# WTH?! Paypal Issues in Dubai!



## Nirvana

Hello everyone,

so, I want to open a paypal account from here (Dubai) and I understand it can't just be tied to and verified from any bank, but it has to be a US bank here.

So far, I can only count 3 american banks here, with CitiBank being one of them.

Was anyone successful in opening up their paypal acc here, and if so, which bank would you recommend here that paypal already approves of?

Nirvana


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## neilrock

HSBC and/or Barclays...

Doesn't always have to be a US Bank.

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## Gavtek

I've got a PayPal account using my Emirates NBD credit card.


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## Nirvana

neilrock said:


> HSBC and/or Barclays...
> 
> Doesn't always have to be a US Bank.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


Dude, you sure?

I've checked at paypal's site, and it says for UAE residents, it HAS to be a US bank.

*EDIT:* checked again, and it didn't specifically say a US bank acc to open a PP acc,
but it is referring to withdrawal:

_Withdraw funds from your PayPal account:

To your credit, debit, or prepaid card.
To your US bank account._


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## Mr Rossi

To your credit, debit, or prepaid card. *OR*
To your US bank account.


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## imom

^ Mr Rossi just nailed it.

However they DO have a bug on the site. In one section, it asks you to add a Visa card or Mastercard. However, you can only add a Visa. This was an issue when I was in Estonia. Not sure if this issue exists in all countries though.


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## Amame

I have mine with Rakbank card.


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## smit1989

That's weird..usually paypal has a quick and easy verification process..if you have a credit card of any sort..they ask you for the details and charge $1.95..when you see that $1.95 on your statement there will be a 4 digit code next to it, this code has to be typed in a small area asking for the code. After the the $1.95 will be refunded into your account and your paypal account will be verified and limits increased.

PS: Did you go to paypal the actual US site or did you go to Paypal.ae the UAE website??


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## SajjadHussain

Gavtek said:


> I've got a PayPal account using my Emirates NBD credit card.


Gavtek: How do you withdraw money from your PP account?

I make sales of small graphics design so I get funds in my paypal account.

I have a PP verified account as well with my barclays VISA Credit Card. I know they say they will transfer the funds from Paypal to my credit card and those funds will stand as Credit over my card (positive balance).

Do you or anyone have experience of withdrawing those funds to your bank account or what so ever process to get that money in your hand?

Any help will be highly appreciated.


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## Felixtoo2

Paypal are not the most thorough site at checking details so I just use my Dubai Credit Card with my UK address and it works fine.


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## SajjadHussain

*How to Withdraw Money from Paypal Dubai?*

How do you withdraw money from your PP account?

I make sales of small graphics design so I get funds in my paypal account.

I have a PP verified account as well with my barclays VISA Credit Card. I know they say they will transfer the funds from Paypal to my credit card and those funds will stand as Credit over my card (positive balance).

Do you or anyone have experience of withdrawing those funds to your bank account or what so ever process to get that money in your hand?

Any help will be highly appreciated.


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## Nirvana

SajjadHussain said:


> How do you withdraw money from your PP account?
> 
> I make sales of small graphics design so I get funds in my paypal account.
> 
> I have a PP verified account as well with my barclays VISA Credit Card. I know they say they will transfer the funds from Paypal to my credit card and those funds will stand as Credit over my card (positive balance).
> 
> Do you or anyone have experience of withdrawing those funds to your bank account or what so ever process to get that money in your hand?
> 
> Any help will be highly appreciated.


I'm about to get mine soon.

According to Paypal's rules, in the UAE, You can withdraw your money through one of the following options:

_- To your credit, debit, or prepaid card.
- To your US bank account._

So, if you wanna withdraw your funds directly to your bank account, your bank should be a US bank. If not, you can only withdraw to your credit, debit or prepaid card.

There are a few US banks here... CitiBank and American Express come to mind.


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## SajjadHussain

Nirvana said:


> I'm about to get mine soon.
> 
> According to Paypal's rules, in the UAE, You can withdraw your money through one of the following options:
> 
> _- To your credit, debit, or prepaid card.
> - To your US bank account._
> 
> So, if you wanna withdraw your funds directly to your bank account, your bank should be a US bank. If not, you can only withdraw to your credit, debit or prepaid card.
> 
> There are a few US banks here... CitiBank and American Express come to mind.


I think by US Bank they mean the bank account has to be in US?
While adding a bank in PP they ask for routing number so how could this be possible you enter a US routing number and account number of UAE!

Still if you gets this to work then do let me know please.


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## mitchell0417

The account on the end of a debit card is usually your current account and so a credit to your debit card should add funds to your account. 

If you're worried about it why not just try a $10 withdrawal and see what happens and then you'll know for sure.


