Why is my balance negative?

Your balance may be showing as negative for the following reasons:

  • unpaid or delayed deposits due to bank error;
  • incorrectly executed payments, such as duplicated withdrawals;
  • duplicated or offline payments with your Skrill prepaid card.

For instance, if you deposit money from your personal bank account, which Skrill applies instantly to your account, but your bank doesn't settle the payment, your deposit would be automatically cancelled. If you spend the funds in the meantime, this will result in a negative balance. Your account will then be temporarily restricted until you cover the outstanding amount.

When this happens, we aim to let you know straight away so that you can quickly upload sufficient funds back into your Skrill account. You would receive email notifications and/or SMS from Skrill, reminding you to make the due payment within a certain deadline (usually by the end of the calendar month within which the negative balance occurred). 

How can I cover the negative balance?

To do this, you can deposit the respective amount to your Skrill account or receive money from a merchant or another customer. However, you won't be able to transfer funds from your secondary currency balance(s), if you have such.

You can deposit with any of the available options within the Deposit section of your account, with the exception of a credit/debit card. Our advice is to use an option different from the one that caused the negative balance, i.e. if you made an instant bank transfer (Rapid Transfer, Sofort/Klarna etc.), use a manual bank transfer instead, or vice versa. 

To receive money from another customer, simply give them your registered email address or mobile phone number. You can also use a pay-out to Skrill from a merchant, if they support such an option.

I've received a letter from a debt collector. What should I do?

If you didn't act upon our warnings within the specified timeframe, you would be contacted by a debt collection agency, which we engage with only as a last resort. To resolve the matter, follow the instructions included in the letter - you would usually be given the agency's bank account details to transfer the respective amount.

Once you've paid the debt, depending on the agency you were sent to (usually Advaro or Moreton Smith), you would either need to open a new account, or the restrictions would be lifted from your current one.

To avoid things ever getting this far, please check your account balance regularly – and make sure you read our emails.

Can I arrange to pay Skrill in installments to avoid debt collection?

No, installments can be arranged with the collection agencies only. When the debt is due to be paid to Skrill directly, you should comply with the deadline provided to you via email and deposit the amount in full. 

I already paid Skrill, but my account is still restricted. What should I do?

If you were sent to a debt collector but covered the negative balance in the meantime, contact us via the available channel below. Our dedicated department will transfer the funds to the collector agency. However, we'll be able to reactivate your account only once the agency confirms that any outstanding collection fees have been covered.

The Skrill card is only available to residents of authorized European Economic Area (EEA) countries.


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