Don’t Be Afraid to Start An E-Commerce Website in Trinidad & Tobago: Part 3: Paypal Re-Visited
I thought twice to include this article under the ‘Don’t be afraid…” series as it’s probably a reason to be afraid I’m afraid (it’s a nervous pun meant to lighten the blow…) but I couldn’t just put this article as a one off because of the topic. Anyway, doh ‘fraid still.
I know that Paypal is the first payment option that pops into mind for Trinis eyeing e-commerce in Trinidad & Tobago. I don’t blame you, as it’s the easiest and quickest way to accept online payments… in theory.
I write this article now because in the past month or two I’ve been inundated with calls and emails about— you guessed it, payment options available in T&T, especially Paypal. Additionally, something came to light this week when I was setting up the Paypal payment method for a client and I observed something startling which prompted me to dig deeper to clarify… and now I give you:
Paypal in Trinidad & Tobago- IN THEORY
Okay, for those of you who’ve been following my e-commerce series and articles, consider this article about Paypal, a mid-2014 re-boot to bring all the info current as of ‘to date’ (of publishing this article of course). This means I’m going to give you all the info you need (and desperately looking for) right here and now and hopefully answer all of your burning questions— OUCH, okay you’ve got a lot I know!
First, a reminder that, per Paypal, Trinidad & Tobago is an officially supported country. All countries are not treated the same unfortunately.
See the official ‘Americas’ list of countries supported by Paypal (click for larger image):
And here are the official fees for Trinidad & Tobago (click for larger image):
That being said, I want to start by explaining how Paypal works in the US. As you know, I’ve lived in New York for 10 years so I’m fully acquainted with the system in the same way that the Americans experience it. Of course, I also have a US Paypal account which I have linked to my US bank account and debit card so I’m able to directly compare and report to you.
How my US Paypal account works
The process is the mostly the same as in T&T, with one exception— you can link your US bank account to your Paypal account, and by doing so, you are able to transfer funds out of your Paypal account to you bank account and so have access to your physical money.
The process is
- Create Paypal account with US contact info
- Set Paypal Account Type to: Business (there are 3 account types: Personal, Business, Premier)
- Add an verify US debit/credit card (using Paypal’s verification procedure)
- Add US bank account info and verify
- You’ll have an initial withdrawal limit of $500 USD per month (see below on how it’s lifted)
- You’re ready to start using your Paypal account on your website
Here’s how my US Paypal account header looks (will be the same for T&T as well):
Here’s what the ‘View Limits’ screen would look like (both US and TT):
How my T&T Paypal account works
The process is the mostly the same as in US, with one exception— you CANNOT link your T&T bank account to your Paypal account, and this is because Paypal does not verify our local bank accounts. Again, while Trinidad & Tobago is a country supported by Paypal, the process is not the same for all.
The process is:
- Create Paypal account with TT contact info
- Set Paypal Account Type to: Business (there are 3 account types: Personal, Business, Premier)
- Add an verify TT debit/credit card (using Paypal’s verification procedure)
- You’ll have an initial withdrawal limit of $500 USD per month (which can be lifted)
- You’re ready to start using your Paypal account on your Trini website
Paypal in Trinidad & Tobago- IN PRACTICE
As far as setting up a Paypal account with a ‘Business’ account type, from here in T&T using a Trini credit card there is absolutely no problem. Any website shopping cart that enables the Paypal payment method would simply use the email address associated with your Paypal account in the back-end and the payment option would be all set up and ready to go in the front.
However there are 3 issues I’ve observed that we here in T&T have to contend with:
1. Transferring funds out of Paypal to T&T
Since you can’t link your T&T bank account to transfer funds to, you must transfer your Paypal funds to your linked credit card. You’ll see this option when you go to ‘Withdraw’ (see below). Once that’s done, you’ll be able to access your funds either by using the ATM or if you have TT online banking, you may transfer between your accounts and then do what you wish.
