PayPal is a worldwide online payment system that supports online money transactions. It is unarguably the most common means of money transfer in Kenya and outside, especially for those involved in online work such as article and academic writing.
Initially, PayPal involved bank transfers only making it tedious for users to transact. However, the partnering of PayPal with Safaricom has made it easy for subscribers to transfer money directly provided the have active M-Pesa accounts.
Registering for a PayPal account is a seconds’ activity thus not tedious as you may presume. Below are the steps:
- Visit the PayPal website via your browser.
- Choose the type of account you want to create, personal or business.
- Key your personal details
- Activate your account through the ink sent on the Email you produced.
- Link either your credit or debit card.
- Enjoy the services available, sending and receiving money within Kenya and across the world.
To qualify for the Paypal to M-Pesa service, you only need to have an eligible Kenyan PayPal and M-Pesa account. You must link the two accounts to start using the service.
Withdrawals from PayPal to M-Pesa usually take between 2 hours to 3 days to be processed, that depends on the value of the transaction made.
Than receiving payments, sending money and selling of products, PayPal can be instrumental in doing online shopping as well.
Here is a guide on how to make withdrawals from PayPal to MPESA.
- Log in to your PayPal Account (creating one is just piece of cake)
- Click on Withdraw. Your available balance will be displayed in USD. However, if the available balance is in a different currency, simply convert the amount to USD
- Enter the amount you would like to withdraw. (In USD). Click on continue to withdraw.
- The amount to be received in KES, the exchange rate used for the conversion and the estimated transaction processing time will be displayed on a page.
- Confirm the transaction and wait for the funds to reflect on your M-Pesa after the expiry of the standard transaction processing time.
You can also link PayPal to your bank account to ease how you conduct transactions. To link let’s say to Equity, go to the bank’s website. On the website click on PayPal and proceed either to your account, or creating one in the case that you are not a member. Once in your account (new or existing) click on ‘Bank Services’ button.
Enter your preferred account before clicking on ‘Link Account’. A one time pin will thereafter sent to the mobile number associated with your bank account. You then will be required to enter and confirm the one time pin sent to your phone as a text message.
After confirmation of the pin you proceed to ‘PayPal Services’ where you enter your email address before linking your bank account. Enter your PayPal account password then click ‘Authorize’ on the page that pops up while on the account(PayPal). You thereafter good to transact, including withdrawals from your PayPal to the bank account.
It should be noted that:
- No charges exist on creation of a PayPal account.
- PayPal charges between 2.5% and 4% +$0.40 in every transaction, that is when receiving money into your PayPal.
- PayPal currency conversion charges tend to apply at 2.5% above the existing exchange rates.
