In the first part of this blog post, I discussed Making Money Online: Getting paid by cheque and explained why you should avoid getting paid by cheque where and when possible. In this blog post, I will be highlighting another means of getting paid online: Paypal.
There are several forms of e-currencies. There are digital gold currencies like e-gold, e-bullion, pecunix, c-gold, Liberty Reserve, GoldMoney etc. There are also many others not backed by gold, that are usually referring to as ewallets. Popular ones include: PayPal, Moneybookers, Alertpay etc.
PayPal: This is the number one choice for most, in making payment online. And why not?
Currently, PayPal operates in 190 markets, and it manages over 164 million accounts. PayPal allows customers to send, receive, and hold funds in 17 currencies worldwide. These currencies are the U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, Euro, Pound sterling, Japanese yen, Chinese renminbi, Czech Koruna, Danish krone, Hong Kong dollar, Hungarian forint, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Polish zloty, Singapore dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc. PayPal operates locally in 14 countries. My point is, there is no other internet payment system with a wider global reach than PayPal.
Some merits of getting paid via Paypal:
- global reach
- multiple currencies
- accepted by several merchants online
- multiple withdrawal methods: bank account, visa cards, Paypal debit cards (US only), cheque.
- receive money for free: some companies have special arrangements with Paypal that allows them to send payment to their members for free irrespective of whether the recipient’s Paypal account is Business, Premier or Personal.
- high security: this is quite controversial but I consider Paypal very secure. Your money is safe with Paypal as they have several measures that trigger red-flags whenever fraud is suspected.
Some downsides of Paypal:
- all African countries on Paypal cannot receive money but can only send. Some countries outside Africa are also in the Send Only category.
- Countries like Ghana, Egypt and Nigeria are excluded from Paypal entirely. If you’re in any of these countries, its safer to stay away from PayPal.
- No interests. In case you choose to leave your money in your Paypal account, you earn no interest on it unlike a typical savings account with your bank. An exception though is PayPal Money Market Fund for USA Paypal account holders who choose to opt-in.
Websites that pay via Paypal:
Paypal frowns at HYIPs and MLMs. Despite that, it would be practically impossible to list all the web-based companies that pay via Paypal. However, I have listed a few below.
- Publisher Ad networks: ValueClickMedia (formerly FastClick), Text-Link-Ads, ShoppingAds, Bidvertiser, Yahoo! Publisher Network (currently open to US residents only), Chikita eMalls, WidgetBucks, AdMob, etc. Minimal payouts vary from $10 to $50.
- Forex trading: Many forex platforms allow Paypal deposits, but not PayPal withdrawals. The following allow PayPal withdrawals: OANDA FxTrade, GCI Financial.
- Professional services: Are you a blogger? Web/Graphics Designer? Web Applications Programmer? Translator? Whatever you do, there are several websites like Elance.com, Maclance.com, Guru.com offer PayPal payouts.
The next blog post on this issue would discuss other online payment options. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts about Paypal.
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