Screenshot: linked to local VISA card:
*Notice the fee of $5 USD to move funds out.
2. Limit to transferring funds out of Paypal
Until you’ve lifted your withdrawal limit you’ll be limited to only withdrawing $500 USD per month. Lifting the limit allows you to withdraw $500 USD per day (your maximum daily withdrawal limit). According to Paypal this daily limit cannot be lifted (see the sceeenshot below). It also means your monthly limit is obviously $500 USD times the number of days in the month.
I haven’t been able to test the daily or monthly limits as I use Paypal mostly to make payments. Also my clients use Paypal on a small scale so I cannot confirm from an actual client experience.
3. No ‘Guest Checkout’ available
With a TT Paypal account, you’re forced to pay using a Paypal account or create one. If I recall correctly I do believe there was a time that it was possible to simply pay with your credit card but either my memory fails me (I getting ole yuh know!) or I’ve assumed incorrectly.
Anyway, when I was doing the test purchase on my client’s site I noticed there was no option to pay with just my credit card, and only to pay with Paypal or create an account if I didn’t have one.
This was both surprising and disappointing so I checked if perhaps it was disabled in the settings. Lo and behold there was no such option so I proceeded to check my US Paypal account and saw that under ‘Website Preferences’ that ‘Paypal Optional’ was there, while noticeably absent from the TT Paypal of both mine and my client’s accounts. Aargh!!!!!!!!!!!
See screenshot comparison side by side (click to enlarge image)
How to use TT Paypal for accepting online payments in T&T now?
The way I see it, Paypal TT is NOT an option for hardcore e-commerce in Trinidad & Tobago. These companies are better off (and should have the financial resources for it) using the local TT Dollar payment gateway which I provide via First Atlantic Commerce (FAC) which you already know.
Paypal TT is for general small-scale local E-Commerce
Theoretically, you should be okay if your online revenue is about $15,000 USD per month as that’s the maximum you’ll ever be able to withdraw from Paypal per month. That’s a little less that $100K TT.
Bear in mind that there are the standard processing fees plus the withdraw fee ($5 USD per withdrawal). So, in summary:
- Create TT Paypal account with you local credit card (from steps above)
- Enable Paypal payment method on your website
- Shoppers get Paypal button to pay upon checkout
- They checkout with Paypal account or create one (no guest checkout)
- You transfer (withdraw) funds to your credit card according to daily/monthly limits
If, for argument’s sake, you do have the option for ‘Paypal Optional’ in your website preferences, then all well and good, but I don’t see how that would be possible.
Table Summary of Paypal TT options
| Payment Feature | Availabilty | Comment/Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Sign up in T&T | Yes | Use your local credit card |
| Enable Paypal as payment method on website | Yes | No guest checkout, only with Paypal account |
| Withdraw funds to T&T | Yes | Only to credit card account, not bank |
| Withdrawal Limits | Yes | $500 USD daily limit maximum |
Alternative options for payment other than Paypal
Again, the local TT Dollar payment gateway is available, albeit expensive, for large scale online business. For smaller scale and for easier, more affordable convenience there is another option I recommend, and that is 2Checkout.
I’ll write a separate article on 2Checkout, but briefly, here are its main features:
- Trinidad & Tobago is supported by 2Checkout
- Sign-up is free
- There are no monthly fees
- Transactions fees are on the expensive side about 5%
- Links to your T&T bank account
- Minumum transfer amount is $300 USD
- Transfer funds by wire transfer (fees apply)
Conclusion
I still say there’s no reason to be afraid to start an e-commerce website in Trinidad & Tobago because the local TT Dollar payment is available. But if you aren’t able to jump in with both feet and want to dip your toes, then it’s still possible to have both 2Checkout and Paypal at the same time.
