Using PayPal in Portugal - feedback needed Thread poster: Isabel Cisneiros
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I'm frequently asked if I accept Paypal payments.
I never worked with it so I'd like people who have to tell me:
1 - are there any CONs?
2 - how ong does it take? is it instantaneously available?
3 - what do you need to use it? do you need to conect it to your bank account? do you need to open an account with them (if so, what is the minimum amount to do so)?
4 - can I take my money from ATMs or do I need to go to a bank balcony or the Post Office (I am in Po... See more I'm frequently asked if I accept Paypal payments.
I never worked with it so I'd like people who have to tell me:
1 - are there any CONs?
2 - how ong does it take? is it instantaneously available?
3 - what do you need to use it? do you need to conect it to your bank account? do you need to open an account with them (if so, what is the minimum amount to do so)?
4 - can I take my money from ATMs or do I need to go to a bank balcony or the Post Office (I am in Portugal)?
Of course I could GOogle search this, but sometimes in Portugal things are not as easy as in other parts of the world, so...
Thanks for any info about your experience!
Isabel ▲ Collapse
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isabel faria wrote:
I'm frequently asked if I accept Paypal payments.
I never worked with it so I'd like people who have to tell me:
1 - are there any CONs?
2 - how ong does it take? is it instantaneously available?
3 - what do you need to use it? do you need to conect it to your bank account? do you need to open an account with them (if so, what is the minimum amount to do so)?
4 - can I take my money from ATMs or do I need to go to a bank balcony or the Post Office (I am in Portugal)?
Of course I could GOogle search this, but sometimes in Portugal things are not as easy as in other parts of the world, so...
Thanks for any info about your experience!
Isabel
There are differences from one country to the next as banking systems differ. The only reliable way to obtain the information you require is to go to the Paypal site and read the small print! When I first opened a Paypal account years ago, it was not up and running in France. I had to send all sorts of official documents through to the US. It took almost 6 weeks to get set up. Nowadays, it is almost instant in France.
Yes, it is (in my experience) linked to an account. There are certain charges involved. I don't know what a "bank balcony" is but simply put, once the money is credited to your Paypal account, you can choose to download/transfer a certain amount of the balance (available) to your account and then access your money on your account as you do generally. Paypal credits/debits show up on your account statement labelled as such.
[Edited at 2012-10-09 10:19 GMT]
Note also that in addition to the admittedly small fees/charges/cost of using a Paypal account, you do not avoid currency conversion charges. Depending on a number of factors you have no control over, your own bank's charges and commissions, I have found that for small overseas payments, if working at near to breakeven, charges, fees, commission and conversion do reduce profit. I would only use it for occasion medium-sized jobs. In fact, I hardly ever use it at all. It is easy though if clients are in countries other that the one where you are based.
[Edited at 2012-10-09 10:24 GMT]
| | | | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 14:20
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| PayPal site will explain all | Oct 9, 2012 |
I'd advise you to look for specific answers on PayPal's own site, and in some of the numerous threads about it here for more general advice.
There are certainly cons - they charge! But it is tremendously handy sometimes if other payment methods aren't possible. But don't think of it as some sort of extra bank account - it isn't. It's all done online, unless you decide to transfer money into your bank account. You need to think of it more as a way of receiving/spending money than sto... See more I'd advise you to look for specific answers on PayPal's own site, and in some of the numerous threads about it here for more general advice.
There are certainly cons - they charge! But it is tremendously handy sometimes if other payment methods aren't possible. But don't think of it as some sort of extra bank account - it isn't. It's all done online, unless you decide to transfer money into your bank account. You need to think of it more as a way of receiving/spending money than storing it. Having said that, I use my PayPal balance to pay for things over the internet. It's a hassle-free (and free) way to buy things online. ▲ Collapse
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Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:
Note also that in addition to the admittedly small fees/charges/cost of using a Paypal account, you do not avoid currency conversion charges. Depending on a number of factors you have no control over, your own bank's charges and commissions, I have found that for small overseas payments, if working at near to breakeven, charges, fees, commission and conversion do reduce profit. I would only use it for occasion medium-sized jobs. In fact, I hardly ever use it at all. It is easy though if clients are in countries other that the one where you are based.
Nikki,
Pray for PayPal not opening their own offices in your country.
After PayPal opened their offices in Brazil, now they deduct 6.5% in fees right away, as soon as I receive in USD. Then, if I want the funds transfered to my bank account here, they openly (it's on their help screens) adopt an exchange rate 3.5% lower than the market.
Were that not enough, in spite of Brazil having the fastest banking system in the world, here PayPal delays by 3-5 business days the actual deposit to a bank account. When the client pays PayPal via eCheck, they take 3-5 additional business days to clear it. So the cumulative PayPal delay, at its worst, may be two weeks (10 business days).
On the darker side, Brazil has one of the highest interest rates around: close to 10% per month.
Bottom line is that using PayPal to get paid in Brazil costs the receiver 10~15% of the entire amount, That's not small.
For a comparison, still in the same country, Brazil, the bank fees to receive a wire transfer are in the USD 20~60 range, depending on the bank, but irrespective to the amount involved. Of course, it may cost some USD 15~40 to the sender. Funds take 2 (most usually) to 5 banking days to hit the account.
Xoom.com, serving only from the USA to 30 countries costs USD 4.99 to the sender per transfer up to USD 3K, and funds are credited to the receiving account without any charge within 24 hours on banking days.
