Patreon, the popular funding platform for creators, recently experienced a major issue that resulted in widespread rejected payments for both creators and patrons. However, the company has now confirmed that it has fixed the root cause of the problem and is actively working to resolve the larger issue.
According to Patreon, the problem stemmed from financial institutions flagging a higher-than-normal number of patron payments as fraudulent. This caused many creators to lose supporters and experience a loss of income. Additionally, some creators reported being unable to access their funds, which Patreon attributes to an unrelated problem resulting from a partner update.
The company has identified Payoneer as the payment partner that is causing the inability to access payouts. Patreon is currently working closely with Payoneer to restore the affected transactions and expects to complete the process by today.
The issue first gained attention when several Patreon users took to social media to express their frustrations over losing a significant number of patrons. Many users noticed that their billing information had recently shifted to Dublin, which led to speculation that this change was the reason behind banks flagging the transactions as fraudulent.
For instance, Dr. Brooke Magnanti, the author of Secret Diary of a London Call Girl, expressed her dismay on Bluesky, a platform for sharing thoughts and experiences. She revealed that she had lost 80% of her patrons, expressing frustration with the situation.
Various Reddit users also discussed their experiences with the Patreon payment issues. One user reported losing 300 patrons and noted that many people’s cards were flagged as fraudulent by their banks due to issues with Patreon’s billing system. Another user highlighted the inability to re-try payments authorized with banks, preventing patrons from resubscribing even if they wanted to.
Patreon has responded to these concerns, acknowledging that the Dublin billing location is related to a recent upgrade. The company stated that it made a required upgrade with one of its payment processing partners, leading to changes in the descriptors seen on statements. Patreon is actively working with its payment processing partner to resolve the issue. It reassured users that declined payments are typically retried and restored, so it doesn’t expect the flagged payments to have a long-term impact. However, Patreon refrained from speculating on a specific timeline or actions until a fix is fully rolled out.
Some users have reported success in resolving the issue by contacting their financial institutions. One Reddit user described their experience of reaching out to their card provider, going through the necessary verification process, and eventually seeing their Patreon setup return to normal. They speculated that the payment location change could have triggered fraud prevention measures, causing cards to be flagged.
Patreon has promised to provide updates on the ongoing situation through its status blog and support Twitter account. Users are encouraged to stay informed through these channels for the latest information.
In conclusion, Patreon has addressed the root cause of the recent payment issues and is actively working to resolve them. The company has identified a payment partner, Payoneer, as the cause of the inability to access payouts and expects to restore transactions by the end of the day. While the issue caused concern among creators and patrons, Patreon reassures users that declined payments are typically retried and restored. As investigations and improvements continue, users are advised to stay updated through Patreon’s status blog and support Twitter account.
