Paypal in the Philippines

All talks on earning money online would be useless unless one has a way to receive the money. By far the most popular way to receive money online would be via paypal.

You can apply for paypal here.

Until recently, paypal is off limits to Philippine users. But now, we can both send and receive money with Paypal. Then we can withdraw the money if we have VISA credit or debit card, or if we have a US bank account. The caveat is that there is a 5 dollar fee for transfer of the paypal funds into the credit card, so I would wait till there's more money in my account before I cash out.

You need to enroll for expanded use of paypal in order to receive money. To do this, you have VERIFY your VISA card in order to receive as well as send money through paypal.

The easiest option for Philippine paypal users is to use the debit card from Unionbank, the EON account. You can actually apply for it online here, then just pick up the card from the Union bank branch nearest your place. Do take note that you have to pay an annual fee of 350 pesos in order to use the card. You pay for the as soon as you get the card. You also have to provide 2 valid ID's in order to claim the card.

You can access your account through any Unionbank ATM machine OR you can use it much like a credit card when you purchase something.

Here is a guide from the people of Unionbank about registering for expanded use of paypal using their EON card:

Start Using Your PayPal Now

To enroll your UnionBank Visa Card in PayPal, first sign up for an account at the PayPal web site. Be sure to select Philippines as the country where you live and use U.S. Dollars as the primary currency. Your online transactions will automatically be converted to Philippine Pesos when billed.

When asked to enter your credit card or debit card number, enter the full 16-character card number and then the CVV. Make sure you enter your address of record at UnionBank as your billing address. For UnionBank Visa Credit Cards, use the address that appears on your monthly statement; and for EON Visa Electron and eWallet, use the address found on your Profile Page at the unionbankph.com online banking site.

After doing this, you have completed the basic enrollment which allows you to transact online up to a maximum amount determined by PayPal, regardless of your available balance or credit limit. However, to get full use* of your UnionBank card, you will be automatically enrolled in PayPal's Expanded Use Program.

Expanded Use Enrollment

1. When you register your UnionBank Visa card, PayPal will charge you the equivalent of US$ 1.95 for expanded use. Pay Pal will credit you back the US$ 1.95 amount on your first PayPal transaction. For EON and eWallet cards, your account must have the equivalent of US$ 1.95 in pesos in order for the expanded use transaction to go through when you first enroll your card.
2. You will then be issued a 4-digit Expanded Use Number. But, please allow 5 days for the Expanded Use Number to reflect on your statement.
   • For UnionBank Visa Credit Cards, you can find it on your next monthly paper statement or by viewing your Visa Transaction History online. [View Sample.]
   • For EON Visa Electron and eWallet Card holders, please contact the UnionBank Customer Service Call Center at 84-186 and ask the customer service agent to provide you with the 4-digit PayPal expanded use code.
3. Once you have this number, go back to the My Account Overview section of the PayPal web site and click on "Finish Expanded Use Enrollment" to enter the 4-digit number.[View Sample.]
4. Upon entering your Expanded Use code, you will receive a confirmation message indicating that your credit card has been verified.

Congratulations! Your PayPal account is now verified for Expanded Use. For more details on linking your UnionBank Card with PayPal you can visit UnionBank's Customer Service page, contact the Call Center hotline at 84-186 or visit the PayPal help site. We hope you enjoy and take advantage of borderless shopping with UnionBank's VISA Cards!

When you get your EON card, logon their site and open your online gateway to your account. This will take about 2 working days to get completely set up. Once you see that you can already access your Unionbank EON account, call them up in order to get the 4 digit Paypal expanded use code.