Paypal is by far the most popular payment processor worldwide and no other payment procesor comes closer. Unfortunately however PayPal was not available to Kenyans until very recently. You could only send but not receive cash with Paypal.
I first tried setting a Paypal button on my other website in January 2009 to sell an informational product. Every ebook I had read on selling online recommended using PayPal to receive payments and as far as I had until then known (or at least PayPal had made me believe), I could sell anything online and receive payments using PayPal.
I built the web page and went ahead to set a PayPal button. Everything seemed to be going on well until I tried to pay myself using a Visa branded debit card I owned only to be notified that I couldn’t receive payments from my country. I cursed heavens but there was nothing I could do.
My heart leaped a few weeks ago when I saw this ad by Paypal on the Google Adsense ad program:
Just to be sure of what I made out of that sight, I went ahead and tried what I had tried a few years ago in vain. I logged in to my Paypal account, set a payment button, added it to my web page and like magic, the transaction went through.
Here is a screen-shot of the page that the payment button from Paypal immediately redirected me to:
I didn’t complete the transaction because I didn’t have my other Visa card from Equity Bank after I lost it some few months ago-The one I use for PayPal transactions is from National Bank but I can’t pay myself with the same card linked to Paypal.
The only remaining limitation as of now is that you cannot withdraw the cash from your Paypal account into a Kenyan Bank Account yet. You can only do so through a US bank but I am sure that will not last for so long. I will keep you notified on the Paypal progress. So, be sure to subscribe to my RSS using your email. Just use the subscription form at the top right hand corner of this site.
All the best
Kevin Njoroge
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Paypal in Kenya
November 9th, 2010 at 1:23 am
Hi Kevin, I came across your blog by mistake but I have found lots of useful information in quite a neat site like this, keep up! Regarding paypal, doesn’t that suck knowing that you can’t withdraw your own money? A few months previously no one could receive money from Paypal at all.
I would love to maintain my modesty but I remember one time I had joined a really lucrative program online that was converting like crazy and later on came to realize that I could not receive payments through paypal, damn!
Disappointed as I was I went out looking for a solution since I had good cash locked in there (I thought I was clever to get it). All of my top class attempts failed, gosh! I then decided to write a letter to paypal asking them to lift the “receive and withdraw barrier” on Kenya, I received a reply from Paypal telling me that their biggest setback as to why they have not upgraded Kenya as a sending and receiving gateway is due to inconsistencies within the banking network in Kenya and they hope that it would be resolved.
I replied to them giving statistical data and proof on foreign banks that operate here including American banks and so on. They said that they were still working on it…a few months later I remember checking a list of verified countries on paypal site where I saw Kenya and SA being the top 2 countries with both sending and receiving options in Africa.
I went straight to my paypal account and realized that there was a “receive” feature added. That was so awesome, needless to say that I used other methods to obtain my income from paypal, still do.
I can forward you a copy of that email if you like. There are lots of things that people do behind the scenes and never take credit for it, at all.
Kevin, continue keeping your site as neat as it is!
November 9th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
That is great news to hear Kevin. Things can only get better for Paypal. Thanks for sharing this and please keep sharing with us news on the progress of Paypal.
November 11th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
nice, kenyans can also withdraw money from paypal to Mpesa throuh Epesa.
November 23rd, 2010 at 3:28 am
I hope it will work in Turkey too..
November 28th, 2010 at 5:12 am
I got the procedure when i Googled transfer-paypal-funds-to-alertpay. With alertpay it is all easier to withdraw than in paypal. I was thinking of the same when i wanted to intergrate for http://www.shopkenyatoday.com. So once u have u paypal debit card & feed it in alert pay, u get to go and start transfers.
November 30th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Yesterday I openned a PayPal acct. but there was no option for indicating my Co.Op Bank acct. (which is affiliated to VISA). I want to subscribe to a website I like immensely but am worried I may not receive payment. Please advice
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Hi John Kuria,
Here is how to add your co-op Bank debit card to your PayPal account.
-sign in to your PayPal ccount at http://www.paypal.com
-Hover over the “Profile” tab at the top of the page and from the sub-menu that pops up, choose add/edi credit card
-Next you will be taken to a page where you can add the debit card you want. That’s it!!
Hope this is helpful
Wishing you all the best
Kevin
December 17th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
That’s a good news.I have always used and trusted Paypal .Now its in Kenya.Its good for the Kenyan’s.
