Consumer Complaints about PayPal, Venmo, Other Payment Apps Rising

Payment apps like PayPal, Venmo and Square are handy but consumers are learning that although they’re convenient, things can and sometimes do go wrong.

A new study from the PIRG Education Fund cites a growing number of complaints in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) Consumer Complaint Database. In April, there were 970 digital wallet complaints — almost double the previous monthly high from July 2020.

“People use peer-to-peer apps for convenience but there’s nothing more inconvenient than having your money inaccessible — or even worse, going to the wrong person,” said Ed Mierzwinski, PIRG Education Fund’s senior director of federal consumer programs. “We’re seeing as more people turn to payment apps, more people are getting burned by related problems, including scams and fraud.”

Mierzwinski said it’s time for the CFPB to require the apps to provide better customer service.

Payment app problems

The three most commonly complained-about issues in the PIRG Education Fund report are:

• problems managing, opening or closing accounts;
• problems with fraud or scams; and
• problems with transactions (including unauthorized transactions).

The report found that the top 10 most-complained-about companies accounted for 90 percent of all 9,277 digital wallet complaints, led by PayPal (which also owns the Venmo app), Square (which owns Cash App) and Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform.

Americans also complained a lot about several big banks, including PNC Bank, Chase, and Bank of America, (which are some of the co-owners of Early Warning Systems, the parent of Zelle, a leading P2P app).

Payment apps offer more threats, fewer protections

When you use a peer-to-peer payment (P2P) app, you have fewer rights by law and more threats from scammers, PIRG warned. The consumer rights advocacy group recommends:

• Using a P2P app is like spending cash. Only use it with friends and other people you both know and trust.
• If possible, keep a separate bank account to use with P2P accounts. Don’t link P2P accounts to all your funds.
• Make sure your security settings are set to "mpst private." The default is often "most public."

If you are going to send money to a new recipient through a P2P payment app, even to a person you know, you should either initially send $1 as a test or ask the person to send a request for the money. There are so many similar accounts like BobSmith01 and BobSmith02. The accounts can have photos but the photos are so small, it’s difficult to tell whether it’s the correct person.

“Don’t use these apps to pay people you don’t know and, even if it’s your best friend or your mom, confirm you’re set up correctly and using the right user name,” said Mierzwinski. “Consumers don’t realize these online transfer payments are instantaneous and treated like cash, so when fraud strikes, you’re likely without recourse.”