PayPal Finally Allows Withdrawals from Philippine Banks

Mark this day because it changes the course of e-commerce in the Philippines. PayPal allows Pinoy PayPal account holders to withdraw from local banks!

In a nutshell:

• P50 charge for withdrawals below P7,000.
• Above P7,000, withdrawals have no transaction charges.
• Our long wait is over! Many have been griped about the inability of Pinoys to withdraw through local banks. PayPal lately only allowed us to access through credit cards, which also had a transaction fee. But this makes it almost painless for small entrepreneurs to tap into ecommerce: eBay and other venues.

Thank you, PayPal!



UPDATE:
Drats! Trust PayPal and eBay to give out vague information. I tried to enter my bank details but one of the fields asked for a Bank Code, without giving a hint what this code may be. I found bank codes at PinoyMoneyTalk [http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/2008/01/27/bank-code-philippines-withdraw-paypal/]. There's a gap between process and marketing in these remittance services. For instance, if you ask your bank about the Paypal bank code, they won't know. Same thing happens a lot to me in my dealings with Western Union. (That's another blog entry!)