Pond5 has been advised that as of March 1st, 2026, Skrill has terminated consumer accounts in Russia and Belarus.
Previously, Pond5 would recommend switching payment options from within your account; however, due to this news from Skrill, we now have no payout options available. Please know that your balance will remain safe with Pond5 until sanctions are lifted. If you opt to close your account, we normally pay out your balance. However, because this procedure cannot be completed due to sanctions, we have only 2 options: keep your account open or close it with forfeiture of your earnings.
Sanctions with Iran, as of March 2026
If you have a Pond5 account and are from Iran, we have been advised that there are several sanctions placed against Iran, and we may have issues paying your account balance.
Our Artists and creative community mean everything to us at Pond5, and our hearts and thoughts go out to anyone impacted by these events. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, and please continue to follow up with us if additional assistance is needed.
If you do have issues receiving payment and believe it may be sanctions-related, please email our Customer Support team at support@pond5.com, so that we may investigate.
Regarding the Russia/Ukraine sanctions, placed after the war
We are deeply saddened by the ongoing international events.
Pond5 was notified by Payoneer that it had closed all accounts in the Russian Federation as of December 16th, 2022. Pond5 was able to issue November 2022 earnings as scheduled, but unfortunately, after December 16th, Pond5 could not guarantee that Payoneer would accept payments for certain affected regions.
Additionally, we have confirmed with Skrill that new Skrill accounts cannot be established in the Russian Federation at this time. However, contributors with pre-existing Skrill accounts should be allowed.
For December earnings and beyond, if you have any payment method other than Skrill selected in your account settings, Pond5 will not attempt payouts. However, your contributor account will continue to reflect all earnings as well as funds unpaid to you.
If the payment is unsuccessful, your funds will be returned to Pond5. Once sanctions against your country are lifted, we will attempt to reissue your funds in the next payment cycle, according to the payment method specified in your account settings. If, for any reason, your funds do not reappear in your account, please let us know at support@pond5.com. We will still be unable to pay you, but we will be able to fix the reflected earnings accurately in your Pond5 account.
Please know our teams have and will continue to monitor this situation closely. It's important to note that any royalties held for you at Pond5 will remain safe and secure in your account.
You are welcome to update your Payout preferences at any time from your Pond5 account dashboard by following the steps below.
Start by logging into your account, navigating to your Account Dashboard, then straight to Account > Payout preferences > and click Edit Account Info
From here, a verification email will be sent to your email address.
Please check your email inbox for the verification link; from there, you can edit your payout preferences.
Please note that this unique link will expire after two hours, but you can always request another verification email by following the previous steps again.
From all of us at Pond5, our hearts and thoughts are with each of you. As always, don't hesitate to contact us with any additional questions. Our entire Support team is standing by and ready to help in any way possible.