My supporter’s PayPal payment is unclaimed, pending, or declined

Here on Ko-fi, payments go straight to your own PayPal account, quick and direct. If a supporter’s payment shows as 'pending', it usually means it's still being processed .

How can a supporter check the payment status?

A supporter can keep track of all their payments in their Payments & Orders tab. If a supporter’s payment hasn’t gone through yet, you’ll see a grey status message in the bottom left corner of the transaction details.

A 'pending' status indicates your transaction isn't complete yet. Tap the “i” help dot for more info on your pending payment.

Ask them to check out this PayPal guide to understand different statuses and any actions that need to be taken. PayPal also provides details on how to cancel payments that haven't been completed here.

Unclaimed or pending status

A payment status of “unclaimed” or “pending” most likely means an issue with your PayPal account. This often occurs when you are not yet fully verified on PayPal.

Possible reasons include being new to PayPal, not confirming their email address, or providing an incorrect email address on Ko-fi. You might also need to accept payments in a new currency if your payment differs from what you’ve received before.

If a supporter reaches out about a pending payment, feel free to share this article with them to help explain what’s happening while you resolve the issue.

Declined payments

A declined payment usually means there’s a problem with the PayPal account or funding method.

Your supporter might need to confirm their bank, verify their card, or switch their funding source on PayPal. Learn more about declined payments and how to resolve them here from PayPal. We also have a help article here to help troubleshoot when your supporter cannot pay with PayPal.

We're here if you need us. Feel free to send any questions our way. 💌