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## Nirvana

SajjadHussain said:


> I think by US Bank they mean the bank account has to be in US?
> While adding a bank in PP they ask for routing number so how could this be possible you enter a US routing number and account number of UAE!
> 
> Still if you gets this to work then do let me know please.


No man, I meant the bank should be an AMERICAN bank. Founded in the US by American owners, but has a branch here.

A couple are: CitiBank and American Express banks.


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## Nirvana

*New UPDATE: *

Contacted paypal, and they said the _withdrawal to a US bank acc_ option is only valid for banks in US soil. Not US banks' branches here. 

So basically, we are screwed. We only have the option to withdraw to our credit cards or debit cards. Sucks, eh?


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## SajjadHussain

Nirvana said:


> *New UPDATE: *
> 
> Contacted paypal, and they said the _withdrawal to a US bank acc_ option is only valid for banks in US soil. Not US banks' branches here.
> 
> So basically, we are screwed. We only have the option to withdraw to our credit cards or debit cards. Sucks, eh?


Yes it was obvious, when adding the bank it says (Banks in US) makes that pretty clear.

I have contacted some banks in Dubai and got their confirmation regarding the same, they says that if paypal will transfer any funds into your credit card then it will be adjusted in your bill and if any +ve balance is left then that can be credited to your back account on special request. And its still a good option as even if its adjusted in your cc bill its still your own money vise versa...


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## Nirvana

SajjadHussain said:


> Yes it was obvious, when adding the bank it says (Banks in US) makes that pretty clear.


Yeah, but I haven't yet attempted to open a paypal acc, so haven't seen that message. They however told me they have submitted this feature request and it should be added in future. So wait for 5 - 7 years maybe if God blesses.



> I have contacted some banks in Dubai and got their confirmation regarding the same, they says that if paypal will transfer any funds into your credit card then it will be adjusted in your bill and if any +ve balance is left then that can be credited to your back account on special request. And its still a good option as even if its adjusted in your cc bill its still your own money vise versa...


Thanks for the news. Might be good, but it's still kind of a hassle. They've also told me that your bank acc should not be in USD. Not sure how close to truth that is, since paypal's support team acts, speaks and writes as if they are robots who haven't properly taken the time to read your inquiry.


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## Nirvana

P.S. Which banks have you contacted and told you that?


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## SajjadHussain

Nirvana said:


> P.S. Which banks have you contacted and told you that?


HSBC and Barclays, both contacted by mail


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## cdd

This is probably a dumb question. If/when I get there will I be able to use my debit/credit cards from a us based bank or do I need to obtain cards from a bank within uae. 

Thank you

Caroline


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## SajjadHussain

cdd said:


> This is probably a dumb question. If/when I get there will I be able to use my debit/credit cards from a us based bank or do I need to obtain cards from a bank within uae.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Caroline


Not sure but I think you will be able to use your current card as well as they ask for VISA/Master card number, not who is the provider bank of your card.

Just ask paypal for confirmation.


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## CVDS

SajjadHussain said:


> Not sure but I think you will be able to use your current card as well as they ask for VISA/Master card number, not who is the provider bank of your card.
> 
> Just ask paypal for confirmation.



Caroline-

that is not a dumb question at all- 

I use my debit card/visa check card here and it works fine. Just make sure to register with your bank that you are leaving the us and how long for it to work here-

Also you have to remember that they will charge you international transaction fees on top of what you spend here-

I wasn't aware of that until I got here.. Just make sure your Debit card has a Plus logo on the the back and look for the plus logo on the atm here and you can even withdraw money!


Hope that helps-

Amina


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## hassam991

*Paypal In UAE*

Hi,

Recently I wanted to have a paypal account in UAE so that i could get some payments. But I could not associate visa card with the paypal account (I use Sharjah Islamic Bank Visa card). 

I wanted to know that if anybody is using paypal from a Debit/credit card of a bank in uae?? if so then which bank?? I really want to know this as to card from which bank could work so that i could link it. 

I have read here that some ppl use, emrirates NBD and RAK bank, but i want to know if they are able to withdraw money from atm. I couldnot contact the users directly, so if anybody read do help me out!

PS: I know paypal says any visa, master card would work, but not all work. W8ing for reply.

Regards,

Hassam


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## Gavtek

I use my Emirates NBD credit card with Paypal.


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## hassam991

Gavtek said:


> I use my Emirates NBD credit card with Paypal.


Yea I read that in a different thread, but could u please tell me that do u use the same billing address for paypal as in you gave in your bank account, coz i did the same but couldnt get verified.

I would also appreciate if you could tell me that are you able to withdraw paypal money from atm??


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## Gavtek

1. Yes

2. No idea, never tried, only use it for buying things on the interweb.


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## hassam991

ohk!!! thanks a lot for the help!  I will try it with an emirates NBD account then!!!!!! I hope anybody else here is withdrawing paypal money from atm in uae, so they could share there experience.


