PayPal says it is working with German banks after widespread payment disruption
FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with the PayPal logo is placed on a laptop in this illustration taken on July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
BERLIN :PayPal said on Friday that it was working to resolve any remaining issues following a widespread disruption that had halted user payments in Germany, raising alarm over the reliability of the app for online transactions.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the current events. Safety remains our top priority," the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters, adding that the disruption had since been resolved.
"We are working closely with our banking partners to resolve any discrepancies on customers' accounts. All legitimate merchant transactions will be fully remunerated."
The company did not comment on the cause of the problem.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported earlier this week that German banks had halted 10 billion euros' ($11.71 billion) worth of payments on Monday due to concerns that PayPal's security system had stopped vetting them for potential fraud.
Germany's Bild newspaper reported on Friday that some users were still having problems with the app, a popular method of payment in the country.
A spokesperson declined to comment on the report directly.
The disruption has raised concerns in Germany about consumers' reliance on the U.S. company to carry out payments online.
A spokesperson for the German finance ministry declined to comment on Friday when asked whether Europe should develop an alternative to PayPal but said the recent incident showed the importance of resilient systems of payment.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