Budget-wise, an e-commerce store is expensive if it’s a Magento store but more affordable if using WordPress. Having Paypal and 2Checkout in a WordPress store is simple to implement so you won’t break the bank. My cost is still a cheap $6,500 TT for a WordPress store if you are willing to help me by helping yourself.
[note width=”485px” title=”Still have questions about Paypal?”]If you still have questions after this, please let me know by commenting or send me an email. I can update this article to answer anything I missed for it to be truly comprehensive.[/note]
Is it possible to give a step by step breakdown on how to create a paypal business account in trinidad? I tried but they told me my number and postal code are invalid
Sorry I can’t be of more help with PayPal, it’s a pain to work here.
Can you transfer money to a USD bank account here in Trinidad
Yes you can if the funds are coming from a bank outside T&T you can transfer USD from that account.
Hello there, I am an aspiring young author from t&t who is thinking about entering a contract with an online novel publishing site and I’d like to know if it would be possible to withdraw money from PayPal if you linked it to a bank account?
PayPal can only be linked to a US bank account not a local (T&T) bank account.
Hi Emille. I’m an author from Trinidad and Tobago as well. I think the literary industry is very outdated in this country. And I mean both with the type of books that are written and the way books are distributed. The literary industry needs a complete overhaul. So it’s great to find someone who is taking the initiative to publish online cause I think the online publishing industry is not utilised very well.
I would really love to know what type of books you write.
And is the online publishing site you’re going through Xlibris?
Hello. Thank you for being such an expert on this topic. Very valuable.
I would like to know merely for personal use and receiving funds from a family member in the US. I realise that Scotia’s new debit card has the VISA option so I’m assuming it can be linked to my Paypal account, once I obtain the relevant routing number.
Would a family member be able to send for example – USD $15000 to my personal Paypal account and then I can transfer it to the Scotia debit card that I would link to the said Paypal account?
Scotiabank’s new Visa debit card is of no consequence, it doesn’t provide any relief for the PayPal issues all have been facing. As long as there is a Visa/MC logo on the card, it makes no difference to PayPal if it’s debit or credit. Routing numbers are used to link bank accounts only and only possible for US bank accounts not local as PayPal cannot verify local bank accounts online like in US. The ONLY linking possible is via the card itself and that info you have.
In THEORY anyone can send funds to your PayPal account, but what I’ve been saying is that for TT credit card accounts with PayPal, it usually returns an error when one tries. Again, I don’t believe it’s a technical error but a larger financial issue that has T&T as a restricted country due to financial regulations. It could be US financial regulations that PayPal has to comply or T&T financial regulations. Which one it is, we’ll never know.
Hi,
Very informative article. I am having trouble trying to link my Soctia Credit Card to my paypal account. Keep on getting an error message. Any suggestions?
I’ll need to know the error message to be more helpful, sorry.
So 2checkout is my only option. Great. Trinidad is the worst when it comes to running an ecommerce business! Paypal has been costing me sales, I am ripping my hair out.
Actually there’s nothing stopping anyone from running an online business in T&T, we have WiPay and FAC. There isn’t any reason to rip out your hair for a long time.
Hi great stuff here …i am in the process of doing a website and wanted paypal to be one of the options at checkout …you are saying that i can upgrade to a business account and link my credit card and transfer the funds from paypal to the cc?
I’m saying in theory that is the case but in practice, unfortunately no. My advice is to forget PayPal, use our local solutions.
Hello there ..stumbled upon thos in searching for information on paypal..great stuff here that has helped me a lot..I use paypal a lot for online purchases ..personal account ..but I am in the process of building a website ..was going to use wipay but wanted paypal as well…you are saying i would need to upgrade to business account ..i can link the credit card ..when payments are made i can transfer the funds to my credit card ?…
Hi i live in Trinidad and Tobago and I am currently working from home due to the Corona virus outbreak. To get paid I opened a PayPal account but I have not linked a card yet because of where I live. Scotiabank, the bank I am associated with, offers a Visa card now and I have seen that you can link your Visa card to PayPal. Can I use this card in this case or should I opt for the credit card (which I am dreading using) ?
