PayPal is a money transfer company that allows you to send and receive money from friends and relatives. We shall see how to send money through PayPal to friends and family later in this article. The service also allows you to receive business payments when you register a business account with PayPal. That means you can receive money from buyers online without coming into physical contact with each other.
PayPal is an international company that operates in over 200 countries of the world. You can thus send and receive money from people in overseas countries. Furthermore, PayPal works with various banks of the world, and recipients can withdraw money in their accounts for various kinds of transactions. The only problem is that one cannot transfer money to a bank account that belongs to someone else.
For you to use PayPal, you have to create an account online. You can start by downloading the PayPal app and proceeding as per the prompts. You can also open a PayPal account over the web using your computer with secure browsers such as Chrome and Safari. We shall see how you can go about creating a PayPal account shortly. The process should not take that long as you have a fast, secure, and consistent internet connection.
How to create a PayPal account
Creating a PayPal account is a straightforward activity that you can finish within minutes. If you have a smartphone, then you can download the PayPal app from the relevant sites. These can either be Google Play Store or App Store according to your smartphone operating system.
Before starting the application, you need to determine whether you need a business account or a personal account. A personal PayPal account allows you to pay online, while a business account makes it easy to accept payments online. All PayPal accounts are free to open.
Begin by entering your email address either online or over the web at the PayPal signup page. The email will be your user ID, and others will use it to send money to your account. Next, type your first and last names plus your password and tap Next.
A screen opens for you to type your mailing address as well as your mobile phone number. You can use your home number as well. After that, click on the checkmark and agree to PayPal’s policy, and then tick on the checkbox to “Agree and Create Account.”
After that, link your debit card, credit card, or your bank account with PayPal. Your bank or payment cards will help you fund your transactions online when you have an insufficient balance in your PayPal account. You should also check your mailbox to confirm your email address via PayPal’s link.
How does PayPal work?
PayPal operates in a simple manner whereby you can send and receive money. There are various things that you can do with your PayPal account, and they include the following.
i) Send and receive funds from friends and relatives
Paypal allows you to move money from your account to other people’s accounts within minutes. You just need to log into your PayPal account to start the transfer process. It does not matter the location of your recipient since PayPal allows you to send money internationally.
ii) Withdraw to a bank account
You can transfer money from your PayPal account to your bank account. It becomes easy to access your funds in cash since you sometimes need cash to use for various transactions. If your bank account has a debit card, you can withdraw money at an ATM point.
When I transfer money from PayPal to my bank account, I only need to wait for around 3 to 5 business days for the funds to reflect in my bank account.
iii) Buy goods and services
PayPal also allows you to purchase goods from online stores such as eBay and Amazon. Hundreds of merchants across the world usually accept payments from PayPal. When checking out, you only need to select PayPal as your payment option, whereby you will get an automatic redirect to log into your PayPal account and authorize the payment.
Moreover, some service providers such as water suppliers, internet providers, newspaper distributors, among many others, allow you to transfer money to their business accounts.
How to send money through PayPal to friends and family
To send money to a PayPal recipient, you can follow the procedure below.
- Log into your PayPal account
- Choose ‘Send and Request’ at the top of the screen
- Select an action from the three options
- Enter the recipient’s email or phone number
- Enter the amount to send
- Click Continue
- Review your transfer details and confirm the information, then click Send Money Now
A query like; how long does it take for PayPal to transfer money must always come to the mind of the person sending money. Well, when you send money to someone else, it takes a short time for the funds to reflect in their account. In fact, money reflects immediately in the recipient’s account.
When receiving funds, you only need to share your email or phone number with the sender. You will get a note at your email address when you receive money. You then log into your PayPal account and see the balance. If you receive money without a PayPal account, you must follow the link from PayPal to open an account and accept the funds into your account.
How to transfer funds from PayPal to a bank account
As I mentioned above, you can transfer money from your PayPal account to your bank account. However, you must link your PayPal account to your bank account to get started. The following is the process of linking your bank account to your PayPal account.
- Click Wallet at the top of your screen
- Select Link a bank account
- Choose your bank. Click Don’t see your bank? at the bottom and follow prompts
- You can link your bank account instantly by logging into your online account or manually entering your bank account details
- Click Agree and Link
Once you have linked your bank, you can then transfer money to your bank account. You can carry out the transfer in the following manner.
- Go to My wallet
- Select Transfer Money
- Hit on Transfer to your bank
- Select the bank account to deposit the money
- Click Continue
- Enter the amount to move and click Next
- Review the transfer details and click Transfer Now
Funds will be available in the recipient’s bank account within three to five business days.
Can you transfer money from PayPal to a debit card?
It is possible for one to transfer money from PayPal to a debit card instantly. The instant transfer option is available to PayPal users in the US. Money reflects in the recipient’s account within 30 minutes. The service requires you to part with a fee of 1% of the amount transferred, to a maximum fee of $10.
You can move money to eligible Visa & MasterCard debit cards. First, you should link your debit card to your bank account. The following is the way to link your debit card to your PayPal account.
When using PayPal on the web;
- Click Wallet at the top of your screen.
- Hit on Link a debit or credit card on the left side of your screen.
- Follow the instructions to link your card.
When using the PayPal app;
- Open the PayPal app
- Log in to your PayPal account
- Tap on the Settings near the top of the screen
- Hit on Banks and Cards
- Tap on +
- Select Debit or credit card
- Scan your card or enter the card’s information. If you cannot link the card automatically, you can enter the card details manually
You may also need to confirm your debit card if PayPal prompts you to do so.
Does PayPal support Netspend debit cards?
PayPal allows you to load your Netspend card just like any other card. However, you cannot transfer money from Netspend to PayPal since Netspend does not allow it.
To load your Netspend card using PayPal, you must link the card to PayPal in the following manner.
- Log into your PayPal account
- Tap the “Wallet” button on the top of your screen
- Select “Link a Bank Account”
- Enter the card’s account and routing numbers
- Tap “Continue”
- Review the information and hit “Add Bank Account”
Next, PayPal will confirm your Netspend account by depositing two small amounts, each less than $1, in your account. After that, you can transfer money from PayPal to Netspend.
Can you transfer money from PayPal to Venmo?
Venmo is a product of PayPal. However, you cannot transfer money from PayPal to Venmo. Likewise, you cannot transfer money from Venmo to PayPal. However, you can use your bank account to facilitate the transfer of money from PayPal to Venmo and vice versa.
You first link your bank account to Paypal and then add its details to Venmo. Next, you move money from PayPal to the bank account, log into your Venmo account and add money from the bank account. You will have indirectly transferred money from PayPal to Venmo.
Bottom line
PayPal is an international payment company that allows you to send and receive money. You can open a PayPal personal or business account online. PayPal to PayPal transfers are instant as the money arrives in the recipient’s account within minutes. You can move money from PayPal to a bank account. Similarly, you can transfer money from PayPal to a debit card within minutes, especially if you live in the US.
