Getting paid on PayPal - any alternatives?
Thread poster: SebR
SebR
SebR
Local time: 22:09
Hebrew to English
+ ...
Feb 13, 2008

Hey guys.

So recently, I've been starting to work with more and more companies that are out of the UK, who prefer to pay me with PayPal.
Everything was fine until I started seeing that PayPal take huge comissions on each transaction. Apperantly they take 3.4% + 0.20.
All my clients are playing ignorant and saying they can't pay the extra comission and PayPal is giving me very insufficien answers as to why I am paying them $50 in 4 internal actions.
So I am sick of
... See more
Hey guys.

So recently, I've been starting to work with more and more companies that are out of the UK, who prefer to pay me with PayPal.
Everything was fine until I started seeing that PayPal take huge comissions on each transaction. Apperantly they take 3.4% + 0.20.
All my clients are playing ignorant and saying they can't pay the extra comission and PayPal is giving me very insufficien answers as to why I am paying them $50 in 4 internal actions.
So I am sick of PayPal, and do not want to pay them so much money.
Does anybody have any good alternatives for PayPal? Any other websites where I can get paid easily without having to lose most of my money.

(just for an example, I had one job in which I was supposed to be paid $20, and I had to pay a comission on it. I know it's not a huge comission, but when you do jobs for so little money, it is very infuriating to have to pay anything off it - not to mention the fact that I still have to change the dollars to Pounds and lose even more)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
SR

[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2008-02-13 09:13]
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Ralf Lemster
Ralf Lemster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 23:09
English to German
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Search the forum Feb 13, 2008

Hi Sebastian,
You may want to start by searching this forum - there have been quite a few related discussions in the past.

Best regards,
Ralf


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:09
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
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Moneybookers Feb 13, 2008

The alternative might be www.MoneyBookers.com

Good luck,
Jose


 
Jan Sundström
Jan Sundström  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 23:09
English to Swedish
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Some threads... Feb 13, 2008

SebastianRex wrote:
So recently, I've been starting to work with more and more companies that are out of the UK, who prefer to pay me with PayPal.

Does anybody have any good alternatives for PayPal? Any other websites where I can get paid easily without having to lose most of my money.


Hi Sebastian,

So you're in the UK?!
You Brits have a special situation compared to the rest of us EU members.

All this stems from the fact that UK opted out of the EU money transfer agreement, which gives the UK banks free hands to rob their account holders. Read this very interesting article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/moneybox/4279801.stm

However, since January 2007, most UK banks abolished charges for INCOMING transfers made from within the IBAN system. HSBC, Nationwide, Smile etc reportedly charge £0 for incoming IBAN payments now. Outgoing charges are as low as £8 with some banks. Shop around!

I wrote a few fairly detailed posts on this topic:
http://www.proz.com/post/634402#634402
http://www.proz.com/post/529966#529966
http://www.proz.com/post/634700#634700

/Jan


 
Boris Sigalov
Boris Sigalov
Local time: 00:09
English to Russian
Sure: MoneyBookers.com Feb 13, 2008

Jose Ruivo wrote:

The alternative might be www.MoneyBookers.com[/quote]

I fully agree with Jose on MoneyBookers.com. I have been using this UK-based service for 5 years already without any major problems.

As for PayPal... I started to use them last year. I had several transactions via them and should say that my first impression is quite negative: the quality level of their services is much lower than that offered by MoneyBookers.com.

 
Cristina Heraud-van Tol
Cristina Heraud-van Tol  Identity Verified
Peru
Local time: 17:09
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Unfortunately, it is true Feb 13, 2008

I also had to upgrade in Paypal because I surpassed the limits of receiving money. It's true that PayPal gets a huge commission and an alternative is Money Bookers. However, not many clients choose for Money Bookers. They set their rules and you just have to obey, not fair!

Last year, I started doing something: I calculated the commisions I would pay via a wire transfer and compared them to the ones PayPal was charging me. I came up to the conclusion that if I earn up to US$250 per
... See more
I also had to upgrade in Paypal because I surpassed the limits of receiving money. It's true that PayPal gets a huge commission and an alternative is Money Bookers. However, not many clients choose for Money Bookers. They set their rules and you just have to obey, not fair!

