PayPal to allow bank top-ups
Instead of using credit cards, consumers can transfer funds from their local bank accounts
By Tan Weizhen
PAYPAL, the giant United States-based Internet payment service, has launched a new feature which allows Singapore users to tap their local bank accounts.
In the past, PayPal users had to have a credit card linked to their accounts. Now, the payment service has arranged with local banks to allow Internet shoppers or sellers to transfer funds directly from their bank accounts into their PayPal accounts.
The new online service was launched yesterday here, and in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico and Hong Kong, making a total of 18 countries which have the service.
It works for those who still do not feel safe leaving their credit card details with PayPal - a large outfit with 65 million active accounts worldwide.
With this new service, Singaporeans will now have peace of mind using websites which predominantly use PayPal, such as www.eBay.com
The move comes none too soon as from Jan 15 next year, sellers on the auction site will not be able to list items for sale, unless they have PayPal or certain merchant credit card accounts. Cheques or money orders will no longer be accepted.
The new PayPal service will also open up a myriad of other online, US-based stores which use only US-issued credit cards or PayPal.
To use it, consumers need to log on at www.paypal.com.sg and select the ‘Top-up’ option. Instructions will follow on how to link the user’s bank account to his PayPal account, and how to transfer the money.
Sellers with premier PayPal accounts - that is, higher-tier accounts with credit cards linked to them - will incur fees of 3.4 per cent when they accept payments directly from topped-up accounts.
On the flipside, sellers have the assurance of cash, said Mr Mark Ho, 26, who runs an online business buying clothes from suppliers in India and China, and selling them to online customers in the United States and England.
‘I use PayPal regularly for my transactions, and a direct top-up will do away with the risk of fraudulent credit card transactions,’ he said.
Source : Straits Times - 19 Nov 2008
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