PayPal is a widely renowned online payment gateway that is used by millions of individuals to transfer and receive money. How to create a verified Paypal account in Ghana has become a subject of discussion since Paypal has blacklisted Ghana and other West African countries from using the platform for illicit activities.
PayPal is a popular payment method used by many Ghanaian internet business owners. A PayPal account is required to send and receive money in Ghana, although many people don’t know how.
For the purpose of those who don’t have much idea of it, Insidefuss this article will describe what PayPal account is, and then explain how to create a verified business PayPal account in Ghana.
What is PayPal?
PayPal is an online payment platform owned by PayPal Holding Inc. PayPal is one of the widely used online payment processors, supporting payment in almost all countries. Before 2014, Ghana was among the countries in which the usage of PayPal isn’t available, but now it is available for usage, with some restrictions.
With a PayPal account, you can pay for products and services online, without the merchant seeing your local bank account detail. Besides PayPal is a comfortable way to pay on Amazon, Godaddy, Gearbest, Aliexpress, Ebay and other international e-commerce websites.
Why You Should Own a PayPal Account
Why do most people love to use PayPal and not any other payment method? Well, it is because PayPal has been around for long and is robust and very trusted. Here are some benefits you can enjoy after opening a verified PayPal account in Ghana.
1. It’s Free
Who can argue with FREE? There’s no catch. PayPal makes money on the money in your account, like any bank, and by charging transaction fees for online sellers of goods and services. If you are not an online seller, there’s no cost to you.
2. It’s Secure, Easy and Convenient
With PayPal, you don’t need to disclose your card details when carrying out online financial transactions. You can safely link up your bank account and credit cards so you don’t have to provide your credit card details every time you want to transact online.
Once you sign up with PayPal, they collect your credit card details. With them, your card details are encrypted and secured, which allows you to simply carry out online transaction without fear of having your credit card details compromised or stolen.
3. It’s Fast
With PayPal, you can make payment with just a few clicks. You don’t need to enter your financial information when checking out at any online store. You simply log in with your email and password and pay. It’s that easy. All you have to do is connect one or more credit cards to your PayPal wallet. It even lets you select which card to use at checkout.
How To Create A Verified PayPal Account In Ghana
I am about to take you through a step by step guide on how to open a verified PayPal account for your business, please take note of the steps and follow same accordingly.
Step 1 – Sign Up
- To sign up on PayPal, you’ll need to sign up with this link
Since PayPal is banned in Ghana, you’ll need a country that has not been blacklisted. On that note, we’re using Lesotho.
- Click the “Sign Up” at the top right to be taken to the signup screen.
- On the “Sign Up” screen, choose “Business Account”. The business account gives you more access and the chance to receive funds as well as send.
Step 2 – Provide Your Personal and Business Details
Once you click on “Continue” you’ll be required to enter your valid email address. Other information needed includes;
- Name: Use the official name on your ID Card (international passport, Driving license, National ID). Although you will not be asked to verify it, you have to do this to be on the safer side.
- Business Name: If you have a valid registered business, you can use that name. Otherwise, coin a new business name out of your name and use it.
- Phone Number: Use the drop-down button on the Lesotho flag and select Ghana. Then enter your valid Ghana telephone number.
- Postcode: Enter 00233
- Business Address: Use your residential address if you have no business address.
- Currency: You can choose any currency you want. I recommend you choose the US dollar, as this is the most widely accepted currency for transactions.
Make sure your PayPal account details match with the one in your ID. Such as name, date of birth, ID number etc.
Click on “Submit” when done.
Step 3 – Confirm Your PayPal Email
Once you click on the “Submit” button, PayPal will send you a confirmation email. You’ll need to click on the confirmation link sent to you by PayPal. This means that all the steps above have been successful.
Once you click on the link, you’ll be redirected to your PayPal dashboard.
Step 4 – Confirm your Additional Details
Once you’re in your dashboard, you will need to provide additional information needed for the Customer Identification Process. This is important to help secure your account and prevents you from having issues with PayPal.
Once you are done, you will now have a fully functioning PayPal account in Ghana. You can now receive money in your account and use those funds to make payments.
How to Verify Your Ghana PayPal Account
To verify the Ghana PayPal Account you just registered, you have to first activate the account through a link sent to your email, and then you must link your Ghana Master or Visa card. See the steps below:
- Login to the email address you used in registering the PayPal account and find the email from PayPal.
- Open the email and click Activate My Account: This will activate the account and give you first-time login access to your PayPal account.
- While you are still logged in, locate and tap on get verified.
- Tap on Link a card.
- Fill in your Master or Visa card information and tap on Save.
On tapping save, $1.95 will be deducted from the account of the card you are trying to link. The money will be refunded within hours. The deduction is to verify your ownership of the card. This charges also creates a unique 4-digit code which you will use in the confirmation of the card.
- After receiving the 4-digit code from your bank, login to your PayPal account, tap confirm credit card, enter the code and tap continue. The code is the 4-digit number after PP* in the message from your bank.
That’s all, you now have a verified Ghana PayPal account, the next step is funding and using it to pay for products and services online.
How to Fund your PayPal account in Ghana
Now that you have a verified PayPal account, it’s time to fund your account. There are many ways to fund your PayPal account in Ghana. However, we’ll just take a look at 2 ways to fund your PayPal account in Ghana.
1. Fund From Debit Card
This is the most popular and safest method of funding PayPal account in Ghana. All you need to do is to link your card as explained above. From there, you can conveniently fund your PayPal account.
2. Transfer from Friends
Another popular method of funding PayPal account is by asking your friends that also have a verified PayPal account to send you some funds. This isn’t a free transfer though. You’ll need to send them the Ghana cedis equivalent of how much you want to be sent to your PayPal account to your friend and they will send you the funds when you give them your PayPal email.
If your preferred currency is the US Dollar, you’ll have to send the equivalent in Ghana Cedis to your friend.
How to Withdraw Withdraw Money from your Verified PayPal Account in Ghana
To withdraw your money from your Verified PayPal account in Ghana, you’ll have to get the following.
- UBA AfriCard / First Atlantic Bank Prepaid Card / Access Bank Prepaid
- PayPal Account (Which we have already created by now)
I recommend you link these cards to your PayPal account. You can only withdraw your PayPal funds via these cards to your bank account in Ghana. Just one of this card is enough for this purpose.
- Visit the PayPal Dashboard by signing in – https://www.paypal.com/ls
- On the Dashboard, click on “Withdraw Funds”
- On the next screen, click on “From” and choose your PayPal Balance
- Then next, click on “To” and choose your linked Visa Card
- Enter the amount and click on “Continue”
- On the next screen, you will see a review of the transaction you are about to undertake. Click on “Transfer” to have the money sent instantly to your Card (see above).
According to PayPal, it takes about 5 to 7 business days for you to get the money. However, the transfer is mostly instant and you can check your balance using your App or ATM.
With this guide, you conveniently create a verified PayPal account in Ghana without a VPN. However, I strongly recommend you ALWAYS access your account using this link https://www.paypal.com/signin?country.x=LS&locale.x=en_LS. In fact, you need to bookmark it.
