September 8, 2025, 10:53 am | Read time: 2 minutes
At the end of August, PayPal experienced a significant disruption affecting millions of users. The issue stemmed from an error during a system update, resulting in transactions totaling over 10 billion euros being halted by German banks. In response, certain customers are now receiving a credit.
PayPal calls the payment a “small thank you.” The company is currently informing its customers via email about the 10-euro credit. A colleague in the editorial team has received this email and even the money in her account. The payout was completely automatic. However, it seems PayPal is granting the credit only to a specific group of users.
Credit Issued Due to PayPal Outage
The reason for the payment is the major disruption at the payment service provider about two weeks ago. On the weekend of August 23 and 24, a faulty system update caused a temporary outage in PayPal’s payment processing. The provider confirmed on its website that both customer transactions and cooperation with banks in Germany were affected. Transfers worth billions were reportedly not executed.
As compensation, PayPal is therefore reimbursing a large number of affected users with the mentioned 10-euro credit. The company’s email states that they regret the inconvenience and thank customers for their patience. The credit has already been applied to the account.
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Credit Without Conditions
Unlike other compensation actions, the PayPal credit is not a shopping voucher with conditions. Instead, it is freely available credit that can be used immediately. In the transaction overview, the amount appears as “Credit from PayPal.”
However, not all users benefit from this. PayPal only issues the credit to those who were demonstrably affected by the disruption. They should have previously received an email from PayPal informing them about transactions that were not processed due to the disruption. In the case of the TECHBOOK colleague who has already received the credit, a directed amount was not transferred at the time because it could not be debited from the account due to the disruption.
Users Should Check Inbox
PayPal users who have experienced similar issues should currently check their email inbox and the transaction history in their PayPal account carefully. Those affected should find the notification and the 10-euro credit there.