All Collections
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting PayPal Payouts Integration
Troubleshooting PayPal Payouts Integration

Here are some common errors and causes you may encounter on your PayPal integration journey!

Shakima avatar
Written by Shakima
Updated over a week ago

Paying your network via PayPal is a convenient, popular option. But there are some checks along the way that can pop an error. We have them here for you, along with why they happen, so you can sort it out and keep moving.

Sometimes errors can happen due to incorrect account setup; so, be sure to check that all the below integration prerequisites are met:

  • Your PayPal account should be a business account and remain in good standing.

  • Your PayPal account should have a linked, verified bank account.

  • PayPal Payouts should be enabled and "live" in your business PayPal account.

  • The email and password used to connect Refersion and PayPal should be the credentials of the main account holder in PayPal.

It's important to make sure that every prerequisite from the list above is met in order to reduce the chance of errors when trying to process a payment to your affiliates.


Common Payment Errors

Authorization Error

Explanation:

This error occurs when you are not authorized to use PayPal payouts. A user can be unauthorized when:

  • PayPal Payouts is not enabled in their PayPal account

  • The credentials used to connect Refersion and PayPal are not the credentials of the main account holder.


Insufficient Funds Error

Explanation:

This error occurs when your PayPal balance does not have enough funds to cover both the affiliate's commission payment plus associated PayPal transaction fees.

In order to use Payouts, you must add funds directly to your PayPal balance. Funds will not be pulled from a linked bank account or card to pay affiliates.

If your account has commissions generated in multiple currencies, you may have to hold funds on those additional currencies as well.


Risk Decline Error

Explanation:

PayPal will sometimes completely decline a transaction due to risk concerns. If you tried to pay multiple affiliates and the whole transaction fails, we recommend retrying your payment with fewer affiliates to see which payment is resulting in this error. From there, you can reach out to PayPal for more information about why the transaction is marked as risky.


Pending Compliance Error

Explanation:

PayPal will place certain transactions on hold if the transaction needs to be reviewed for compliance with government regulations. You can try waiting a week to see if the payment status gets updated to paid. If not, you can try the payment again or reach out to PayPal for additional information.


Payment On Hold

Explanation:

Sometimes PayPal may place a payment on hold for 24 hours as a security precaution. This can happen for many reasons, such as you haven't sent money in a while or you're sending money to someone new.


From your side no action is needed. If there are no issues with the payment, then it will complete within 24 hours. If PayPal finds that a payment wasn’t authorized, then they reverse the transaction. You can review additional details from PayPal here


Unknown PayPal Error

Explanation:

This may be an error we haven't documented. Please see the table below for all possible PayPal errors (more info).

Code

Description

account_restricted

Access to your account has been restricted. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

account_unconfirmed_email

You need to be a verified PayPal account holder to send payouts. You can verify your account by confirming your email and your bank account or credit card. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

approver_denied

Payout request rejected by the approver. Please check with your approver.

authorization_error

Your account is not authorized to use payouts. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

batch_not_completed

This payout batch is still being processed. Please try again later.

closed_market

This account is not allowed to receive payouts from other countries. Try re-sending this payout to another account.

currency_compliance

Due to currency compliance regulations, you are not allowed to make this transaction.

currency_not_supported_for_receiver

This currency cannot be accepted for this recipient’s account. You can re-send this payout with a different currency.

gamer_failed_country_of_residence_check

The recipient lives in a country that is not allowed to accept this payout.

gamer_failed_funding_source_check

The funding source that was selected for this payout is not allowed. Try again by using your PayPal balance instead.

gaming_invalid_payment_flow

This payment flow is not allowed for gaming merchant accounts.

insufficient_funds

You have insufficient funds in your PayPal balance. You'll need to add funds to your account to complete the payout.

internal_error

An error occurred while processing this payout request. Please re-submit this payout as a new batch or file.

invalid_email

Email Address doesn’t exist. Try again with the correct Email Id.

negative_balance

You have insufficient funds in your PayPal balance. You'll need to add funds to your account to complete the payout.

non_holding_currency

Your account does not have a PayPal balance in this currency. Try again with a currency that has funds in your PayPal account, or change your account settings to this currency.

pending_recipient_non_holding_currency_payment_preference

This payout is pending because the recipient has set their account preferences to review credits in this currency. The recipient has been notified. Check back later for the status of this payout.

receiver_account_limitation

The recipient's account is currently under limitation. Any payments made to this account will be on hold until the issue is resolved. Funds will be returned to your account if the limitation is not resolved within 30 days of the sent payout. The recipient's account is currently under limitation. Any payments made to this account will be on hold until the issue is resolved. Funds will be returned to your account if the limitation is not resolved within 30 days of the sent payout.

receiver_account_locked

We were not able to send a payout because the recipient’s account is inactive or restricted. Funds have been returned to your account.

receiver_country_not_allowed

We can’t send this payout because the recipient lives in a country where payouts are not allowed.

receiver_refused

The recipient has refused this payout in this currency. Try resending in a different currency.

receiver_state_restricted

We can’t send this payout because the recipient lives in a state where payouts are not allowed.

receiver_unconfirmed

The recipient’s email or phone number is unconfirmed. Any payments made to this account will be marked as Unclaimed until the recipient confirms their account information. Funds will be returned to your account if they are not claimed within 30 days.

receiver_unregistered

The recipient for this payout does not have an account. A link to sign up for an account was sent to the recipient. However, if the recipient does not claim this payout within 30 days, the funds will be returned to your account.

receiver_youth_account

We were not able to send a payout because the recipient has a youth account. Please check with the recipient for an alternate account to receive the payout.

receiving_limit_exceeded

The recipient cannot accept this payout, because it exceeds the amount they can receive at this time. Please resubmit your payout request for a different amount.

refused_access_denied

Your account is not allowed to send money. Check with your primary account holder to get permission to send money.

regulatory_blocked

This transaction is blocked due to regulatory compliance restrictions.

regulatory_pending

This transaction is pending, while it is reviewed for compliance with government regulations.

risk_decline

This transaction was declined due to risk concerns.

self_pay_not_allowed

You can’t send a payout to yourself. Try sending it to a different account.

sender_account_locked

You can’t send a payout now, because your account is locked or inactive. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

sender_account_unverified

To send a payout, you need to have a verified PayPal account. You can verify your account by confirming your bank account or credit card. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

sender_state_restricted

Your address is in a state where payouts are not allowed. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

spending_limit_exceeded

You’ve exceeded your spending limit. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

transaction_declined_by_travel_rule

Your payout request does not comply with travel rule regulations. To send this payout, you’ll need to update and verify your account information. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

transaction_limit_exceeded

This payout request has exceeded the limit for this type of transaction. The funds have been returned to your account.

undefined

An error occurred while processing this payout request. Try again in a few minutes, or try resending as part of a new request or file.

unverified_recipient_not_supported

This payout request was not completed because the recipient has not verified their account. Your account is only allowed to send payout to verified accounts.

user_country_not_allowed

Your address is in a country where payouts are not allowed. Contact your PayPal account manager or PayPal customer service team for assistance.

user_funding_source_ineligible

The funding source for this payout is not allowed. Try again by using your PayPal balance instead.

zero_amount

Please provide a valid payment amount.

If you reach out to [email protected] we can check our system to see if we received any of the errors above from PayPal.

Depending on the error, we might be able to help you troubleshoot directly. If the error isn't something we can solve for you, you'll need to reach out to PayPal for assistance.

Did this answer your question?