"To comply with government regulations, this transaction has been declined."

[Austin1780]

Hi, I am hoping someone can provide a better explanation for why the following is happening. I was attempting to purchase a gift on Etsy (a custom made stuffed animal toy) from a seller based in St. Petersburg, Russia. I have a business PayPal account based in the United States, however, I primarily use it for personal purchases as the business aspect is very small. When I tried to make payment to the seller I received the following message: "Sorry, we can't complete your purchase at this time. To comply with government regulations, this transaction has been declined." I called PayPal customer service and the representative I spoke with didn't seem to know why this was occurring, but seemed to guess that it had to do with the current tensions between the U.S. and Russia. I believe I have purchased books from Russia in the past with PayPal without any problems and the seller I am communicating with says most of her buyers are based in the U.S. She has never had an issue with U.S. buyers using PayPal to purchase items from her, including a recent sale in June 2018. Does anyone know why this is occurring? Is it maybe because I am using a business account (though I use this account to make personal purchases all the time)? Or is this a new restriction PayPal has put in place against Russia? That seems a bit extreme and unlikely to me.

[kernowlass]

@Austin1780

If while making a payment you received the message "To comply with government regulations, this transaction has been declined", the most common cause is your business name, or one of its words.

For example, the word "Havana" has been seen to cause problems when purchasing goods from within the USA.

If this is happening to you, try different variations of your company name, and if you're still having trouble, check that the title of your team does not contain any words that may be problematic.

[Austin1780]

@kernowlass

I know for certain this isn't the case as I have made successful purchases with the same account before and after this was an issue. It's only with this specific seller. My business name does not contain anything but very common words and the seller's business name is called NabiToys on Etsy. Until now, she has never had a problem with her PayPal business account accepting payments from U.S. buyers either.

[Chitown135]

Am very very upset about an EBay purchase being denied! I lost a vintage, very good condition, reasonably priced Vuitton purse due to gov regulation. This is BULL!!! The claim is there may be an issue with seller but, they were able to sell immediately to another buyer. I’ve been searching and can’t find this purse with same qualities listed! If this process was for protection, there should’ve been a hold on both sides of sell and after an investigation, the sell can proceed. I was penalized but, seller could still sell the item ???? Oh and the best part, PayPal stating you can still use your account just not this purchase. When did we become a dictator??? CSR was a joke; they don’t even know what the government regulation is and how and why account holders are flagged!

[Elena96]

@kernowlass 

what about same situation but my account is not a business account? 

[Oregon11]

@Austin1780

The reason the transaction is being blocked could very well be because you're sending from a business account. 

You mentioned that the seller in Russia is a business. PayPal Business accounts registered in Russia are able to receive transfers from individuals only. The reason could also be that the recipient is close to their set receiving limit for the month.

A possible reason you were able to send a payment to Russia in the past, could be because that particular seller was not operating as a business, and wasn't required to have a PayPal Business account.

Another reason could be what Kernowlass suggested. PayPal security software can stop a transaction from completing if there are potential issues. This doesn't mean that a buyer or seller is doing anything wrong—it's just how the security software looks at a transaction as a whole.

[cafe11]

I had similar problem, could not pay as business in EU to business in Russia. changed the account to private, and payment went through.

[Navyman]

I am getting the same thing. I have tried 3 times to transfer money ($175) from my bank account (Navy Federal Credit Union) into my PayPal business account because I like to keep funds for two business' separate and the client deposited into the bank versus the PayPal. I want to transfer so the transaction is free. 

[pw_TX]

I have been having this issue off and on and FINALLY resolved it for me. Hopefully this helps some others as well. Try this:

– Going to a new incognito window in Chrome (or private window in Firefox)
– Do checkout as a guest (do not sign in to your paypal account)
– Using a credit card not linked to your current paypal account

It worked for me and for a friend of mine. I know it does not help if you do not have a credit card that you can use for this. But hopefully will help those that do.

[Navyman]

Some of the simplest solutions are staring us right between the eyes and you don't know it till someone smarter than you does it first. Worked perfect and thanks

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@pw_TX wrote:

I have been having this issue off and on and FINALLY resolved it for me. Hopefully this helps some others as well. Try this:

– Going to a new incognito window in Chrome (or private window in Firefox)
– Do checkout as a guest (do not sign in to your paypal account)
– Using a credit card not linked to your current paypal account

It worked for me and for a friend of mine. I know it does not help if you do not have a credit card that you can use for this. But hopefully will help those that do.

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