By Jameel Ahmed Memon
We know that Paypal, not being in Pakistan, is a big hurdle for many to do online businesses in Pakistan. While we know that Pakistanis have long struggled to get Paypal working in Pakistan – but it hasn’t happened so far.Usually To get a Verified paypal account and to withdraw funds you need:
- One paypal account with USA address or in any paypal supported country
- Credit Card issued by by Bank based in USA or from any paypal supported country to verify the paypal account.
- You must be USA resident or have USA bank account or must be resident of paypal supported country to withdraw Paypal funds
But today i am going to tell you a definite way (though it’s a desi jugaar) of getting Verified Paypal account (in Pakistan) without being in any paypal supported country.
Things you Need for Verified Paypal Account in Pakistan:
- First of all sign up for paypal account with USA address (you can get a legit USA address easily)
- Secondly apply for Payoneer prepaid MasterCard which is issued by USA based Choice bank
Most of you are likely to be familiar with Payoneer and may have Payoneer account – if so, then you are minutes away from getting your paypal account verified.
If not, then you may need to get a Payoneer Master card, which may take couple of weeks. Whole process is explained below.
We are assuming that you have a paypal account with USA address and an activated payoneer master card. In addition you have VBA account from payoneer. You can apply for VBA account if you have more than three transactions on your Payoneer card. (Read more about VBA account at the bottom).
Verify your Paypal account in Pakistan:
You can do so by following steps
- Login to your paypal account
- Make sure My Account tab is active; if not, click on it
- Under My Account Overview, click the link that says ‘Unverified” beside Status
- Enter payoneer card number, 3-digit card code. Billing address (Guide instructions are provided on the screen)
- Confirm.
Please note: Make sure that your payoneer card is activated and has funds in it as paypal will deduct a certain amount ($1.95) for verification which will reflect in your paypal account later.
After entering card details, login to your payoneer account. Go to transaction history and look for the paypal transaction that contains the 4-digit EXPUSE (expanded use) number that paypal sent. This information may take some time to appear in transaction history.
Return to Paypal by logging in again. Enter the given four-digit EXPUSE number in the transaction statement under Link and Confirm Card.
It’s all good by now with account status switching to Verified.
Withdrawing Paypal Funds
You can transfer Paypal funds to your Payoneer card – it’s simple. Afterwards use this Payoneer card to withdraw the money from ATM or use it online; the way you want.
What is Payoneer?
For those who don’t know, Payoneer is payout solution provider. As you may know that Payoneer is a registered MasterCard Merchant Service Provider (MSP), and partner with Choice Bank Limited or First Covenant Bank to deliver services.
The Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard® works just like any other Prepaid MasterCard/VISA card. The card is accepted at all locations worldwide, where Debit MasterCard is accepted
You can use it at a point of sale location to make purchases and withdraw money at any ATM by the Standard Chartered Bank or MCB in Pakistan.
No matter where you are in the world, if you are over the age of 18 and not an alien, you can order the Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard® card through one of payoneer partners. If you expect to receive earnings from this partner.
Payoneer is responsible to deliver your card to you wherever you live. You can also use the card to receive earnings from other Payoneer partners. You don’t need a bank account to apply.
so payoneer card can be used to receive fund from any one, remember that $1,000.00 is the limit for private loads made to your card. Payouts from your affiliate account (the payment your company/payoneer partner sends) do not have a limit.
Getting Payoneer Card
You need to contact any payoneer partner to get your card, few of them are listed below
- Freelancing: GetAFreelancer, uTest, Guru, oDesk, RentACoder, ScriptLance, Elance
- Payment processing: 2CheckOut, Plimus, FastSpring, WebMoney
- Advertising: MediaWhiz, Bux.to, Copeac, ROIRocket, IncentReward, Infolinks
- Others: FreedomRocks, GPA40, iStockPhoto, Fluc, Zizbiz, MagicRock, TripleClicks
All of above want you to earn money with them – and eventually you can redeem that money to the Payoneer MasterCard.
By the way Payoneer reserves right to accept or reject any application, It can take a couple of business days for your application to be processed and approved. Once approved, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with shipping details for the card.
When you get your Payoneer MasterCard you need to activate it (activation charges apply).
Withdrawing Paypal Funds
Many people around the globe have been trying to apply for a US Bank Account but were denied by the extremely restrictive conditions they have been required to fulfill before they could get one, after the September 11th 2001 attacks, the US government issued what is known as the “USA Patriot act” that was meant to avoid any future attacks of the same kind. One of the measures that are included in that document is that non US residents cannot hold a US Bank Account as they did before.
Today, getting a US Bank Account the regular way when you are not a US citizen is still impossible or to be more accurate, difficult and very costly. However, there are alternative such as an innovative solution called US Virtual Bank Account by payoneer for CardHolders.
As you can see, this is NOT a real US Bank Account, it is just a virtual one! In practice, things work this way: Payoneer gets a mega Bank Account with a partner US bank under which sub accounts are created for each Payoneer customer in order to provide them with unique account numbers they can use to get payments. Payments can be sent to the sub account, using the account number that was previously provided, then Payoneer transfers the money they receive to the personal Payoneer Debit Card of the customer that received the payment in order for him to be able to spend it!.
In the end, you don’t really get a US Bank Account, but you have all the infos (an account number and routing number similar to physical bank account details) that are needed to get paid by a customer or a partner who cannot use Paypal or other payment systems. these numbers are attached with Payoneer card
As you can see, this service offered by Payoneer is very useful and quite smart! Anyone is now able to enjoy the benefits of a US Bank Account without the hassle.
What can be done with US Virtual Bank Account?
The US Virtual Account can only accept funds and cannot be used to send funds. You can spend the money in the US Virtual Account by using your Payoneer Card online and offline at any point of sale or at any ATM worldwide that accepts MasterCard.
You cannot fund your PayPal account using the US Virtual Account but you can receive payments onto the US Virtual Account from any US corporation that can send ACH direct deposit, that would include PayPal but all transfers are subject the each companies terms and conditions.
This system is built to get you your money securely as fast as possible. When you transfer money to your Payoneer US Virtual Account the money is loaded automatically onto your Payoneer card.
Now you can use your virtual account number and routing number into the withdrawal option of paypal and paypal will send the transfers which you can use any where via Payoneer prepaid MasterCard, There is no balance on the US Virtual Account all the money is automatically directed onto the Payoneer card. Keep in mind that the initiator of the transfer decides how long that transfer takes to arrive.
Ellegiblity for Getting USA virtual account and Private Funds into payoneer card
- You need at least 1 partner transaction into your card to get private funds
- you need at least 3 partner transaction into your card to get USA Virtual bank account in last 3 months
Disclaimer:
You are advised to know read Paypal terms and conditions before following this method. The method mentioned above is not official way of getting Paypal in Pakistan and is not advised at all. If a paypal account is verified through above described way then writer or ProPakistani is not responsible for any loss of any type of any magnitude due to any reason.
Writer is currently CEO at Indus Technologies, an IT service providing company, with 20+ customer base, managing team of developers and business ventures with other companies.