Also can I let the money accumulate in my PayPal account or is there a time limit for this?
Hello. Yes you can link any card that has the Visa or Mastercard logo, debit or credit, so the Scotiabank debit card can be used. However, I’m receiving conflicting reports of successes in transferring. I received two (2) private messages from other readers with their recent experience:
On my other PayPal article I have some other updates as well, including my own experience a few days ago.
UPDATE: Withdraw Paypal Funds To Your Trinidad & Tobago Credit Card
Hello good afternoon Mr Rahaman,
I am in Trinidad and Tobago and my family member is in the United States attending college. Can I send money from my Paypal account linked to my credit card directly to their US bank Account.
Or From my Paypal account to their Paypal account which is linked to their US bank account.
Thank you Vinod.
No you can’t send directly to their US bank account. What they can do is set up another PayPal account linking the US bank account there. Then have the US PayPal account request money from the TT PayPal account and complete the payment. When the funds are in the US PayPal, do a transfer to the linked US bank account. PayPal has instant transfer for a 1% fee or you can do the slow way which takes a few days.
Hi can I link my fcb debit mastercard account to the PayPal account for making and receiving payments
Yes, as long as there is the Via/MC logo doesn’t matter if debit or credit. Paypal is spotty with accepting payments though.
Hi. I loved the article. I want to start doing microtasks online as a side hustle and I noticed I need a paypal account to be paid. Can I have some clarity as how to set this up since I live in Trinidad?
Get a credit card from a T&T bank, then open a Paypal account and link it.
Hi Zaf,
Great stuff here, please keep up the valuable articles and site.
I noticed a lot in the article about credit card linking but it’s not clear to me if I can use a debit card to also receive payment.
So my question is simple, can I link a debit card to a Paypal account to receive money, and then withdraw from the debit card locally? Kindly explain any limit and usage restrictions if you can.
Any help will be very appreciated! Thanks!
Hi Paul. Thank you for the kind words. To answer your question, the answer is yes, you may use any debit card ONLY if it has the Visa/MC logo on it, i.e. no LINX debit cards. I’m not aware that local banks issue such cards though, i.e the debit version of a credit card; US banks do though. So if you’re referring to LINX debit cards, that would end the discussion right there, sorry.
Hell. I live Trinidad and Tobago and an aspiring artist. I joined a website to sell my digital artwork and they said I have to have earn my money through PayPal. I’m 19 and don’t have a credit card or bank account. How can I go about doing it. Also can I use PayPal to shop on Amazon without using a credit card?
If they pay only by PayPal then you need a PayPal account and that requires a credit card. To get a credit card you need a bank account. However there are local banks that have debit cards (I heard JMMB) that you can load funds to. Amazon does not accept PayPal only credit cards.
Hello, I want to start dropshipping. But im in Trinidad. How can I go about it. meaning should I let a family member set up a amazon shopify store for me and I use it down here, but also how will I get to receive my money, if it is sent to their paypal and bank account, or if I make the store via a local paypal how can I get to link it to an account to withdraw. Is Payneer safe. and would I be able to sell more than the limited on a local paypal?
In setting up a paypal account is it mandatory to put an account no or a credit card? Can I just create the paypal account, do my transactions and just have the money stay there until I link it to an account or credit card on a later date?
Technically you should be able to. The bank accounts and credit cards are used to add or withdraw funds, but if you are receiving money from other sources and PayPal accounts, the funds would sit in your account and you’ll only be able to spend on sites that accept PayPal or transfer to other PayPal accounts.
Hi great discussion,
I have received payments from Trinidad Paypal customers and transfered it from my Paypal account to my Trinidad credit card on Shopify platform for my website.On Shopify for payments I use Amazon Pay, Paypal and Wipay
The best thing I have ever done is to start selling on Amazon if you put in the time and the hard work you’ll be surprised at how fast items sell on Amazon. On Amazon I use Payoneer, World First and Transferwise.
