No USA-based orders for 10 days, now PayPal error codes

I'm using v1.5.4 https://www.northfur.ca I'm just using PayPal Express Checkout. I'm located in Canada

A few coincidences are leading me to believe I'm having problems with PayPal express checkout and/or something's changed with the USA's CC issuers.

1. I've had no orders for 6 days, which is unusual. But I've not had an order from a US-based customer in 10 days which is downright twilight zone weird when the only orders I'm getting from are EU. I've had people sign up during this time.

2. This morning PayPal sent me several emails from checkout attempts from 2 separate customers (1 was new, 1 was an old repeat customer account) Both were USA based customers :

10606
Buyer cannot pay.
Transaction rejected, please contact the buyer.


I've looked up the codes and it's too much of a coincidence that 2 US-based people within 6 hours would have their cards declined due to insufficient funds.
So where can I look to start finding out what is going on here?

My big hunch: US-based credit cards issuers are clamping down on security for international transactions (cause Canada is apparently a 3rd world country ;P and all my US based customers are oblivious as to why their cards are declined and just move along instead of contacting me. I've started getting more declined cards over the past few months when using Square's app and taking payments over the phone. US customers would often have to contact their CC issuers and have them allow the transaction. I'm wondering if the same deal is happening now with PayPal?

Has anyone else in Canada had problems with US orders and payments through PayPal?

After speaking with PayPal support, they've told me that my cart isn't generating any errors...

So I'm going to call the customers and try to get to the bottom of this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Northfur

Has anyone else in Canada had problems with US orders and payments through PayPal?

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Also located in Canada but using a different billing script, over the last 10 days we have received multiple payments through PayPal Express and Subscriptions, both from US and Internationally. I don't think the problem is with PayPal and when talking to your Clients, ask which CC card was used. MasterCard recently started accepting cards starting with the number 2 and required us to ensure we could accept them. Good idea no matter what though, to find out if your problem is specific to a CC or with all CC.

Orders from the US are coming in now, however I am still frequently getting 10606 error emails.
In the last 10 days I have gotten 14 of these 10606 errors. Previously I'd maybe get 1-2 paypal errors a year. A huge spike would indicate a problem./

PayPal technical support is not helping, saying I should contact my customers and getting the brush off.
Something is not right here.

Just an update.
I am still getting regular 10606-error e-mails.
38 in the last ~60 days.

I added Square to take payments and now I have 2 payment modules where US-based credit cards being declined regularly until customers contact their CC issuers to allow international transactions. The square app has also been regularly declining US-based credit cards until customers contact their CC issuer to allow international transactions.

I really wish I knew if this is happening just to me or are other Canadian businesses being affected by this as well.

On a reddit thread someone suggested that I should investigate if my business's name has somehow be added to a blacklist of some sort.

Are you using a PO Box address for your Merchant payments?