paypal in nepal

What is PayPal?

PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. PayPal serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders and has been involved in many cases of litigation concerning fraud scams.

A PayPal account can be funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card. The recipient of a PayPal transfer can either request a check from PayPal, establish their own PayPal deposit account or request a transfer to their bank account. PayPal is an example of a payment intermediary service that facilitates worldwide e-commerce.

PayPal in Nepal

PayPal in Nepal is not easy and flexible to use. It is because of the fact that Nepal Central Bank needs an explanation on every money that is coming in and out of the country and hence PayPal cannot be linked to any of our Nepalese Banks. We being a Nepalese can sign up freely in PayPal but need to use a US bank account to get verified. In most of the cases it is fine, as most of the Nepalese (for eg: IT Freelancers) do not require TOP UP but mostly require an easier way to collect there payments from different parts for the world. Do not worry and use PayPal in Nepal freely.

Here's a detailed tutorial that will guide you on how you can withdraw money from PayPal in Nepal. That's right. You can get the money right in your hands! At the end of this tutorial, you will have your own verified PayPal and will be able to withdraw the money here in Nepal. I have tried to go through everything I know. If you guys are still confused after reading this, please let me know. I'm sorry if the tutorial seems long, I just wanted to be as thorough as possible.

OVERVIEW

The process is quite simple actually.

• We are going to get ourselves an International MasterCard (for free).

• Then get ourselves an US Bank account.

• Withdraw money from PayPal to US Bank a/c.

• The withdrawn money will automatically get loaded into our MasterCard.

• Use the Mastercard and withdraw the money from ATMs here in Nepal.

Didn't get me? Don't worry. It's just an overview of the method. Everything is explained below.

Note : This method concerns with creating a PayPal so that the money can be withdrawn in Nepal. You can also use the same MasterCard to create a Verified Nepali PayPal account which can be used to send payments only.

SIGNING UP

You can get a MasterCard for free by signing up here. We are using a company named Payoneer, which provides MasterCard to users worldwide. You can use this card for various purposes including online (buy/sell products online) and electronic (withdraw through ATM) purposes.

While signing up, you will also be asked to upload a scanned copy of a national identity document (i.e. Passport/Citizenship). So, make sure you have it with you. Your application has to be then accepted by Payoneer (You need to be 18 years or older). Once accepted, the card will be shipped to you for free. Make sure to provide correct shipping details so that you can receive the card. It took me about a month to receive the card here in Nepal.

AFTER RECEIVING CARD

Once you receive your card, activate it as follows:

• Go to Payoneer
• Click on 'My Account'
• Enter the User ID and Password you chose when your card was ordered, to log in
• Click on 'Activate your card'
• Select your 4 digit PIN number and submit
• You will receive an email confirmation for activation

US PAYMENT SERVICE

Now that you have activated your card, you need to apply for US payment service. US Payment Service is one of the services provided by Payoneer. If you apply for it, you will be provided with your own US Bank Account and if someone deposits money on that bank a/c, it will automatically get loaded into your MasterCard. However, not everyone can deposit money on your bank a/c. You can use US Payment Service for receiving money from only select companies and PayPal is one of them.

To activate your US Payment Service:

• Login to Payoneer and go to Services (or Receive Money) > US Payment Service.
• At the end of the page, you should find a button that says something similar to Activate my US Payment Service . Click on it.
• You will then receive details of your own US Bank Account.
• Take note of the Bank Routing Number and Account Number. We will be needing it later on to withdraw money from our PP.

VERIFY PAYPAL

In order to use a US bank account to withdraw money from your PP, the country must be on this list. Choose a country from the table where it says Send. Receive. Withdraw (except India & Vietnam). Now create a PayPal selecting that particular country as your country of residence.

DO NOT CREATE PP SELECTING NEPAL AS YOUR COUNTRY! AND MAKE SURE TO USE YOUR REAL NAME!

Here's how you need to proceed in order to verify your PayPal.

• Login to your PayPal.
• Go to Profile > Update Bank Account.
• Add a bank account.
• Select Checking and enter the Routing Number and Account Number that you've received above, on US Payment Service.
• Click on Continue.
  

It will now make two small deposits on your bank account to confirm that it really exists and that it belongs to you. That deposited amount will be automatically loaded on your Payoneer MasterCard, and once it does, you will receive an email notification. You can then login to Payoneer and check the deposited amount. It might take up to a week for the amount to show up on your Payoneer interface, but most of the time, it shows up in two to three days.

Once the two amount show up on your Payoneer interface, login to PP and go to Profile > Update Bank Account. You will see a text that says Confirm Bank Account. Click on it and enter the exact amount you saw on your Payoneer interface.

Congrats, your account is now verified!

TRANSFER FROM PAYPAL

• Login to PayPal.
• Go to Withdraw > Transfer to Bank Account.
• Enter the amount to be withdrawn.
• Click on Continue.

Your PayPal fund will now get transferred to your Bank account and then loaded onto your Payoneer MasterCard. It should show up on your Payoneer interface within a week.

WITHDRAW FROM MASTERCARD

Now that the fund has been loaded onto your MasterCard, simply go to a ATM and withdraw the money. I will recommend you to use ATMs of only two banks, though : either Nepal SBI or Standard Chartered. See below for the reasons.

FEES INVOLVED

This is the part most of you have been waiting for. What are the fees? Well, to be frank, the fees seem to be quite high (esp. for us). But, I think no matter how much it costs, it's always better to have the money right here in your hands rather than letting it pile up on your PayPal, and not getting to use it here.

• US Payment Service : US Payment Service charges 1% of the transfer amount. So, for example, if you transfer $100 from your PayPal to your bank account, only $99 will be loaded into your card.
• ATM withdrawal : ATM withdrawal fee is quite high. Each time you make a withdrawal, you will be charged $3.15 + up to 3% currency conversion fee.
• Annual card maintenance fee : I forgot to mention about it earlier. Once you reach $29.95 on your Payoneer account, that amount is automatically deducted by Payoneer as an annual card maintenance fee. And yearly, at the same day and date, $29.95 will be deducted.

HOW TO MINIMIZE THE FEES?

• Do not use ATMs other than that of Nepal SBI  and Standard Chartered Bank. The reason I say so is because others charge more money on top of the existing fee ($3.15 + 3%). I learnt it while Googling, and would like to thank the owner of this blog for the help. I had withdrawn some money from Nepal SBI's ATM and it did not charge me more than the said fee ($3.15 + 3%).
• SBI allows maximum withdrawal of Rs. 16,000 at a time, whereas Standard Chartered allows a maximum of Rs.10,000 withdrawal at a time. So, try not to withdraw small amount from ATM, instead make a habit to withdraw the maximum amount allowed (i.e 10,000 or 16,000). This will help minimize the fees.
• Do not make a balance inquiry from ATM. Every declined ATM withdrawal and balance inquiry costs you $1.
• Payoneer charges annual card maintenance fee of $29.95. After you load  your card with more than 30$ for the first time, you will be charged 29.95$ as an annual fee. After that, each year, at the same date, you'd be charged the annual fee. So, every year before that particular month, empty your card i.e. either withdraw your money, or spend it online, but make sure there's nothing left there. Payoneer won't charge the fee if your card's empty.

PROS AND CONS OF THE METHOD