Using PayPal in Zimbabwe: Getting the card and address

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payoneer-cardIn this series we will look at how you can use PayPal to buy and sell in a country where has restrictions, like Zimbabwe. This is the second article in the series.

UpdateRecently, PayPal contacted our webhosts with a request to take down this page because it “uses our trademarks inappropriately.” We assumed they meant their logo which was showing on the related articles section. We have therefore removed the paypal logo and replaced it with a neutral payments image.

In the first instalment we looked at reasons why you would need PayPal in the first place. In this article we will look into the first steps you need to take in order to have a fully functional account that is legal: Getting a valid acceptable address that you can use to open your PayPal account and getting a card that will be accepted by PayPal.

Getting the Address.

Zimbabwe is not available in the list of countries during signup for PayPal and although you can use a fake address during signup process that would be fraudulent and probably illegal. In case you are that unwise and want to do it anyway, there is a website here called Fake Name generator that spews fake addresses that you can use. I wouldn’t recommend getting your address this way though. You can get a valid free US address by following these steps:

  • Visit USABOX.com and sign up for a free account.

  • You will be allocated an address in Miami,Florida complete with a Zip address.

  • You should verify the address by entering your debit card number. If you do not already have one you can get a Prepaid one from FBC. This will cost you about $1 a month plus a card fee of about $10. They also charge percentage load fee so I would recommend you talk with your own bank and see if they can issue you a Visa or MasterCard. A good card is one that accepts charge backs that you make so ask them about this. Some in the previous article have also suggested the BancABC card.

  • During the verification process a refundable random amount below $5 is charged to your account and you are required to enter the exact amount deducted.

  • After this you will have a valid suite address that you can actually use if there is need. To receive Postal mail you need to complete some USPS forms but for our current purposes the address is now valid.

Getting the Card

The Payoneer MasterCard is issued free of charge the first time. To get your card visit Payoneer.com and signup.

  • Like any other card there are charges involved with using this card.

  • During the signup process you have the option to have the card send to you by courier- if you opt to use this method the card will get to you in about 3-5 days but you will have to pay for the freight charges which are around $70. I would recommend this method if you need the card urgently or you intend to use it for business.

  • You can opt to have the card send to you free by mail. This will take anywhere between 25 days to two and half months! So if you choose this method you will have to be patient. This method is safe since the card cannot be used until it is activated and linked to your account.

  • During the signup process you can enter your actual address where you want the card delivered. This address can easily be changed to match the USABOX.com address once you have received the card.

  • Payoneer no longer accepts private loads but there are ways to load this card and will look at how you can solve this in the next article.

  • The Payoneer card also comes with a Virtual U.S. Bank account that you will find is invaluable later on in the series when we touch on e-commerce. It will actually result in substantial savings compared to using a local card for PayPal.

5 comments

  1. Muti

    thank you for the article , i can wait for the next .

  2. joel

    why go thru all this trouble if i can use my mastercard online and over the counter all over the world????

    1. SoulUnlock

      the purpose is to be able to use paypal there are so many cool services that only use a paypal gate way…

  3. Using PayPal in Zimbabwe: The Final Piece of the puzzle. | Techzim

    […] our previous article in the series on how to use PayPal in Zimbabwe we talked about how you can get a legitimate U.S […]

  4. Tim

    The article seems to be updated, t seems you cant update billing country on payoneer!

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