Digital Adventures of Cyril Pauya

Paypal is the next big thing to being online.  It allows you to do a lot on the net like shopping, electronic payments, sending/receiving money in lieu of Western Union, and others.

I signed-up with Paypal by year 2007 but during that time it only allowed us Filipinos to receive funds.  We cannot do a withdrawal yet and what a bummer that was.

Last December 2008, I decided to use Paypal to receive payments for my remote work.  I searched thru the web and found lots of references of how Filipinos were able to withdraw funds to their credit cards or banks.  But only one was detailed enough to answer the following questions:

1. Which type of Paypal account do I choose?
2. How do I verify my Paypal account to lift my limits?
3. Do I really need to link my account to a bank account or a debit or a credit card would do?
4. Most important of all, How do I withdraw funds?

This post will answer the above questions as I have experienced it.

1. Which type of Paypal account do I choose?

• Personal - If your transactions would not exceed US$500 per month, use a personal account.  This type of account has no charges for every funds you receive but you are limited to US$500/mo transactions.
• Premier - If your transactions would exceed US$500 per month, use this type.  Be informed however that with this, you will be charged 4% of the funds you receive.
• Business - Similar to Premier account but dealt on a business-wise case.
• Refer here for details on PayPal account types.
• Refer here to choose which account is right for you.
• Refer here for more information about their fees.

I had a Premier account, as I received my first payment, I noticed a 4% fee.  That’s a lot to pay for so I sent an email to PayPal’s support to downgrade my account to a Personal type.  Within 24 hours after I verified my intent, my account was downgraded and I no longer had the 4% fee for my succeeding receiving transactions.

2.  How do I verify my Paypal account to lift my limits?

• I used UnionBank’s EON CyberAccount Visa Card (debit card) for this.  From my readings, EON is the first card that works beautifully with PayPal verification. Another reason is that I don’t have a credit card and don’t want one.
• Refer to this link for details on how to verify your PayPal account.
• Refer to this link how to verify your PayPal account using UnionBank’s EON Card.

3.  Do I really need to link my account to a bank account or a debit or a credit card would do?

• I linked my Metrobank ATM account to PayPal because if your withdrawal is more than Php7,000 there are no charges, if it’s less, you are charged Php50.00.  Withdrawals to cards always have certain fees involved of about $5.
• Bank Codes of Major Banks in the Philippines. I used 010269996 for my MetroBank bank code.
• Refer here for more Bank Withdrawal information.

4.  Most important of all, How do I withdraw funds?

• You can withdraw funds either to a bank account or your card.
• It’s very easy, just follow the Withdraw link in your PayPal account page.  You will be asked how much $ you want to withdraw, and there’s a currency conversion link just in case.
• Refer here for more Bank Withdrawal information.

I have kept a log of my PayPal-related transactions and here they are in chronological order:

• … I had an unverified PayPal account since 2007 …
• 2008-12-23 -> applied for a UnionBank EON Visa Card (debit card)
• 2009-01-14 -> received my EON Card
• 2009-01-21 -> deposited Php200 to EON Card
• 2009-01-22 -> linked EON Card to PayPal
• 2009-01-23 -> verifed PayPal account
• 2009-01-23 -> transferred $ to Metrobank ATM
• 2009-01-26 -> completed transfer to Metrobank ATM (PayPal only but funds not yet at MB-ATM)
• 2009-01-28 -> withdraw cash from Metrobank ATM
• … here is another withdrawal …
• 2009-02-13 -> transferred $ to Metrobank ATM
• 2009-02-18 -> completed transfer to Metrobank ATM
• 2009-02-18 -> withdraw cash from Metrobank ATM

On average, it takes 3-5 business days for my withdrawal transactions to appear on my Metrobank ATM.

The most important part of my PayPal experience is getting my account verified.  I live in Midsayap, Cotabato, Philippines and had to travel to Davao City (200+ kilometers away) to apply for my UnionBank’s EON Visa Card.  Thankfully I had help.  Refer here for details on how to get a UnionBank’s EON Visa Card and link it to your PayPal account. Look for the following comment: “ReservoirDogs Says:  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am” .

So there you have it, my successful PayPal experience, 2 years after I signed-up.  Whew!