Withdrawing money from PayPal in Kenya is a key concern for many. PayPal is the leading online payments company in the world. Many online merchants only accept this form of payment. A large majority also prefer to make payments abroad via PayPal.
Instructions
- PayPal to Payoneer. You would need to sign up for a virtual US Bank account. You have to be careful with this one because there are many online scams. The most reliable US Virtual bank account service is offered by a company known as . Payoneer is a global payment, payouts, and money transfer company. It provides companies with flexible means to pay staff and make other payments worldwide. For you to get a Payoneer MasterCard® which also comes with a US Virtual Bank Account, you have to sign up at their website. You will receive a Payoneer MasterCard® Debit card with an online account management interface. Use the US Bank account assigned to your card to withdraw PayPal funds. The funds become available in your Payoneer MasterCard® within 3-4 working days. You can withdraw the cash using the MasterCard® Debit card at any ATM worldwide that displays the MasterCard® sign/logo e.g. Barclays, Equity, KCB, PesaPoint, CFC Stanbic, I&M, and others. Payoneer currently works with hundreds of partners in many industries. The screenshot below is from a real Payoneer MasterCard® Online account. Click here to sign up for Payoneer Prepaid
- The second option is to take advantage of Equity Bank’s new PayPal withdrawal service. To use the service, you need to be an Equity Bank account holder in Kenya. To withdraw funds from your PayPal account to your Equity Bank account, you will need to visit the Equity Bank website and select the Equity Bank PayPal Withdraw Service link. Next, follow the on-screen instructions. You will be directed to your PayPal account where you will log in and confirm the transaction. Equity Bank appears to have solved the problem of PayPal withdrawals by creating a service where you send them the funds to your PayPal account and they then proceed to withdraw the funds using their US Bank account. The funds are then remitted to Kenya (to your bank account) from their US account via wire transfer. Equity charges a fee of 1.5% of the transaction value as well as quoting a USD to KES exchange rate for each withdrawal transaction. The funds take 3 days to hit your bank account.
Tips & Warnings
- Signing up for the Payoneer card is free but as with any other bank issued card, there are usage fees for ATM withdrawal, annual maintenance, balance inquiry, lost card replacement etc. Card loading charges depend on the loading partner but usually average $2 per load. There is also a 3% currency risk fee on each withdrawal.
- The Equity withdrawal charges are 1.5% per transaction and an unknown exchange rate loss can be expected based on their buy/sell currency spread.
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