January 2nd, 2011 at 8:43 pm
I believe that paypal are not doing us a favor by extending their services to Kenya while they still reserve and deny us the right to withdraw funds through our local banks. For instance, how the hell do they expect anyone to open an american bank account in order to withdraw funds from PayPal? The least they could do is allow a withdraw TO debit card but that’s still not possible, Looking for a better day somehow…
January 3rd, 2011 at 6:29 pm
Hey guys! Big lie here…paypal doesn’t yet accept Kenyan cards! Fullstop!
January 4th, 2011 at 10:32 am
What do you mean Billy? What cards are you talking about? PayPal accepts any card that is Visa branded.
January 4th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Hi guys, I have been using my visa cards Via Paypal to make online payments that required paypal without any problems. So I do not know what cards you’re talking about, unless you’re referring to cards outside visa and master card. You can use these two cards without a problem with paypal.
January 16th, 2011 at 11:55 am
I have realy strugled to withdraw money from pay pal if one has tried, let us know
January 17th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Hello! this great. but e pesa is now changed and can no longer do anything for paypal funds.
Kelvin, i will include paypla in my blog to guide people on how to pay for essays by paypal. http://onlineresearchers.blogspot.com/
Thanks once more.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:26 am
I can help you with withdraw from PayPal if you like Gonzag. Just let me know
January 27th, 2011 at 4:34 am
A better day is yet to come Denis, be hopeful. If Paypal at last uplifted Kenya to a receiving country, then they will eventually allow withdrawals. You see they can’t ignore Kenya with all the technological advances that we have embarked on as a country. I hear the Kenyan banking regulations have been limiting Paypal but I hope they eventually work out a favorable deal.
January 27th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
i read yr artical good is it possiable to withdrwa money from money booker from local bank like Barclays or any other
January 27th, 2011 at 10:46 pm
You can withdraw cash from moneybookers to almost any local bank, and vise versa. Personally I use Equity or cooperative bank. For you to withdraw, you need to have a verified account and that’s it!
January 31st, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Thanks Denis but is it possiable withdraw money from paypal
January 31st, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Well, Suresh if you’re really interested there are two ways to withdraw with paypal, (other methods are considered money laundering).
1. You can either acquire a branded paypal debit card (Check with paypal.com whether they can give you one) – Then open an account with alertpay.com and use this account to send paypal credit through the paypal debit card to alertpay and then withdraw to your local bank account.
2. You have another option of getting a nominee and create a formal agreement that can stand in the court or law and be recognized by paypal.
Wish you all the best!
February 4th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
I also got paid through Onbux, several times to my Paypal account, here is a screenshot of my latest Payment this year
http://kenyawap.net/download.php?id=103
Join Onbux and make $50 a day into your Paypal account here in Kenya
http://kenyawap.net/ptc/onbux
If you need me to send you dollars to your Paypal account, Contact me at mustang2011@kenyawap.net
Cheers!!!
February 5th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Hi,
I have just signed up with moneybookers and they want me to verify my debit card by inserting the exact amount they have deducted from my account which has to be in US Dollars but my statement reflects the amount in Kes. I have tried converting the amount twice to no avail. Could you have any solutions?
Btw gud job on sharing information.
February 5th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Dude, if you want your funds to be in US dollars then you must open an account that only accepts money in US dollars. Otherwise banks set up their systems to first convert any income that comes in any foreign currency. That’s the way it is.
February 10th, 2011 at 12:11 am
Ken, just go to your bank and ask them for the exact figure in dollars. If the customer service desk can’t help you, insist on getting connected to the card center and they will be able to help you. That is what I did to verify my National Bank A/c
February 10th, 2011 at 11:59 am
I just stumbled on your blog and you are doing a great job. I work as a freelancer full time and one of my clients wanted to pay me via paypal. I wasn’t sure if it works in Kenya and that’s how I found your blog! Very informative.Thanks
February 12th, 2011 at 7:11 am
I thought paypal only needs an email but I realized they need credit/debit card information. I have none of those and live in Kenya. Is there a simpler way to receive and pay money online?
February 24th, 2011 at 7:08 am
I’m selling something for the first time on ebay and I’m trying to figure out how i receive the payment. I know i can link my checking account to my paypal account but will paypal charge me for selling and if so how much? Any info on paypal and how it works would be useful.
