JOHANNESBURG – I have received 3 messages from 3 South Africans who have regretted using PayPal through their FNB banking partners, with stories of over 200,000 having been transferred to PayPal but being blocked when trying to make international payments.
The relative story is that they then try to withdraw the money back to FNB so they can look for other alternatives, but they end up losing 1.5% of the total fund to FNB commission and a further 0.04% to the conversion rate, leaving them with less money than they sent to Paypal.
It’s all South African banks that are part of the PayPal pact, and it’s so strange that an online payment system that entered the financial space as the system that was going to revolutionise payments and disrupt the banking industry has suddenly become a banking partner.
Yes, and it gets even more bitter with the exchange rates being shoved down the throats of South African bankers who want to send money from their account to PayPal, and worse, the conversion rate and commission charged on both sides by PayPal and South African banks.
South African banks charge more than 1.5% of the withdrawal amount plus a bank fee for the transaction, no matter what time of day you withdraw the money. The catch is that the fee for sending to PayPal is cheaper than withdrawing from PayPal, and using PayPal has become a nightmare.
So why is it so bad to use PayPal and what is the problem? PayPal has lost its revolutionary edge and now works like your normal bank. You are not saving anything unless you pay more, and banks signing the partnership pact with Paypal just give them more control and access to your money, and that is why.
The PayPal system was reported to have more than 69% less downtime than in previous years. A further reduction in support hours due to Paypal staff cuts. Faulty security checks and protection spyware make using the system a nightmare. A simple login to your account can take 72 hours to reset.
I would love to publish the list of complaints about PayPal and their unfair treatment of South Africans who have written to me, but here is an update on how these South Africans have been able to transact internationally and achieve their banking goals.
Have you ever heard of Wise and why Paypal hates the name? Wise is a money service business that offers a multi-currency account, international money transfer services and a debit card, among other products.
As a bank alternative for international money transfers and multi-currency accounts, Wise makes it easy and cost-effective to hold, send and receive multiple currencies all in one place. You can manage your money in over 40 currencies at once and convert between them whenever you need to. The Wise Multi-Currency Account could be better suited to your needs. You can open it online, manage 40+ currencies at once, and send money worldwide for low fees⁴ and great exchange rates.
Just like comparing apples to apples, everyone we spoke to about Wise had so many positive things to say about their first experience with rates and long hours of support.
Feeds on the internet:
As shared by Derrick AH
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