At Paxful we’ve been working from home for nearly four weeks now. We’re all missing each other’s faces, but thank goodness video calls are a thing.
We know that you may have some burning questions regarding COVID-19 and what it means for Paxful. Don’t worry—our team leads have come together to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.
When in doubt, read it out 👇
Are KYC requirements still the same as before?
“Yes, they are!
A few weeks ago, we had an issue with a third-party provider affected by lack of resources due to various global country policies and closures.
However, as a priority client they were able to turn this around and allocate resources to us to ensure that our users would be affected minimally by this.
To give you an insider look, the Compliance team has embraced remote working and holds additional weekly ‘compliance office hours.’” — Lana Schwartzman, Chief Compliance Officer
Can we still contact your customer support if we encounter problems?
“Like always, we’re working 24/7 across three time zones to serve our customers. We’re happy to see that our users are still actively trading.
For the past two weeks, we’ve been able to maintain handling 90% of disputes under two days!
It’s always to our delight to receive positive feedback from our customers!” (See example below👇) — Kyle Kim, Director of Community & Customer Experience
What’s happening in Latin America?
“Since many countries in LATAM have enforced compulsory quarantine, we’ve increased the number of webinars we hold. This week, we’ve had almost one webinar per day and have around 100 attendees for each webinar.
We also had Javier Bastardo, one of the biggest crypto influencers in Venezuela, as our guest to talk about how to make money from home, be a freelancer, and make a living as a freelancer in bitcoin.
Magdiela’s stylish workstation at home
We know that for our Venezuelan users in particular, gift cards are one of their main sources to send and receive bitcoin. To make things easier for them, we’ve eliminated our 0.1 BTC bond requirement for gift card trades.
Some other actions we’ve been taking include organizing weekly promotions on social media, and helping LATAM users import their reputable accounts from other platforms to Paxful.” — Magdiela Rivas Núñez, LATAM Manager
How are your teams ensuring productivity at home?
“Our teams have daily video check-in meetings to make sure things are getting done and problems are getting solved. For fun, we also have virtual lunches and happy-hour sessions. Managers have been checking in with their team members frequently, and some teams even bond over online games!
Because of COVID-19, we can’t celebrate work anniversaries and birthdays the way we did before. Normally, we would give our employees big flower bouquets and gift cards. Now, we send large fruit baskets and healthy treats to their homes instead.
Britta’s DIY standing desk at home in Tallinn
We have also started to onboard newcomers remotely. We deliver laptops and Paxful swag to their homes, and have put together a fully remote program with group activities and self-led onboarding training.
I know that when we’re back in the office, we’ll be much more adaptable, masters of video conferences, and stronger as a team.” — Britta Breckon, Senior People Operations Manager
Where can we find useful resources on trading bitcoin?
“We’ve been producing lots of helpful educational content through emails, videos, webinars, and blogs to support our community in these tough times. Despite the pandemic we saw a record amount of new registrations in March and that’s really exciting for us.
As well as new user growth, we’re seeing more people flock to our social channels—especially Telegram—with questions on how to start making a living with bitcoin. It’s a great time to be a part of Paxful, so have a look at joining our Peer Program too.” — Jan Strandberg, VP of Marketing
Can I trust Paxful?
“Of course—the Paxful Legal Team continues to remain vigilant regarding the various legal risks applicable to our global business notwithstanding the disruptions taking place in the broader context in which we operate.
The Legal Team continues to manage a typical roster of daily work but has also been actively partnering with Paxful’s Senior Management, Human Resources, Marketing, and Product teams to ensure the business continues to operate and that our customers, employees, and other stakeholders are as up to date as possible while ensuring that the Paxful ship stays afloat and stable in these trying times.” — Maxwell Thompson, Assistant General Counsel
Are there any payment methods that you recommend during this period of time?
“With social distancing and contactless payment methods being the mainstream during this COVID-19 season, we’ve seen that more customers have come to prefer non-cash-in-person trades and selling more bitcoin to have immediate assets in hand.
Personally, I’ve been getting on more calls with customers to improve communication, especially since I no longer receive feedback like I used to in the office.” — Joshua Vizer, Manager of Institutional accounts
Josh’s workstation in an empty apartment lounge
Are new features still coming out regularly?
“Developers work behind their screens and are used to communicating remotely, so it’s business as usual for us. We’re constantly working to improve Paxful and introduce new features! Stay tuned.” — Andrei Lukkonen, Head of Backend Development
Andrei’s cozy setup at home
How do you guys manage your money?
“The Finance team is here to assure that we are investing in the right people, products, and markets to drive sustainable long-term growth, all while preserving the financial health of the company and engaging in wise partnerships.
During the crisis, we have been controlling expenses through limiting travel and engaging in video chats to ensure continuous communication globally, sharing the love and resources virtually.
As our business is Internet-based we have weathered the storm quite well and have even seen online marketplace volumes increase in certain markets. During these times of uncertainty, many have flocked to the relative safety of bitcoin vs. local currencies in emerging markets. This allows us the luxury to invest in growing our team while many companies are scaling back.
If you are up for an exciting challenge in an amazing company, feel free to check out our job openings here.” — Lawrence Herman, Head of Finance
Sunset is Lawrence’s favorite time of the day
Keep calm and trade on
Knowing that the work we do matters keeps us going.
But you, our dear customer, have to stay strong and healthy for your family and friends, too! Keep trading to secure your source of income. We’ll get through this together 💪
