This post is as much for me and other South Africans, as it is for anyone else. I have a Paypal account and would prefer to keep my international income separate from my local income.
Unfortunately, it seems that being able to open an account with at least a debit card, never mind a credit card is extremely difficult for anyone not living in Europe, including the UK and the USA as well as Canada.
I have therefore opened a Payoneer account. Their support sucks quite frankly, but at least there is a method whereby I can transfer money from Paypal to Payoneer. I will also be able, or so I am told, to use their debit card anywhere and that their overall costs are quite low.
I would appreciate any comments re pros and cons as well as other possible suggestions. I can probably even answer a few questions if need be.
Payoneer is good. I also use it for bringing my payments from my German employer. But payoneer isn’t very reliable to me. I hear a lot of complaints about them, blocking account without specifying any reason and not returning money. So, whenever I receive payment I withdraw it to my local bank account ASAP. Also, there’s been a few cases in APAC region, that as soon as someone ordered a card their account got blocked even though it was verified. So, it’s really scary, but there’s not much better alternatives, so still using it. Hope you have good experiences with them.
If you look hard enough, you will find these horror stories attached to just about any platform, no matter how reputable. I hold a Payoneer account any never had any issues, but guess what, that doesn’t mean nothing either, it’s just my personal experience.
I am a resident of Venezuela, I have a payoneer account and I always withdraw my Paypal payments to the GPS account assigned by payoneer, I use my debit card to buy in local stores as well as online stores like Amazon, I can also buy USDT in Binance and invest in cryptocurrencies (it is only forbidden to use the GPS for cryptocurrency exchange but the MasterCard debit card can be used) I also use it in advcash. The closures are due to misuse, many in Venezuela abused the payment button by making payments on Fiat and cryptocurrency exchange platforms
My one biggest gripe about the Payoneer account is their (prepaid) Debit card. The EUR one I have requires a 500 Euro minimum top-up. Completely separate from your EUR bank account balance (and once you top up 500, you cannot withdraw it). I have honestly been hesitant to use it.
Also: I know that INCOMING funds must be from a business (and that’s no problem for most of us who does freelance work), but are OUTGOING funds limited to business only? (I know it’s for “business purpose”). Am I allowed to transfer money to my brother in law (who doesn’t have a company) to pay back some short-term biz loan??
And when it comes to PayPal, can I transfer money from my personal PayPal to my Payoneer account (and vice versa)?
Their rules are so convoluted (or I may be too dumb to understand them).
