Millions of users were unable to access their money Friday morning as both PayPal and Venmo experienced significant outages. The issues began around 8:00 a.m. ET, with users flooding sites like Downdetector to report problems with logging in, sending money, and receiving direct deposits.
According to real-time data, more than 1,000 incidents were reported within the first hour, with PayPal users saying payments were missing and Venmo users reporting delayed paychecks.
“I sent someone $200, and the money was withdrawn from my account, but the other person didn’t receive it,” one frustrated user wrote on Downdetector.
What services were affected?
PayPal confirmed on its service dashboard that the outages affected multiple services, including:
- Retail Checkout
- Online Checkout
- Braintree (used by many merchants)
- Merchant and Partner Reporting
Venmo users, meanwhile, faced:
- 77% reporting payment failures
- 17% with issues transferring funds
- 6% unable to log in at all
The outage impacted users globally, though most reports stemmed from the U.S.
Company response
PayPal Holdings, which owns both platforms, said technical teams are actively investigating the cause:
“We are still observing impact to Retail Checkout, Online Checkout, and Braintree in our production environment,” the company shared. “We will continue to provide updates as the situation progresses.”
Venmo has not issued a separate statement as of Friday morning.
Why this matters
PayPal serves more than 430 million users worldwide, while Venmo has 90 million users in the U.S. alone. Both platforms are frequently used for peer-to-peer payments, small business transactions, and direct deposit payrolls.
The outage hit at a particularly sensitive time: Friday morning, when many Americans expect paycheck deposits and recurring payments.
Market impact
Shares of PayPal Holdings (PYPL) dropped 2% in early trading following the disruption. Although broader market volatility is playing a role, analysts noted the timing of the outage, which occurred just after the company’s latest earnings report.
Retail sentiment dipped on social finance platforms like Stocktwits, although many users still expressed confidence in PayPal’s long-term viability.
User safety and next steps
Financial experts urge users to:
- Avoid retrying failed transactions until confirmation is received
- Monitor bank accounts for delayed deposits
- Document any missing funds and contact customer support once platforms are back online
As of 10:30 a.m. ET, PayPal’s systems were still reporting service degradation. No estimate has been provided for full restoration.
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