Paypal is one of the top international payment services in the world, and it has earned a reputation for being fast and efficient. This was why in 2016 when it announced that it was going to open its services to Nigerians, many businesses and individuals were more than thrilled.
True to its word, Paypal did open its services to Nigerians, but with many limitations. Moving on, four years after, to 2020, the limitations on Nigerian Paypal services still remains.
The limitations are:
- Nigerians cannot receive funds via Paypal
- Nigerians can only make transactions such as sending funds to people in other countries and paying for goods purchases online.
Because of the enormous increase in Nigerian businesses and individuals offering online services, it is imperative to have an easy and efficient way to receive payment from other countries.
In 2021, These Are The 5 Best PayPal Alternatives For Nigerian Business Owners
Since Paypal limits Nigerians from receiving funds from other countries, here are five alternative international payment services that allow Nigerian businesses and individual to easily receive funds from any part of the world, in no particular order.
1. Payoneer
Other than Paypal, Payoneer is one of the most recognized means of receiving money from any part of the world. Freelance sites like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, etc. all use Payoneer as a payment option, and these are some of the sites Nigerian businesses and individuals operate with. Â Â Â
Creating a Payoneer account is very easy and free. All you need is your personal and bank details. After creating the account, Payoneer will give you $25 right away as official payoneer bonus.
When money is sent into your Payoneer account, you can withdraw your money with Payoneer MasterCard. All you need to do is apply for the MasterCard online and it will be sent to you. With MasterCard, you can withdraw money from any ATM point in any part of the world.
You can also use Payoneer wire transfer to deposit funds straight into your bank account. In fact, Kudabank has a module to withdraw Payoneer funds directly to your Kuda bank account.
2. Skrill
Skrill started out as Moneybookers, but in September 2011, it rebranded and changed its name to Skrill. However, it was not until 2013 that the company completed the rebranding. Skrill has been acclaimed to be one of the best alternatives to Paypal for Nigerians. The payment service operates in 200 countries, including Nigeria. And they have more than 38 million customers worldwide.
Using Skrill is as easy as transacting with your local bank. With Skrill, any business or individual can send and receive money from any part of the world via peer – to – peer transfer in real-time. This you can do directly from your bank account.
Another good thing about their services is that their charges are low. The email address of the recipient is used for the fund transfer. When the recipient receives funds into his Skrill account, he can make cash withdraw with a MasterCard from any ATM, in any part of the world.
If you have a Paypal account, you can sent money from your Paypal account to your Skrill account and withdraw it easily.
Skrill also offer the option of depositing your money straight into your bank account or receiving via cheque.
3. Bitcoin
Bitcoin has slowly crept into our normal business transaction. More and more sites are accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment. Even in Nigeria, many businesses are accepting using Bitcoin for online tractions. This is because it is now easy to convert Bitcoin to any local currency. You can even transfer Bitcoin into your local bank account and withdraw it in Naira.
To achieve this, all you need is a Bitcoin wallet address. With this, you can receive payment into your Bitcoin wallet from any online site or business. Then with a platform like SendCash, you can convert your Bitcoin into cash and send it to your local bank account.
You can also use Bitcon to transfer money from Nigeria to any business worldwide.
4. BlueSnaps
BlueSnaps is another good alternative payment service for Nigerian businesses. This payment service is particularly efficient when it comes to online/website subscription billing and receiving payment from goods or digital products sold on blogs or websites.
One great feature BlueSnaps has it that it allows online shops to offer different types of promotions at checkout. They also support invoice payments.
BlueSnaps service is very organized and they have a friendly user interface. This payment service is a great alternative to Paypal for Nigerians businesses. With BlueSnaps, you can receive money through local bank transfer.
5. eCheque
This is a digital form of a paper cheque. With it, buyers and sellers can carry out online transactions through various banks.
Google AdSense and affiliate marketing are some of the ways Nigerian blogs and website make money. Cheque offer a good alternative to Paypal when it comes to receiving payment for advert placed on their blogs or sites.
However, making withdrawers with Cheque is a bit complicated; this is because of the rigorous processes required.
To get your funds from Cheque, you must:
- You must submit a valid means of identification
- A valid mailing address is needed
- You have to open a domiciliary bank account through which you can withdraw your funds in foreign currency.
One down side to this form of payment is that it takes 3 – 4 days before you can receive your money.
We have just given you 5 alternatives to Paypal, but there are lots of other good alternatives to Paypal that enable Nigerians businesses and entrepreneurs to receive international payments.
Lots of them have been in business longer then Paypal, but Paypal have become first choice for many companies because of its friendly interface and ease of transaction.
However, since Paypal allows Nigerians to receive money into their Paypal account but they cannot withdraw it, it is advisable to have a Paypal account and any other account, such as Payoneer or Skrill.
By doing this, if you transact business with any online company that only offers payment via Paypal, you can receive payment into your Paypal account and transfer it to your Payoneer or Skrill account, through which you can withdraw the funds locally.
When deciding on which to choose, make sure to check for the ease of transfer, how much it will cost you, what details are required to register with them and their online rating.
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