Venmo is pausing some payments being sent to Palestinian relief funds
Amount: $50. To: Palestinian relief funds. Access: Denied
Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
2021-05-19 17:39:22 UTC
The escalating violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused donations to pour in for aid groups. But some donations on Venmo are getting stalled and even stopped.
The payment app is reportedly pausing some attempts to fundraise for Palestinian causes â particularly if the payments have any combination of words like Palestinian or Palestine alongside the phrase relief fund, according to
tests conducted by Rest of World, an international nonprofit journalism organization that covers primarily the intersection of technology and culture.
US payment platform blocking some payments mentioning Palestinian relief funds May 18, 2021, 08:47 AM
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Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Venmo users say the company is blocking some transactions that mention Palestine-related keywords.
Venmo told Insider it s trying to avoid running afoul of US sanctions laws.
But the PayPal-owned company wouldn t say what caused it to suspend payments.
Some Venmo users are reporting that the PayPal-owned company is preventing them from completing transactions with descriptions mentioning Palestine-related keywords.
Venmo s customer support inquired about a $50 payment one user received that included the description Emergency Palestinian Relief Fund, according to a screenshot the user tweeted.
Venmo Placing Hold on Some Payments Referring to Palestinians
On 5/18/21 at 4:28 PM EDT
The popular payment app Venmo is placing a hold on some payments that refer to Palestinians, and some users have taken to social media to share the matter as the violent conflict between Israel and Palestinians continues.
A screenshot of an inquiry from Venmo s customer support was shared by one Twitter user who received a $50 donation they said they collected for Emergency Palestinian Relief Fund. A Venmo representative said the platform is trying to understand the reference to Palestinian Relief Fund. Anyone want to guess why @Venmo is asking for a detailed description of the purpose of payment for a donation I collected from a friend named Palestinian Relief Fund ? Twitter user @princessmlokhia addressed by Venmo as Blake wrote with the screenshot. Can we not even provide for our besieged people without being accused of terrorist support?