In this series I will look on tips and howtos for prospecting and current online shoppers in Zimbabwe.
Just like in a supermarket, after which many online shopping carts are modelled, you will have to pay for the product you want to buy before it is shipped to you. The accepted payment methods vary from seller to seller. The ways to effect payment range from simple and common like the use of a debit card or Western Union to complex electronic money methods like webmoney and bitcoin.
The best method when making payments from Zimbabwe is to use either 2Checkout or Google Wallet. This would make it easier to effect chargebacks in cases of fraud or unsatisfactory service. At the moment and to the best of my knowledge, Zimbabwean issued Visa and MasterCards cannot receive funds directly. So the use of the Payment services will allow your payment systems account to be credited with the chargeback amount in addition to protecting you from some forms of fraud.
If these are not available one can always use their debit card to pay directly. Whenever making payments directly using your card always make sure that the URL in your browser starts with https. Click on the padlock icon in the address bar to ensure that everything in the current page is encrypted before you start entering your payment details. Although the URL can be the same as that of the store from which you are buying, this need not always be the case as a good number of stores subcontract the payments collection processes.
Although there are some reputable online stores that accept Western Union/MoneyGram as a means of payment using these methods is never a good idea. Firstly these methods tend to be a bit expensive when compared to the other methods mentioned so far since someone from the seller’s side has to actually go and collect the money. Secondly in cases of fraud you have no way of effecting a chargeback. Thirdly, your order is not processed until payment has been received at which time the order will have to be manually processed which may result in delays in receiving your package.
The same applies to bank transfers although it is possible albeit difficult to effect a chargeback. The minimum cost to make a wire transfer is around $25 minimum and depending on your order this might wipe away whatever savings you intended to make by going through the online buying route.
When making payments for Zimbabweans there is the perennial PayPal problem. According to their website PayPal only accepts credit/debit cards that are issued in approved countries of which Zimbabwe is unfortunately not one. When signing up Zimbabwe is also not included the list of countries. The latter problem can easily be solved by using a US forwarding address like USABox.com. The card problem can also be solved by getting the Mukuru.com MasterCard details can be obtained on Mukuru.com’s Facebook page here. I should say in advance that this would be a work around so do not expect things to be easy and flawless when using the service. You should only use PayPal when you absolutely have to otherwise other methods of payments are to be preferred if you want to live a hassle free life.
It is also possible to use the concierge services that is offered by various agents especially if for some reasons you are unable to purchase the item on your own. For example if you are dealing with a merchant who only accepts PayPal only, as most Ebay merchants tend to do and you are not willing to go through the pain getting a card that PayPal will accept. USABox.com and comGateway.com offer this service where they buy the product for you and have it shipped to your address. They charge 10% of the items price or a minimum of $10.
There are other payment methods such as bitcoin,Liberty Reserve, ukash, Skrill, webmoney etc but some of these tend to be a bit complicated. Some are currencies in their own rights and as a consequence they are subject to currency fluctuations. These methods while novel are to be avoided by the average user.
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13 comments
Sound more like a “complaint on online shopping” as most of the content is a rant. I expected maybe a step by step process for making payments but it falls short as a guide.
There is lots of information in this article, but, its poorly organized. I’d have expected the user to exhaust the processes/pros/cons/ for Paypay (for example) then move on to the next pay service.
In the end, it sounds like a rant because as soon as the writer mentions a service, he immediately mentions the cons of that service. (e.g. The writer mentions a lot of what Paypay does not do, as opposed to guiding us on how to use Paypal from Zim).
>>Sub headings and bullet points could have helped.
>>Suddenly I feel like my Form 3 English teacher.(not that I like it, she was fat and ugly).
I never intended to exhaust the merits and demerits of any of the payments systems each of them has a wiki for that. I wanted to cover the things a Zimbabwean shopper needs to be aware of. I will however provide a detailed guide on how to use PayPal from Zimbabwe as you seem to be asking but my advice on PayPal still stands: Using PayPal from Zimbabwe to make Payments is not worth the trouble. That is not a rant it is a fact.
Garikai, I think the point the 2 above are raising (which i agree too) is that the content you post on this page should be driven by what we the readers want to hear since we are the target audience. How you feel should not be the basis of the article. You can put that as a comment at the end, otherwise such content, in future, should be relegated to your Fcbk or Twitter account.. Otherwise, go start your own blog..
You will note that I have never said the reader’s opinions do not matter which makes your assertion moot. You will also note that I have clearly stated that this is not a matter of feelings. I merely stated facts which you will need to know about online shopping if you are a Zimbabwean. If you have tried to use PayPal, you would know that there are no easy work arounds to using PayPal. That is the reason why I have avoided writing on these in detail.
If the readers have been paying attention to this and the previous articles in the series, they will also note that I have clearly offered a viable alternative to PayPal. Using the concierge services offered by UsaBox.com and coMgateway.com.
Those guys are talking about whining, of course! Never mind them!
“Otherwise,go start your own blog…” Come on dude, we get that you disagree with the guy but that’s a bit low don’t you think?
In writing on this topic I chose to completely ignore the obvious things like detailed steps on how to make online payments for two reasons:
1) Every shop has a slightly different way of going about this it would be close to impossible to cover all the scenarios
2) Most of these shops have FAQs that cover things like these.
I have decided instead to give an overview of the things that a first time Zimbabwean shopper needs to be aware of and problems they might encounter. I do not if I would call it a rant- seriously there was no smoke coming out of my ears when I wrote the article.
Hi, I would appreciate a detailed how to on how to use Paypal.
Great article on how to make online payments @garikaidzoma:disqus. A bigger problem is how to receive online payments. I hope you’ll write an article on that soon – I always learn a thing or two I didn’t know before when I read your articles because they are well researched.
Hi l signed up for a paypal account recently and Zimbabwe was on the list. I think its a recent development….l even created a paypal for business account.
Screenshot from trying to update with Zim details today. No Zimbabwe on the list.
I have been shopping for groceries on Zimseller since 2008 – http://www.zimseller.com, a Zimbabwean website that accepts PayPal. How do they do it? Seriously, check out their website.