What is PayPal?
PayPal is the online wallet service of an American financial institution registered in the United States and several countries. The company is also registered in other countries including Canada, Luxemburg, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
It serves a global marketplace and is by far the biggest internet wallet service.
The service opened-up in many other countries in the year 2014. It became officially available to residents of Nigeria since July 2014. Before then, only Nigerians residents in countries supported could open and operate an account.
How can I open a PayPal account in Nigeria?
Opening an account from Nigeria is simple and straight-forward. You simply need to visit their official website or consult Giwason for assistance.
Requirements for Opening an Account in Nigeria
You need a valid email address. This is the primary requirement. PayPal would attempt to validate the email address by sending a message. You would need to confirm the existence of the email address by following the steps in the message they send.
You would also need a Visa or Mastercard linked to a Nigerian bank account. This could be a credit or debit card. This is necessary for verifying your PayPal account. The service would debit a tiny amount from the card and once you confirm the transaction, the account would be fully Verified.
As of December 2018, Interswitch’s Verve card does not work with the service.
Can I receive funds through PayPal in Nigeria?
Yes and No.
Currently, personal accounts do not support receiving money in Nigeria. You can only open Personal Accounts and send money online from same. You can also make payment to millions of merchants around the world that accept payment via Paypal.
Every payment you make would be charged from the Debit or Credit Card you have linked to the account.
All transactions are currently denominated in United States Dollars (USD). Naira, the official currency of Nigeria, is currently not supported. As of December 2018, Business Accounts are now available to e-commerce merchants in Nigeria. However, you can only receive money through a website cart, not directly from another user.
MANY ONLINE SHOPPING CARTS SUPPORT PAYPAL
They include AbanteCart, PrestaShop, OpenCart, CubeCart, osCommerce, Open eShop, Zen Cart, Loaded Commerce, Magento, X-Cart, Avactis, Quick.Cart, Invoice Ninja, SimpleInvoices etc. Their features and capabilities vary. Virtually all of them support PayPal. The specific guides for configuring the account into the shopping cart would vary par each system and is beyond the scope of this article. You would need to consult the support channels of whichever you choose to install for a more comprehensive guide for setup and management.
Limitations of PayPal Nigeria Accounts
PayPal is an American service. The very best experience with this payment system is available to residents of the USA. No other country enjoys the depth and richness of features offered in the US. It feels like Nigeria is on the other end of the spectrum. Thus, I would be sharing the features available in the USA that are not available to Nigeria, to illustrate the limitations experienced by users in Nigeria.
PayPal Credit: subject to credit approval, American users can make use of a digital credit line to make purchases online exceeding $99 and repay in installments.
Card issuance: PayPal issues Cashback Mastercard (2% cashback everywhere the card is accepted), Extras Mastercard (cardholders can earn points on every spend), Cash Mastercard (a debit/ATM card linked directly to the PayPal wallet), and PrePaid Mastercard (for funds transfer from the wallet to the card) to residents of the USA.
Near Instant Bank withdrawal: this new feature allows USA users to withdraw to their eligible debit card or bank account almost instantly, albeit for a premium fee. Regular withdrawals are free-of-charge and reflect the next working day.
Fees: US-based merchants enjoy some of the lowest transaction fees for accepting payment over this platform. Sales within the USA can be as low as 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
PayPal Here card reader: US-based merchants also have the luxury of a card reader that enables them to accept payments physically from major card schemes.
For support on registration contact:
GIWASON CONSULT
08132607146, 08095594508
giwasonservices@gmail.com
Kindly Share your view on the comment box.
Giwason Consulting Blog 