February 25th, 2011 at 7:17 am
Paypal’s moneymarket interest rate is around 5% right now, which is competitive, if not just better than, local savings and cd rates. My temptation is to use paypal as a place to store some savings, like up to $8000 over the next year or so. I’m curious if others are doing the same? Are there any reasons not to? It’s still relatively liquid, right?
February 26th, 2011 at 7:56 am
I’m selling something for the first time on ebay and I’m trying to figure out how i receive the payment. I know i can link my checking account to my paypal account but will paypal charge me for selling and if so how much? Any info on paypal and how it works would be useful.
February 26th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Hi Kevin,
Whats the procedure in getting KCB Debit card verified. We have the card and paypal says that we have to get the 4 digit code in our statement which apparently comes only after 30 days. Is there any short cut?
February 27th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
First of all make sure that your paypal account is on “verify” mode – NOTE: This lasts for about 2 to 3 days so you have to act fast! Then go to your KCB branch and ask for a mini statement. Paypal withdraws some fee usually about $1 to $2 which must reflect on the statement together with other items of transaction. You will see paypal code embedded on it, copy it onto your paypal account under account verification and wait for paypal to confirm it. They will send an email telling you whether your verification was successful or not, that’s it.
March 17th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
so for a greenhorn like me trying to make inroads on making money online what is the best mode of accepting payments?which is easier to access from kenya?
March 18th, 2011 at 8:34 am
Alertpay guys: Can anyone explain to me where the “credit card validation code” they send you is writen coz i contacted my cooperative bank Kajiado and they couldnt find it on the transaction details. How did you get verified?
Any co-op banker point to me where they got supported. Ahsanteni
March 21st, 2011 at 1:38 am
Richie it depends on where the money is coming from. Are you planning to start freelancing or to sell stuffs online?
March 22nd, 2011 at 6:30 pm
i want to venture into freelancing.i’ve opened a paypal acc.i’ve a taifa acc.with NBK.do i still need another bank to be able to transact with paypal e.g.in instances where one has to pay a registration fee to get the jobs.
April 29th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Hi Kevin,
This is a great site! It is not easy to come across a good local website,very neat this one and helful too,keep it up! Are you the same Kevin of likechapaa?
I also want to find out if anyone has succeeded in using their cooperative bank visa card to withdraw from their PayPal account since getting this information is never adequately answered when you ask their customer care desk.
Please if possible give a step by step procedure of what you did to withdraw from the paypal account and the bank charges for this transaction.
April 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Is it possible to transfer funds from PayPal to Moneybookers? how to do this?
April 29th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Hi Biya, you cannot transfer money from PayPal to Moneybookers directly since moneybooker doesn’t accept money directly from third parties like PayPal.
As for your previous question about withdrawing from PayPal to Cooperative, there is a way as shared by Kelvin of likechapaa here:
http://likechapaa.com/2009/07/receiving-online-payments-in-kenya/
The only limitation to this is that it only works with over $100.
I hope I have answered your question and all the best.
Kevin
May 26th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Are you still stuck on how to withdraw your PayPal balance? Get a master card to withdraw it Reload your card and withdraw locally. This card is free to order and ship visit http://forexchapter.co.cc for more information.
June 5th, 2011 at 7:27 am
hey kev,thumbs up for the pristine nature of your blog..i recently bid on a freelance project then luckily won it bt my employer insists on paying via paypal since its longterm.I opened an A/c which is yet to be verified bt i get the payments.could this be risky and what is the way forward regarding withdrawing the cash.kind regards.
February 28th, 2012 at 3:46 am
hi kevin
i work as a freelance writer and have account with paypal but cant be able to access my money…how can you help me?ave tried to follow ua discussions but didnt understand well
February 28th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
As of today, the recommended way to withdraw cash from PayPal in Kenya is to use paympesa. But their fee are somewhat on the high end. All the best
March 16th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
hey we always receive payment by paypal and we can withdraw our money through a bank account in Kenya. Its very possible to withdraw money from your paypal account to your bank account anywhere within east africa
March 21st, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Hi there,how come i am not able to link paypal with my Co-operative bank Debit card which has a Visa Electron image on it.Paypal gives an error “This credit card has been denied by the bank that issued your credit card………”!!
March 25th, 2012 at 2:04 am
Hi Simon, if PayPal is saying “This credit card has been denied by he bank that issued the credit card”, then it is most likely because you do not have sufficient funds in your bank account to complete the transaction. Hope that helps.
Regards
Kevin