International sanctions have been initiated against banks and individuals in Russia, and separatist regions of Ukraine including the disputed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). These restrictions, alongside the withdrawal of third party services, have made it impossible to be confident in our ability to operate and pay out designer earnings in these regions.
As a result, 99designs has made the difficult decision to suspend all services for site users based in the following areas until further notice:
- Russia
- The disputed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) regions of Ukraine
If you are accessing 99designs from one of these areas, your account will be impacted. Please read the following FAQs, and feel free to reach out if you have any unanswered questions.
FAQs
What do these sanctions mean for my 99designs account?
If you are located in and accessing 99designs from Russia or from from separatist regions of Ukraine including the disputed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) your access to the site has been restricted until further notice. You will not be able to login to 99designs, participate in Projects or Contests, message clients or receive payments until restrictions are lifted.
Your 99designs profile will remain intact. However, your availability for work will be switched off automatically with your first login attempt after March 23, 2022. We strongly recommend that if you did not already turn your availability off prior to March 23, 2022 that you attempt login in order to trigger this setting and protect your Responsiveness Score long term.
I was the middle of a Contest or Project right now. What should I do?
If you need assistance handling clients, please reach out to designersupport@99designs.com.
Can I request a payout after the March 23rd deadline?
No - if you are attempting to access 99designs from one of the affected areas you will be unable to access the site and request a payout.
As of March 5, PayPal suspended service for all users in Russia. Payoneer's services are also disrupted. Please contact PayPal or Payoneer Support directly for assistance with your account.
99designs and our payment processors are required by law to uphold sanctions on the specified Russian banks.
I’m a citizen of a sanctioned country, but live and work elsewhere. Will my account be affected?
No. These are geographic sanctions that only affect clients and designers living and working within the sanctioned countries. Anyone accessing the site outside of these countries will continue to be able to work on 99designs as long as the bank linked to your PayPal/Payoneer account is not subject to sanctions.
Will my location/citizenship be disclosed to my clients?
No.
Can I create a new account?
No.
What if I can’t get my money out in time? Will it disappear? Can I retrieve it later?
Any earnings that have not been successfully paid out by March 23, 2022, at 12pm (PST) will remain safely in your 99designs account until the sanctions have ended.
Because these are geographic sanctions, you may also be able to retrieve your earnings if you leave the sanctioned area and your bank account linked to your PayPal/Payoneer account is not subject to sanctions. If you have moved location and believe your account is still wrongly suspended, please contact designersupport@99designs.com for assistance in reviewing your status or updating your address details.
I’m not comfortable having my account on 99designs anymore. How can I delete it?
If you wish to delete your account, please email us at designersupport@99designs.com. You can read more about this process here.
I’m unable to access my account, but I don’t live in a sanctioned region. What should I do?
If you believe your account has been blocked in error, please contact us immediately at designersupport@99designs.com and we will be happy to review your account.
This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are committed to making your 99designs account accessible again as soon as possible. The 99designs teams and our payment partners will keep you informed about any developments and will make the necessary changes as quickly as possible to get you working on our platform again once sanctions are lifted.