Last year, I started doing something: I calculated the commisions I would pay via a wire transfer and compared them to the ones PayPal was charging me. I came up to the conclusion that if I earn up to US$250 per job I still could use PayPal because in the end it is still more profitable than the bank. Should the payment be higher than this, then I ask my clients to send me a wire transfer and then the bank deducts me a commission which is lower than PayPal. They mostly are willing to do this.

I heard rumors that Google is going to launch a competitor for Paypal. Let's hope they do this quick and that their commissions are not so high. Good luck and let's have some patience!

[Edited at 2008-02-13 13:28]
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Russell Jones
Russell Jones  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:09
Italian to English
To Jan Feb 13, 2008

I've been reading your fascinating posts on the previous threads you mentioned.
On one of these you suggested that Xoom was a realistic option. Unfortunately, in Europe it only operates in Germany, Poland and the UK.
The nearest to a solution was Auctionchex; unfortunately they require the recipient to undertake administrative work as part of the payment process - receiving an e-mail and providing IBAN and BIC codes - even though I could easily provide these.
When I need to se
... See more
I've been reading your fascinating posts on the previous threads you mentioned.
On one of these you suggested that Xoom was a realistic option. Unfortunately, in Europe it only operates in Germany, Poland and the UK.
The nearest to a solution was Auctionchex; unfortunately they require the recipient to undertake administrative work as part of the payment process - receiving an e-mail and providing IBAN and BIC codes - even though I could easily provide these.
When I need to send money, the recipients expect it be paid directly into their bank accounts with no further action on their part - so I end up paying £20 and getting very angry!
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Vito Smolej
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 23:09
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
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SITE LOCALIZER
"I am sick of PayPal, and do not want to pay them so much money." Feb 14, 2008

i) I do not accept any more orders below X EUR (note EUR, not USD)
ii) I have switched to Moneybookers some time ago

Whoever is not ready to move his sweet behind from PayPal to Moneybookers, gets blacklisted in my case.


 
Speranza
Speranza  Identity Verified

Local time: 23:09
Spanish to Russian
+ ...
Stay away from Moneybookers Feb 14, 2008

They worked fine for me when the amount in question was just enough to buy a cup of coffee. When more money arrived, they blocked my account without warning and requested additional identity proof. I emailed the documents to them weeks ago and never heard from them again. So if you think MB is a good solution, think again: The service is cheap, but not in the sense of being inexpensive.

 
Monika Rozwarzewska
Monika Rozwarzewska  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:09
Member (2006)
English to Polish
+ ...
Your own mistake Feb 14, 2008

Nadejda Vega Cespedes wrote:

They worked fine for me when the amount in question was just enough to buy a cup of coffee. When more money arrived, they blocked my account without warning and requested additional identity proof.


I'm afraid, Nadejda, that was your own mistake: you simply had to send them all the necessary identity proofs beforehand and not to wait a large sum to come. At least I did it that way and never had any problems.

And I perfectly understand Moneybookers in this case: nobody wants to be tricked with a large sum of money by a half-identified stranger. Just try to put yourself into their shoes...

Good luck with your transaction.


 
Charlotte Blank
Charlotte Blank  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 23:09
Czech to German
+ ...
Anelik Feb 14, 2008

Hi Sebastian,

a few months ago I had to get money from Ukraina and the client proposed to use Anelik for the transfer (http://anelik.diaspora.ru/eng/ ). As they have some agents here in Prague I agreed and a few hours later I could go and fetch it. The only disadvantage was that the amount was stated in USD and they did not use the very best rate for conversion to Czech crowns...
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Hi Sebastian,

a few months ago I had to get money from Ukraina and the client proposed to use Anelik for the transfer (http://anelik.diaspora.ru/eng/ ). As they have some agents here in Prague I agreed and a few hours later I could go and fetch it. The only disadvantage was that the amount was stated in USD and they did not use the very best rate for conversion to Czech crowns

As I see from their website they are charging the sender with 3% (up to 3000 Euros resp. USD) or 0,5% for more than that. The good thing is that you (as the receiver) don't have to open an account but just get a code from your client which you present at the branch office together with your passport. The bad thing, however, is that they don't have many offices and that - if you are in a country not using RUB, EUR or USD - you will get a rather bad conversion rate.

According to their website "The transfer pay-out is within 1-24 banking hours for Standart tariff and 5 minutes for Super tariff. Transfer order formalities last for 3 minutes in average."

