PayPal points finger of blame at the RBZ
The following is a letter that I wrote to PayPal concerning the failure by Zimbabweans to receive Money through the program. To those who do not have the background knowledge, although people in Zimbabwe can spend money online using PayPal, it is almost impossible for them to receive money through the system. This has proven to be a blow for freelancers across the country, who, as you can see in the letter below, sometimes have business avenues closed because of the issue. TechZim once produced an article in which it was claimed that there was finally a way through which Zimbabweans could use PayPal. However, that turned out to be not so true, at the end of the day. It is apparent that Zimbabweans will have to continue with their half backed experience, as is apparent in the following correspondence;
Letter to PayPal: On Why Zimbabweans Cannot Receive Money Through the System
Dear PayPal
I am in Zimbabwe and operate a website that has some affiliate links on it. The target audience is international. As such, I am joining a number of affiliate programs. A good number of them only make payments through PayPal.
I understand that I cannot withdraw money from my paypal account from Zimbabwe, although I am able to make purchases, so the question is not on that issue. What I want to know is, can I receive money from these affiliate sites into my account? Again, I am not talking about withdrawing it, which is not the issue here.
If I can receive money, a work around for me would be to just use it for online payments, such as for webhosting etc. To be clear, let me repeat; I know its impossible to make withdrawals from Zimbabwe, but I want to know if I can receive money into my account for other online uses? ‘
The Reply
Dear T…………….
I hope you are doing well today. My name is Mark from PayPal Customer Service.
The reason why the option to withdraw funds from your Zimbabwean account is not available is because the option to receive payments is also not available. This is in compliance with your local banking regulations.
We look forward to offering you the Receive-payment feature in the future. Let me assure you that once the service is approved we will contact you right away so that you are able to use this service as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
In the mean time, kindly contact your clients to arrange other payment options that are available to you such as bank transfers, money orders and checks.
On the bright side, you may use your account for your international purchases. Sending payments through PayPal is secure and is free of charge. Whenever you make a payment using your account, we would automatically debit the purchase amount from your registered card.
We’ll be glad to hear from you if you need clarification or assistance. Please don’t hesitate to email us again. You can also call us at +1-402-517-4519 (U.S. telephone number) Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM local Zimbabwean time.
Thank you for choosing PayPal. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Mark
PayPal
Hi there!
Thanks for the article, quite cleared some frustrations I had prior to stumbling upon your site. I’m interested in getting into the digital marketing/ affiliate marketing space and was planning on using PayPal to receive commissions only to be disappointed in finding out about the sad one-sided relationship our country has with PayPal.
Anyways that hasn’t killed my ambitions and coming across your blog has just made me believe it really is possible. After all great entrepreneurs make it happen from wherever they’re, with whatever they’ve, with whomever they’ve, right. The world doesnt care and the money doesn’t even listen to your excuses.
It’s great to find out they’re likeminded people from these parts of the woods who would also like to conquer the digital marketing space. Since you’re already doing it I would greatly appreciate it and it would be a great read if you could write a blueprint article about how you’re managing to receive online commissions and circumvent these payment handles
Regards
Zee
(Your new avid reader)
Thanks. Let me make your request one of my priority upcoming articles. But, the long and short of it is; Payoneer. Fortunately, a number of Affiliate Marketing companies that are out there accept Payoneer, and you get your money using a Mastercard card. You can use it to swipe on most POS terminals here. You can also simply cross the border and withdraw rands or pulas if you really need value for your money. I also used to do freelancing on Upwork. Unfortunately, that platform has long since sanctioned Zimbabweans. I suppose one way of circumventing all this is to get a legally domiciled relative in South Africa to open a Paypal account for you. You would then need to use their persona for all your online work… You would also maybe need an SA VPN to fool websites like Upwork into believing you live there. Anyway, again, thanks for the comment and the article idea
Would you be able to withdraw any amount to Payoneer without any problems if you used a South African Paypal account? What about tax implications for a small to medium online business? Wouldn’t they pick up on that?
It is easy. If Zimbabwean PayPal does not receive money all you need to do is to go to a country eg SA where PayPal receive money, open your PayPal account from that country. You can use that account to receive even while in Zimbabwe.