PayPal Shuts Down UK Coffee Seller’s Account

By PYMNTS | April 21, 2013

PayPal has shut down the account of York Coffee Emporium in the Yorkshire village of Nether Poppleton without warning, reports Finextra. York Coffee has reportedly been shut down because they were selling a brand of coffee beans from Cuba. PayPal is based in the United States, which has had a trade embargo with Cuba since 1960. Unlike the US, the UK has no such embargo with Cuba. The owners, Laurence and Philippa Beardmore were selling a brand of coffee call Cuban Serrano Superio.

A PayPal spokesperson said, “We have determined that as a US company, PayPal and all of its subsidiaries are obliged to comply with specific US government-imposed sanctions, even if these subsidiaries operate outside the US.”