Charlotte
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Speranza
Speranza  Identity Verified

Local time: 23:09
Spanish to Russian
+ ...
Indeed Feb 14, 2008

Come on Monika, that's ridiculous. Had they been thinking about the public good rather than effortless profit making (illegal, but who cares?), they would have refused to take the money, not to give it back. What they do is plain misappropriation.

 
Boris Sigalov
Boris Sigalov
Local time: 00:09
English to Russian
I think Monika is right Feb 14, 2008

Nadejda, when you create an account at Moneybookers you are asked to verify your identity (an absolutely legitimate wish from their side: I will be very suspicious about those who don't ask me to do that). There are several levels of that verification. The simplest one takes about 5 days but you are limited to operate only with small amounts transactions. If you have read their FAQ you had to see the following:

Moneybookers FAQ:

Depending on your user status, there may be a transaction limit set on redemptions. You may check the limit currently available to you at any time.


In order to reduce the limits one should send Moneybookers additional identity proof. That's again an absolutely legitimate wish from their side. One can do it right after creating an account. That's what I did. It seems Monika did the same but many people postpone it for later. That's what you did and Monika is right saying that it's your own fault to postpone your complete identity verification.

I've just checked the limit currently available to me: 32177.20 USD in any 90 day period. I don't know about you but for me it's more than enough.


Nadejda Vega Cespedes wrote:

Had they been thinking about the public good rather than effortless profit making (illegal, but who cares?), they would have refused to take the money, not to give it back.


MoneyBookers.com is not a government or charity organisation just to think about 'public good', it's a business and I personally don't see anything illegal about it. Here is an excerpt from their Money Laundering Policy explaining some points of our discussion:

Money Laundering Policy:

What am I asked to do?
You may find that you are asked to confirm your identity and other personal details. Moneybookers has established special verification systems involving your bank account or payment card to prove your identity. To safeguard the integrity of our payment system, your Moneybookers account may also be subject to periodic transaction limits depending on your user status.

When?
You could be asked to confirm your identity whether you are applying to be a new customer or have been a customer for some time. While our identity verification systems are designed to minimise any inconvenience for you, the verification process may take several days to complete.

Why?
Crime and terrorism need cash. Criminals turn the "dirty" cash made from drug trafficking, smuggling, and robbery into clean money by using false identities or taking the names of innocent people - like you. Making sure that people are who they say they are is essential in the fight against crime and terrorism. This does not mean in any way that suspicion is falling on you. Any information about your identity is held confidentially and will help stop your identity being used falsely.




Nadejda Vega Cespedes wrote:

What they do is plain misappropriation.


Nadejda, do you understand that what you are doing now is a very serious public accusation? From what you have told us so far I don't see any ample grounds for that.


 
Jan Sundström
Jan Sundström  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 23:09
English to Swedish
+ ...
New "shopping agent" for money transfers! Feb 14, 2008

Russell Jones wrote:

I've been reading your fascinating posts on the previous threads you mentioned.
On one of these you suggested that Xoom was a realistic option. Unfortunately, in Europe it only operates in Germany, Poland and the UK.
The nearest to a solution was Auctionchex; unfortunately they require the recipient to undertake administrative work as part of the payment process - receiving an e-mail and providing IBAN and BIC codes - even though I could easily provide these.
When I need to send money, the recipients expect it be paid directly into their bank accounts with no further action on their part - so I end up paying £20 and getting very angry!


Hey Russel,

I understand your problem, it's very similar to Amy's case (Amy's UK bank account > Proxy > recipient's bank account ) discussed here:
http://www.proz.com/post/634700#634700

A first step would be to move over to another UK bank like Smile. At least they only charge £8-13 for outgoing transfers.

But here are the big news for you and Sebastian: I found an independent comparison engine for transfer services between a wide selection of countries!
Try this:
http://www.sendmoneyhome.org/

Apart from that, I found a study made on money transfer from the UK to Pakistan. While not completely relevant for EU transfers, it's still a good yardstick for which banks that have reasonable fees. Again, Smile comes out on top of the regular UK banks:
http://www.dmassocs.com/Pakistan%20rates_3%20reduced.pdf



/Jan

[Edited at 2008-02-14 15:30]

[Edited at 2008-02-14 15:30]


 
Boris Sigalov
Boris Sigalov
Local time: 00:09
English to Russian
One more thing Feb 14, 2008

Nadejda, you may also want to have a look at the following post:

http://www.proz.com/post/775429#775429

[Edited at 2008-02-14 16:57]


 


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Getting paid on PayPal - any alternatives?







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