Recently, I went through a big scare with my Payoneer account being blocked or rather restricted. Whatever you want to call it.
The thing is, you’ll never be prepared for these kinds of things, and it might just hit you at the wrong moment.
My Payoneer account got blocked at a time when I didn’t have the time nor the strength for the back and forth needed to resolve the issue.
I had to find some other means of getting by until I had the time to face Payoneer squarely.
And you know what happens when a Nigerian decides to face his problems squarely.
Well, let’s just say I got the issue resolved without breaking someone’s jaw and my Payoneer account was unblocked. Lol.
In this article, I want to do a rundown of some of the things you should avoid doing if you want to prevent your Payoneer account from being blocked.
These are just some ideas, and they don’t guarantee that your Payoneer account won’t get blocked.
But at least, they can help you to avoid the major known issues that could lead to your Payoneer account getting restricted.
Let’s get right to it.
Verification Issues
This is one of the most basic issues why a Payoneer account will be blocked.
If you open a new Payoneer account, your first task should be to verify it as soon as possible.
Payoneer accounts that are not verified soon are seen as throwaway accounts and would likely be blocked.
Also, when you receive an email from Payoneer or a notification to provide some documents for verification, and you don’t reply soon enough, your account might become limited.
This can happen even if you have previously verified tthe account. If Payoneer notices any suspicion going on with your account, you might be required to verify ownership going forward.
If not, your Payoneer account would be blocked.
Payments With Unverified Accounts
When you open a new Payoneer account, don’t be in a rush to transact with it before setting it up right.
And that means, getting the account verified ASAP.
When you start receiving payments with an unverified Payoneer account, withdrawal might be limited until you verify the account.
And you know what that means if you’re a Nigerian. You might never get to receive the funds in that limited account.
Payments From Unknown Sources
If you’re a freelancer withdrawing your earnings via Payoneer directly from a merchant account, then you wouldn’t have any issues with this.
Your merchant account would already have been linked with Payoneer, and automatic withdrawal activated.
However, if you receive payments from people and businesses via any of your global bank accounts on Payoneer, then you have to be careful.
Most payment received via Payoneer global accounts go through a lot of AML scrutiny, so your account could get restrictor Payoneer decides to perform further checks on the transaction.
So, if you’re a Nigerian looking to receive payment from an account that is not already connected to Payoneer, then it might be better to find an alternative if you want to enjoy rest of mind.
Volume of Payments From Individual Accounts
Still on receiving from merchant accounts not connected to Payoneer.
If you decide to still go ahead with receiving payments with your Payoneer global account, e.g. the Payoneer U.S account, you have to be wary of the volume of transactions.
Receiving a high volume of payments from individual accounts will make it appear like you’re operating a merchant business with a Payoneer personal account.
In this case, Payoneer would mostly likely limit your account and ask you to provide proof of source of income.
Boy, you better have that proof of income somewhere, else you risk losing your hard-earned money. If you really earned it, that is.
Operating Multiple Accounts
I don’t see a reason why anyone should operate multiple Payoneer accounts, but if you decide to, you risk your account being blocked.
Sometimes, you might just want to keep your earnings from different merchant accounts separate, and that is justified.
But you risk mistaking one account for the other, which would increase the chances of your Payoneer account getting blocked due to inputting wrong details.
Login & Account Details
When you repeatedly use wrong account details such as password or transaction PIN, it makes your account appear like it has been compromised.
So, have a way to store your Payoneer account password and PIN if possible.
You could use the chrome password auto save for your online account, and a password saver token for the mobile app.
If you want to be too careful, you could even write it out in your diary or password book, and keep it somewhere safe.
That’s it.