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Posted By: lil'red PayPal in Belize - 01/08/11 04:44 PM
Does anyone have a PayPal account that is linked to a Belize bank? I would like to get paid and make payments online but have used my sock drawer as a bank for so long I don't know how to use the service or if I can have it from a Belize foinancial institute. I don't even have a credit card, lol. If you have a business and accept and make payments to a Belize bank via PayPal can you drop me a PM and I'll give you a call please?
Posted By: Phil Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/08/11 04:59 PM
I think you can pay with PayPal but not receive in Belize. Ask Marie when you're in Gecko next as she's been doing a lot of stuff on this lately and is up to speed.
Posted By: CayeMarie Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/08/11 05:39 PM
You can not have a PayPal account in Belize they do not recognize it. I have one through a bank in the States and a debit card to withdraw the funds.
Posted By: lil'red Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/09/11 02:02 AM
Thanks guys, I'll talk to Marie at Gecko and expect to have to do something else or get a Canadian account.
Posted By: Phil Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/09/11 04:09 PM
CayeMarie - you definately are allowed to have PayPal Acount in Belize and can send money via it.
Posted By: SimonB Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/09/11 05:11 PM
I have a PayPal account that gets charged to my Belize Bank Visa card. No problems using it so far...
Posted By: gecko_girl Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/09/11 05:17 PM
You can have a Belize PayPal account to send money out of Belize but it needs to be linked to a credit card and not a bank account as we do not have ABA routing/sort codes. But you cannot receive money to it - even as a credit on the credit card. Although as the saying goes "where there is a will, there is a way", so if you really want to go down this route stop by.

I think a better alternative is AlertPay. They are truly international, so you can have a Belize account with them, and use your credit card to fund and receive payments. You also have the option of them sending you a cheque if you do not have a credit card. There is still no direct link to a Belize bank account because of the no international code problem, but at least you can receive payments from people paying by credit card and easily get the money to Belize. For more info use this link - http://shop-4.it/euWToV
Posted By: lil'red Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/11/11 04:15 PM
Gecko_Girl thank you so much. I think Alert Pay is just what I am looking for. I would spring for lunch somewhere with wireless access if you could give me a brief introduction?
Posted By: gecko_girl Re: PayPal in Belize - 01/14/11 05:10 PM
No problem - Any day but Tuesday or Thursday, just give me a call. I don't think the shop-4-it link is working properly at the moment but this goes to the same page http://bit.ly/euWToV

Oh and they are also just about to introduce a virtual credit card, which means you can receive the funds into your account with them, and then shop online with your virtual card without having to move the money around. Much easier and safer than giving out your real credit card info.
Posted By: Vinko Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/07/12 11:27 AM
Hi folks, and thank you Gecko_girl for answering this question.

Unfortunately I am still at a loss as to how to electronically transfer money to Belize so that someone there can actually get access to cash. Please allow me to explain my scenario, and I will really appreciate your advice from you based on your no doubt great local knowledge about such issues.

I am a co-founder of Arribaa.com which is a global community marketplace where adventurous travelers discover and book unique experiences offered by interesting locals. We have a personal connection to an exceptional Belizian man in Toledo district from our travels there last year. We would love to give him the opportunity to become a Local Experience Host on our website and receive bookings from tourists heading to his local region looking to be hosted/guided by him.

Our business is based in Australia and we currently receive bookings and full up-front booking payments via PayPal. We would like to be able to send money to our Belizian local host directly but also allow him to use this money as cash. While he would be able to open a PayPal account and receive funds, it is my understanding that at this time there is no actual way to turn that money into Belizian cash. In other words, he can only spend that money online...which for most local purchases is totally useless to him. Especially since his family is not well off and the money would be used for everyday purchases like food, clothes, and etc.

I know that there are other options available, but nothing short of a $20 AUD Bank Wire Transfer for any amount of money. This defeats the purpose of what we are doing.

Are there any good or viable options for sending electronic funds that can be received by a Belizian local and withdrawn as cash?

Thanks so much for your time. Wishing you all the best, love and warmth for all you lovely people in Ambergis Caye! Love from Australia and thanks for running this forum.

Vinko
Posted By: ron Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/07/12 12:51 PM
Western Union
Posted By: Mary1220 Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/17/12 01:14 PM
I use Western Union to send money to Belize to people that do work for me.
Posted By: seashell Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/17/12 03:36 PM
Is it not possible to do direct wire transfers from a bank outside the country to the person's bank account in Belize?

I have to do this every month, sending money to Jakarta, Indonesia. Just need the account number and the SWIFT code. Go to our bank, ask for the money to be transferred, they fill out a form, ask me some questions like what is the money for, and then it gets sent directly to my dad's account in Jakarta.

Pretty slick really, but there are fees on both ends, unless there's a certain minimum balance kept in the Jakarta account, then only a fee on my end.

Still less expensive than Western Union, and a lot easier or at least just as easy. But more convenient since I have to get the money from the account here anyway.
Posted By: ron Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/17/12 09:23 PM
I have never had much luck trying to transfer money to someone account in Belize. I give my bank the SWIFT number and account number and they say thats not right.
Posted By: champion Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/17/12 10:16 PM
I have done it 8 or so times in the last 4 years, my bank, then to New York then down to Atlantic Bank, 2 hours and its done. Usually $40.00 going down.
Posted By: ragman Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/18/12 02:21 AM
So have I Champ, only I transferred to Belize Bank. The first time was a little confusing and I remember that I had to call for some additional info. But once that was done it was easy. I had the bank save the info from the first transfer and then I would just change the amount and date. The cost at the time was $35. (3 years ago was the last time I did this) Of course now that I've changed banks in the USA I would have to figure the whole deal out again if I needed to go this route. Maybe I could find some old paperwork if I had to do this again.

We are pretty spoiled in the USA. It is so easy to transfer cash electronically if it is going anyplace "in country." I'll bet some day all the banks will be on the same system and this will be nothing to accomlish in a few second of time.
Posted By: seashell Re: PayPal in Belize - 10/18/12 02:55 AM
Same here, ragman. Use the same template over and over again.
Posted By: hglu Re: PayPal in Belize - 03/18/14 04:37 PM
I want to move my internet company to Belize and be able to accept PayPal from Belize and deposit in Belize bank. Is that possible?
Posted By: dabunk Re: PayPal in Belize - 03/18/14 06:44 PM
No
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