So PayPal is by far the most expensive and slowest way to gat paid... at least in Brazil.
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 14:20
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| To be fair, José | Oct 9, 2012 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
Bottom line is that using PayPal to get paid in Brazil costs the receiver 10~15% of the entire amount, That's not small.
So PayPal is by far the most expensive and slowest way to gat paid... at least in Brazil. [/quote]
I don't think the experience within Europe is anything like that. I've had PayPal accounts in France and Spain and only pay about 3.5% to receive client's payments within seconds. Of course, the exchange rates they offer aren't good either. But for payments coming in in USD, I don't get PayPal to convert the money into EUR - I keep it in USD until there's something online that I want to buy in USD.
I'm perfectly happy with the limited use I make of PayPal. I would never use it as my principal, preferred payment method, though.
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 14:20
| Using Paypal works quite well | Oct 9, 2012 |
isabel faria wrote:
Thanks for any info about your experience!
Isabel
Hello Isabel,
I live in Portugal and operate "conta à ordem" with a Portuguese bank.
I had no problems opening by PayPal account.
1 - are there any CONs?
The downside is that Paypal does charge (debit) your PayPal account when you receive funds. I usually only use it for jobs of up to €200. Recently though, I had €740 paid into PayPal. PayPal deducted €36!
2 - how ong does it take? is it instantaneously available?
Payments received in your Paypal account can be used as soon as they land in your account.
3 - what do you need to use it? do you need to conect it to your bank account? do you need to open an account with them (if so, what is the minimum amount to do so)?
You need to register with PayPal, and fill in their forms online. You need a separate e-mail account. Some ISPs such as SAPO, give you the option of having more than one e-mail address on the same ISP account. I would not use gmail because of security issues.
I would recommend that you connect your PayPal account to your Portuguese bank account.
In Paypal, you have the option to withdraw funds from Paypal, which are sent directly to your (Portuguese) bank account.
Setting up this procedure takes a couple of days (and PayPal debits your bank account a couple of Euros (€.150 or €3.00 - I cannot remember) because PayPal needs to check your bona fides.
As far as I remember, you do not need to deposit any money in your PayPal account straight away, but once you have had your bank account validated by PayPal, you might want to make a small transfer from your bank account to your Paypal account (€20, say), just to test that the two are connected and working properly.
Once you have your own bank account validated, transferring money straight away from PayPal to your Portuguese bank account is easy. The funds normally appear in your bank two (sometimes) working days after you have transferred them. As soon as the funds are in your bank account you can do what you like with them - withdraw from Multibanco, make transfers via the Internet, etc. There are no transaction charges raised by the Portuguese bank. If there are, they are small - a few cents, and are deducted at the end of the month with other sundry charges.
4 - can I take my money from ATMs or do I need to go to a bank balcony or the Post Office (I am in Portugal)?
Already answered above, except to say that it is Western Union which obliges you to go to the Post Office with your I.D.
Note:
"balcão" (numa loja, no banco e nos correios) is a "counter" in English.
Balcão = balcony only if it is something over which you could conceivably hang a blanket (e.g. from the first floor of an apartment), or a "galeria" in a theatre.
Oh, I almost forgot! You can pay your ProZ annual subscriptions using PayPal.
I hope that helps.
P.S.
I also forgot to say that you can specify to your clients to pay into your Paypal account in either EUROS or US$.
PayPal records EURO and US$ receipts/balances separately.
Choose EURO as your "primary currency", even if most of your clients of paying in US$. This makes transfer into your Portuguese bank account easier.
Tip:
When providing quotations to clients:
either
make allowance for the fact that you will "lose" some money via Paypal by quote a slightly higher per word rate,
or
state that your quote is the NET amount you wish to receive in Paypal.
The client paying into your Paypal will then know to check the box which says something like "payer to pay transfer charges".
You can, of course, do both.
[Edited at 2012-10-09 18:14 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-10-10 15:09 GMT]
| | | | | Add Funds to Paypal (Portugal) | Feb 19, 2016 |
Hi I'm wondering if it's possible to add funds to a Portugal Paypal account from a Portugal bank account. I know once a customer pays and the money is in the Paypal account, you can withdraw the funds to the bank account. But I'm wondering if you can do the reverse. If you want to pay with something via Paypal but don't have funds in your Paypal account, can you add them from your bank account and are there fees for it if so?
[Edited at 2012-10-09 18:14 GMT]
[E... See more Hi I'm wondering if it's possible to add funds to a Portugal Paypal account from a Portugal bank account. I know once a customer pays and the money is in the Paypal account, you can withdraw the funds to the bank account. But I'm wondering if you can do the reverse. If you want to pay with something via Paypal but don't have funds in your Paypal account, can you add them from your bank account and are there fees for it if so?
[Edited at 2012-10-09 18:14 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-10-10 15:09 GMT] [/quote]
[Edited at 2016-02-20 03:26 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 14:20
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
bos2hotlanta wrote:
Hi I'm wondering if it's possible to add funds to a Portugal Paypal account from a Portugal bank account.
You certainly can normally, and there are no fees. Even the first tiny payment to PP for validating the bank account gets refunded. However, my experience has been that you can't link to a bank account unless your postal address is in the same country as the bank. And you can't change postal address to show a different country - you have to set up a new PP account in the new country. If you are 100% based in the US, you might find it problematic, but you could try.
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