How to Receive Money via PayPal in Zimbabwe

A Roundabout Solution

For one reason or the other, PayPal remains extremely popular in Zimbabwe, despite the fact that the world’s foremost online payments platform is not available in the country. The question of whether or not PayPal is available in Zimbabwe is one which we are often asked, and the answer, in almost all instances remains the same. Yes, PayPal is available in Zimbabwe, although you only get half the experience. For reasons that we outline in this article, PayPal only allows Zimbabweans to make online payments. Absent is the ability to receive money from abroad and to link to Zimbabwean bank accounts, which is too bad for Zimbabweans who carry out online work. So why this article? Well, if you are willing to go the roundabout way, here is how to receive money via PayPal in Zimbabwe.

Get Someone in the Diaspora to Open a PayPal Account for you

One way through which you can use PayPal while in Zimbabwe is to get a friend or relative in the Diaspora to open an account for your use. Note that this type of solution means the PayPal account will actually not be yours. As someone who does online work, this is something that I have seriously considered doing. So, how would I receive money via PayPal while in Zimbabwe? Well, here is a hypothetical situation showing you how to Receive Money via PayPal in Zimbabwe;

You get your brother, sister or whoever in South Africa or the U.K to open a PayPal account. The information that they use is completely theirs. Their name, address, phone number, etc. In other words, the PayPal account will be completely theirs.

Now, you get the details of the account, ie, the email address, and you hand that over to whoever it is that needs to pay you for online work. When the money is substantive enough, you can get your South African based relative to transfer it into their FNB account (or any other South African bank that can be linked to PayPal). They can then sent the money to you via Mukuru or Western Union, and you will be able to get cash US Dollars from Zimbabwe.

Not a Simple Solution

Clearly, the solution that we have just outlined is not simple. Its success largely depends on you finding a friend of relative who is trustworthy enough, which tends to be difficult in this day and age. Indeed, it may not be worth it, unless you really need to use PayPal.

Alternative to PayPal for Zimbabweans

If you are in Zimbabwe and need to receive money from the Diaspora, there is really no need for your get hung up about the unavailability of PayPal in the country. There are a lot of PayPal alternatives that you can use.

As an example, I have recently started receiving money from clients in the Diaspora via World Remit and Mukuru. The good news about using these money transfer agencies is that you get your money as cash USD, which allows you to go you know where to get fair value for your hard currency.

On top of that, you also receive an export incentive in bond notes, which is almost enough to completely wipe out the fees that are charged by money transfer agencies such as Western Union.

How to Receive Money via PayPal in Zimbabwe

That’s the only way that you can receive money via PayPal while in Zimbabwe. In simple words, you cannot receive money via PayPal while in Zimbabwe. Yet you can use this roundabout way to get money from the Diaspora via PayPal.