Overview

• PayPal says a system‑update error briefly disabled fraud controls, triggering a wave of suspicious SEPA direct‑debits that banks blocked, freezing transactions worth billions.
• The company reports service is restored and significantly fewer than five percent of German customers were affected, yet some users still receive incorrect “insufficient funds” notices as pending items clear.
• Banks and payment processors are manually post‑processing a large backlog; the Sparkassen association expects the clean‑up to be largely completed by mid‑next week, and some merchant payouts remain delayed.
• PayPal pledges to reimburse all legitimate merchant transactions and to refund fees wrongly charged to customers, while consumer groups advise monitoring accounts and using SEPA chargebacks for unauthorized debits.
• The Sparkassen computer emergency team warns of phone scams impersonating bank staff to solicit PINs or TANs, and the BSI urges consumers to weigh outage risks and provider transparency as debate over European alternatives such as Wero resurfaces.