your card.

Update from Payoneer

As you may have seen on the news, Wirecard AG filed for insolvency on Thursday. Your Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard® Card is issued by its subsidiary, Wirecard Card Solutions Limited (WCSL) in the UK. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which oversees WCSL, decided to restrict WCSLs activities to further protect customer money. As a result, a temporary freeze on all card activities is in effect.

What does this mean?

The FCA has communicated that these measures were taken to protect the interests and money of Wirecard customers. Until the FCA completes their investigation, you are temporarily unable to use the funds on your card or receive new payments to your card.

Any funds that are in excess of the maximum balance of your card are held by Payoneer and are, as always, available for withdrawal. These funds are not impacted by the FCA’s temporary freeze.

When will I be able to access my funds?

WCSL is working closely with the FCA to address their concerns so that the temporary freeze can be lifted as soon as possible, and your card can continue to operate as before.

We have highlighted to the FCA the urgency of the situation so that your card is unfrozen as soon as possible.

What about the pending payments on my card? Until your card is unfrozen, pending payments will go to your Payoneer account, where they will land in your virtual currency balance and can be withdrawn to your local bank account.

When will my virtual balance be available? Your virtual balance is already available. Sign in to your Payoneer account to view it. This means you can continue to receive payments from marketplaces, platforms and clients without an issue and withdraw these funds to your local bank account. Please ensure that you have an approved bank account, in your name, associated with your virtual account.

How can I get paid during this time?

Any future payments that you receive from marketplaces, platforms and clients will not be affected by the freeze. You can sign in to view your funds, and you can now add your bank account for withdrawal of your future incoming payments.

We are actively working on offering additional options for you, and your patience and understanding are highly appreciated. The situation is continuously developing, and we will update you as soon as we have additional information.

We understand that the developing situation with Wirecard has created a lot of concern and challenges for Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard® card users. We have been assured by the FCA that the freeze was put in place to ensure the protection of all cardholders’ funds. We have also been given repeated reassurances that all funds are properly safeguarded. Progress is being made to lift the freeze, and we will continue to update you as soon as more information is available. This situation has impacted the customers of many companies, and we believe that it will be resolved soon.

In the meantime, incoming funds to Payoneer users can be withdrawn to bank accounts or held in a Payoneer Account which remains safe and secure. All funds held in Payoneer are fully liquid and available and held in global leading banks. Our company is strong and stable, and committed to safeguarding our customers’ funds in accordance with all relevant global regulations.

We know that our customers depend on these funds, and that this freeze has created hardships for many people. We have enabled alternative solutions for payment withdrawal and are working to address any technical issues that have come up, and to help our customers in any way we can.”

– Scott Galit, CEO of Payoneer

Source

We are happy to report that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) completed its audit and confirmed that it has lifted the freeze on your Wirecard-issued Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard® card. As Mastercard has addressed and fixed some technical issues, your Payoneer Prepaid Mastercard is now active once again.

More details

Airbnb did not receive any update from Payoneer about this issue. But, if in case that Payoneer has an issue with the payment, the reservation payouts will not go through. Also Airbnb recommends to use an alternative payout method if possible.

Meanwhile, 27 June, 2020 Payoneer is still in the list of available payout methods on Airbnb. Also in some countries Payoneer is the only one available payout option.

Payoneer payout method

Earlier on June 25, 2020 Payoneer issued a statement saying that the Wirecard fraud didn't impact customer funds, it's business as normal, no loss of access to funds.

Wirecard AG is going into insolvency now and was rocked last week by allegations 2$ billions of fraud. Wirecard Solutions is based in the UK subsidiary company of Wirecard AG that issued cards for Payoneer and is regulated by the UK government Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA currently stopped Wirecard Solutions from operation to prevent them transferring assets to the parent company during the audit/ investigation.

What does Payoneer say?

Payoneer has assured cardholders that their funds are totally safe and that the freeze is only temporary. Any future payments that the cardholders receive from marketplaces or clients will be processed and not be affected by the freeze. Also, users can add their bank account details for future payment withdrawals.

What users say?

Looks like new payments can be withdrawn. Let's see how it goes.

Payoneer withdrawal