Puerto Rico PayPal BUG

Other PR developers having the same problem?

[mifi601]

PayPal seems to have an IP filter in place, that determines Puerto Rican IP addresses as 'NON US'.

This makes it impossible for 95% of Puerto Ricans to pay instantly with PayPal.

How do I know this? - My clients are verified PR merchants (with ALL the privileges of US accounts, such as confirmed addresses, paypal optional in their account settings etc), BUT their Puerto Rican clients cannot pay instantly. Their sending limit is zero once they sign up and they would get charged 1.95 IF they were to go through the verification process with their cc. (obviously by now we have lost the client)

Are there any other PR developers out there who are similarily frustrated?

It seems like a BUG to me. PayPal has halfway admitted as much, but I am not getting responses, let alone a FIX!

Michael

[mifi601]

here is a link to another thread where I got a little more response, albeit no results as of yet:

[paypaldev.com...]

[amznVibe]

At least for your own use, run a proxy on a continental USA server which supports https. PayPal can't tell the difference.

Use this free cgi [jmarshall.com].
Go into the script code and turn on the https support features as needed.

[mifi601]

amznVibe - thank you! this option did cross my mind, but as you so rightly pointed out, good only for my own use .. I have enough of a hard time getting people to change their PayPal payment receiving references; explaining proxies?! :(

I'll try your link!

[mifi601]

the proxy works; just as dialling into a State-side server (albeit with long distance cost) worked.

what does all this confirm?

There is a geofilter in place discriminating Puerto Ricans!

I just want to know

1. WHY?

2. Why doesn't PayPal a. acknowledge it and
b. FIX IT?

Puerto Rican cc issuers are part of the AVS. Addresses here differ from others in the US, but as long as they are typed in correctly and are the same as the billing address they verify - instantly! Which I thought was the whole point.

[mifi601]

just went through all my past PayPal transactions, looking for PR based confirmed addresses - there are some.

This would lead me to the conclusion that it is indeed possible to confirm a cc billing address in PR, which in return means that AVS is alive and well.

I apologize for repeating myself - this is VERY frustrating and I am trying in vain to get a conclusive answer from PayPal.

Maybe someone can confirm my statements and we can join forces?

[mifi601]

Unbelievable - I just visited my next door neighbour (in Puerto Rico)
He said he does not have the problems that a lot of my customers are experiencing = he gets the optional feature displayed, no problem
I go get my laptop, to make sure, hook up through HIS ISP - there it is.
In other words the geofilter is only in effect for selected IP addresses and not others in the same location - that REALLY sounds like a bug!
Now, how difficult can that be to fix? - Look at the list of filtered IPs, take out the PR ones that are on there - presto!

[mifi601]

Hate to bring this up again, but I haven't heard from PayPal - whatsoever.

Does anyone know how to get a hold of them in a more 'productive' fashion? I have called, emailed, submitted customer support forms - to no avail.

If they think I am just some weirdo trying to make their life difficult, why don't they just plain come out and say so. at least I'd know not to bother to try debugging their system ...

[PayPalPB]

There are a few variables that influence what the initial sanding limit is. I don't believe IP address is one of them. The most important is CVV2 which is less consistently implemented outside the US. The buyer supplies an address so we know where they are located without looking at IPs.

[mifi601]

WE ARE NOT OUTSIDE THE US!

[mifi601]

PB-

If you do not look at IP's and you do not 'believe' IP address influnces the initial sending limit, I invite you to set up two proxies:

1. with PRTC (Puerto Rico Telephone Company)
2. with www.tld.net

use the same (US or Puerto Rican, doesn't matter) credit card, that is not attached to a PayPal account, and try to pay for something without becoming a member

Let me know ... :)

I do not know what your status is at PayPal. For all I know you are here to do PR for them.
It would really be nice if you didn't have to 'believe' certain things. The guesswork we can do ourselves.

I have done all I can with my limited resources. I was promised to hear back 'as soon as the engineers get back to me'.
Where are the facts? What are they?
If in effect you are here in this forum, as you are over at paypayldev, to help and inform, please try to understand the problems first - and then maybe try to find out the answers instead of guessing what paypal does and does not do.

[mifi601]

PB asked me to specify what I see using different ISPs:

(all cookies cleared)

When I connect via one I get two otions: a. become a member and pay and b. don't become a member and pay.

When I connect through the other (next door?!) I have to become a member and (i have not tested this and have to rely on what customers tell me) more often than not get verified before I can pay.

whatever happens after becoming a member, including cvv, is NOT the issue here.

The issue is that some (not all, as we have found out) PR IP addresses are considered NON-US by PayPAL, which makes it harder for them to pay.