Hi everyone. I'm sharing my experience hoping someone has been through this or can offer advice. This has been an incredibly frustrating 23 days. I'm posting this because I genuinely don't know what else to do and I'm hoping someone here has been through something similar.
What happened:
On April 7, 2026, I transferred ₱97,502.68 PHP from my PayPal account to my Maribank Virtual Debit Card. PayPal immediately marked it as "completed." The money never appeared in my Maribank account, and to this day, it is still missing.
What I found out after weeks of fighting:
- Maribank confirmed the funds never entered their system - Virtual Debit Card numbers cannot receive incoming transfers. Only savings account numbers can.
- PayPal confirmed the transaction is complete and that they "no longer have the funds."
- My PayPal account shows no returned or pending transactions whatsoever.
- Both parties kept pointing fingers at each other for weeks.
- PayPal's live agent confirmed a credit was issued to my card on April 7, 2026 - but the money still hasn't appeared anywhere.
Everything I've done - and still no money:
- Filed BSP complaints against both PayPal and Maribank - both cases are active
- Escalated to PayPal's Office of Global Customer Complaints & Advocacy
- Coordinating with Maribank's Consumer Affairs Officer
- Sent countless follow-up emails and live chat messages to both parties
- PayPal's back office committed to returning funds in 3 business days - deadline has passed, money still missing
The reality right now:
PayPal says the money left their system. Maribank says it never arrived. My account shows nothing returned. ₱97,502.68 is just gone. No one is taking full responsibility and I am the one suffering.
Warning to everyone:
If you use PayPal to transfer funds to Maribank, NEVER use your Maribank. Their card number cannot receive incoming transfers and your funds can end up in limbo exactly like mine.
Has anyone been through this? How did you get your money back? Any advice on what else I can do at this point?