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## Jinx

I don't think you can withdraw Paypal money from an ATM unless you had a paypal card.. which is actually a credit card, so there goes that whole thing.

I think the only way to get money from paypal is to deposit it into your bank account or have them send you a check (and I don't know if they send to the UAE)

I just link mine to my US bank account...


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## Jynxgirl

A pakistani friend of mine tried and tried (no idea where his personal accounts were out of though) and I ended up letting him send me the money through paypal he had received, withdraw money from my account that I could transfer the money to, and gave him the cash. Wouldnt suggest anyone do this unless you trust the person 100%...


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## Saint Ari

cdd said:


> This is probably a dumb question. If/when I get there will I be able to use my debit/credit cards from a us based bank or do I need to obtain cards from a bank within uae.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Caroline


Not a dumb question at all ... 

Here's first hand experience ... my mom came to visit earlier this year ... her Bank of America Credit Card AND Debit Card worked flawlessly ... as did her Chase credit card. Her Wells Fargo debit card did not work .. she had to "MagicJack" Wells to have it enabled internationally.

Please bear in mind that if you'll be using your debit card ... the $300 daily limit applies. But I think you can call your bank and have this limit raised. I had mine increased to $1000 when I was with Comerica.

Also ... when I worked for banks way way way back in the day ... we were told that using debit / credit cards for international transactions are strongly recommended ... not just for security but also they apply the best exchange rate for every transaction. Not sure if this still applies though ...


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## hassam991

Jinx said:


> I don't think you can withdraw Paypal money from an ATM unless you had a paypal card.. which is actually a credit card, so there goes that whole thing.
> 
> I think the only way to get money from paypal is to deposit it into your bank account or have them send you a check (and I don't know if they send to the UAE)
> 
> I just link mine to my US bank account...


Well the link below clearly says that I can withdraw funds to my debit card and then take it out from an ATM but my current SIB debit card is not working so I will try Emirates NBD as Gavetek said or may be Citibank.

http : / / pages. ebay. com . sg / sea / paypal / withdraw . html

@jynx girl: I have friends in US that can do that for me but i want to keep it simple for myself


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## Nirvana

Anyone having a bank acc here in USD currency, was able to connect it to their paypal acc and withdraw (to a card or whatever) with no issues?

I've been getting different answers from paypal support. One insinuates that the bank acc has to be in local currency, while the other doesn't seem to mind it if it was in USD.


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## Saint Ari

I assume that if you're provided a routing number .. then its all gravy ...

Also .. it would help if one has a US dollar account ... less hassle when it comes to currency conversions .. i.e. bank fees during conversion.


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## Nirvana

Saint Ari said:


> I assume that if you're provided a routing number .. then its all gravy ...
> 
> Also .. it would help if one has a US dollar account ... less hassle when it comes to currency conversions .. i.e. bank fees during conversion.



Yeah, it would definitely help... but don't wanna ask them to make my account in USD before I'm certain paypal accepts it. Because I've been given different answers by different people of their support.


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## Zumrushka

*Debit/Prepaid Card & PayPal*



Gavtek said:


> I've got a PayPal account using my Emirates NBD credit card.


Hi, Gavtek!

Could you please tell me your experience about opening a credit card at EMIRATES NBD? I am starting my job in Dubai in Feb 2012. Since I am a foreigner, it is likely that they won't issue me a credi card. I want to have a debit/prepaid card that can be linked with PayPal so that I can receive or send money. Moreover, I don't have big bucks.

Do you or your friends have dealt with debit/prepaid cards that work fine with PayPal?


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## Zumrushka

*What RAKBANK card?*



Amame said:


> I have mine with Rakbank card.


Can you specify what RAKBANK card you used with PayPal? Does the card allow you to withdraw funds in cash?


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## umernaseer

Hi 
Can you please guide me if paypal+emirates nbd worked? I am in the same boat...

Regards
Umer




Zumrushka said:


> Hi, Gavtek!
> 
> Could you please tell me your experience about opening a credit card at EMIRATES NBD? I am starting my job in Dubai in Feb 2012. Since I am a foreigner, it is likely that they won't issue me a credi card. I want to have a debit/prepaid card that can be linked with PayPal so that I can receive or send money. Moreover, I don't have big bucks.
> 
> Do you or your friends have dealt with debit/prepaid cards that work fine with PayPal?


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## umernaseer

Gavtek said:


> I use my Emirates NBD credit card with Paypal.


Hello Gavtek,

I want the same thing. I opened the account in EmiratesNBD and want it to connect with my paypal.. Can u please guide me some more on this.. i will really appreciate.

Did u used your emiratesnbd debit card to connect to paypal?


Regards
Umer


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