FNB's PayPal Service is a SHAMBLES!

Dear PayPal FNB Team,

I am writing to escalate a serious issue regarding my PayPal withdrawal through FNB that remains unresolved.

On July 30th, I initiated a withdrawal of $3,397.46 from my PayPal account. At the time, the USD/ZAR rate was around 18.00, with FNB’s buying rate at 17.85, with the actual transaction quote reflecting this. I accepted this quote and completed the transaction in full, as I have successfully done many times before, with the confirmation message clearly displayed saying the funds will take 2-3 working days to reflect.

Despite this, the funds did not arrive in my account. I was later told by the FNB call centre, upon escalation, that their technical team “found no activity logged” on that date, upon enquiry. This is clearly incorrect (utterly impossible, in fact!), as the during the attempted withdrawal process, FNB temporarily had custody of the funds.

This matter is urgent for me:

The exchange rate has since dropped, meaning I am directly losing value through no fault of my own - particularly given that time has passed.

I am the primary carer and financial supporter of my partner, who is undergoing ongoing cancer treatment - four surgeries to date and monthly immunotherapy of approximately R40,000 (AFTER Discovery covers a max of 50%) and a R10,000 comprehensive policy expense = 50k per month EXTRA I need to sc**** together. Every cent counts toward covering these costs, and this failed transaction has had a real impact on us and puts tremendous additional stress on my household, which is the furthest thing from favorable at this time.

However, I am not asking for charity. Just fairness...

I must stress: I completed the withdrawal properly as I have on a multitude of occasions, the failure to process is not on my side, and “no record found” is not an acceptable resolution and is tantamount to passing the buck (no pun intended).

I therefore request: 1. Immediate investigation of this transaction, 2. Confirmation of where the funds temporarily went and why they were not processed to completion (of a successful withdrawal) 3. Resolution by releasing the funds at the rate quoted when the transaction was executed.

As a financial services provider, FNB/PayPal are obliged under the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principles to ensure fair, transparent, and timeous handling of customer transactions. Passing responsibility without resolution does not align with these obligations.

I trust this matter will now be escalated with the seriousness it deserves. Please confirm receipt of this email and advise me of the next steps urgently.

It's also worth noting that even today, upon trying to sc**** together the best rate of the day, FNB blatantly hedges by suddenly increasing the discrepancy between buying and selling rates up to about 43c difference. As if that's not bad enough, paypal quotes DO NOT align with FNB's own live published rates. Now, I'm aware that there could be minor fluctuations on the live quote buying rate, but google live rates and fnb's own published rates will be trending upward (stronger dollar) and the withdrawal quote's buying rate will actually be trending in the OPPOSITE direction - this means its got nothing to do with minor fluctuations - it's blatantly ********* client treatment.

This is all aside from longer turnaround times for withdrawal clearances and exorbitant withdrawal fees...

If you are to have exclusive rights with this service in SA, DO A BETTER JOB! You're literally messing with people's lives with your ineptitude. I'll be sure to use Wise in future at any possible opportunity