Problems with Patreon result in delayed payouts and subscriptions being canceled

Two simultaneous issues with payments on Patreon are causing problems for both creators and fans.

Some Patreon creators are unable to access their earnings due to an issue with a payout provider. The issue first began earlier this week with creators saying their payout attempts were failing.

At the same time, some Patreon subscribers are getting notices that their payments are being flagged as fraudulent by their banks. As a result, fans are seeing canceled subscriptions, with some saying they’re unable to see the list of creators they were subscribed to before. On Reddit, one creator said they suddenly lost hundreds of subscribers on August 1st.

Patreon spokesperson Ellen Satterwhite says the two issues are unrelated. Satterwhite says the creator payout problems stem from one payment partner and that others are not affected. In a tweet, the company said it had temporarily disabled Payoneer payments, one of the methods creators can use to cash out their earnings.

The company has seen “a slightly higher-than-normal number” of payments get flagged, though Satterwhite didn’t elaborate on the figure or what was causing the issues.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience this may cause creators and their patrons,” Satterwhite said in an email.

One explanation that users have floated was that Patreon had switched to processing payments in Ireland instead of the US — some subscribers reported that credit card charges were appearing as international. Satterwhite clarified that wasn’t the case.

“We haven’t made any changes to our payments setup, but the descriptor people are seeing may have changed,” Satterwhite says.