I hope one day eCommerce in Trinidad and Tobago will excel, for now its far too slow. Linx debit cards with the ability to use numbers on the face of the card to make purchases locally is what we are longing for, to get eCommerce going. Wipay logo on all debit cards with a Linx integration may also be a answer. The ability to top up a Wipay account at any phone card terminal may be the best solution for cash customers. Problem #1 there are way more Linx debit cards than Credit Cards.
From my info there appears to some in train to harness the Linx system. Agreed with the snail’s pace, and we can only work with what’s within our control. I have no doubt we’ll get there though.
Hi, I want to use PayPal to make a payment to someone but I’m unsure of the entire process… Also can I use a debit card? And what will the transfer fees be like?
Yes you can use a debit card as long as it has the Visa/MC logo. If you’re making a payment to someone you don’t necessarily need to have a PayPal account unless they’re right in T&T, in which case there many ways to get paid right here without PayPal. If that person is outside T&T, they’ll need to have a PayPal account and request a payment from you which you can then pay with your debit card.
Hi, can your paypal account be linked to you WIPay account? And do you know if WIPay takes transfers from Coinbase or Coin mama?
Hi. The answer is no, no linking of PayPal to WiPay is possible in any form or fashion. WiPay ONLY accepts funds from credit cards and other WiPay accounts, no other funding source.
Wat the best card to use in tt
It really doesn’t matter as long as there’s the Visa/Mastercard logo. However I don’t recommend PayPal when we have our own local version WIPAY.
Do u know of any solutions for a multivendor ecommerce platform? I was planning to use paypal but now that i’ve read your article i feel like it might not be feasible.
There are many multi-vendor platforms out there, you just have to evaluate each on their own merit as some are more robust than others and pricing can range from affordable say $500 USD to as much as $2,000 USD. I don’t recommend anyone to attempt such a platform on a small budget as I’ve seen many try and fail. I also absolutely do not recommend PayPal it just worn’t work properly in T&T.
Hi I would like to know if I have to have a business and a credit card to get a paypal account
No, PayPal is for both personal and business accounts.
Can the same be applied to receiving funds to one’s credit card (which is applied to a PayPal account) via sites like go fund me?
Thanks
In theory, as long as you have a credit card linked and verified with PayPal, there should be no issues sending or receiving funds… in theory.
Can I use my first citizens links card on paypal?
No, PayPal only supports credit cards. Linxs is our own Trini thing.
Must the debit card have my name on it?
It must have your name to match with your PayPal account.
Hi I am trying to set up PayPal to receive payments but I cannot see Trinidad and Tobago anywhere, I’m stuck signing in even if I leave it at state it says that the zip ,state and address don’t match…please help
Hi Anesha. Trinidad & Tobago is a supported country: https://www.paypal.com/fk/webapps/mpp/country-worldwide. If you’re having difficulty it must be some other issue with the sign-up area you’re not seeing. Try again from a different computer. If you’re still stuck then you’ll have to contact PayPal support.
Hi I would like to receive payments online with another option other than PayPal that I can link a debit card because I cannot get any payments that was sent to PayPal because I don’t have a link credit card can you tell me if their is another that can work in tt
I take it you want to receive funds from outside T&T. I do believe Payoneer might work, but I haven’t looked into it in depth.
Hi, thank you for this article, however, I tried using 2CheckOut but they don’t support Trinidad and Tobago. Any other method? I’m currently using Shopify and it’s a pain when it comes to accepting credit card payments.
Yes, I see T&T is mysteriously absent now from 2Checkout’s list of supported countries. I distinctly recall seeing it there before. I believe there is an FAC plug-in available for Shopify but of course you’ll have to apply to a local bank for a merchant account to obtain the FAC solution.
Hi Keston!. I am aware that using a VISA/MasterCard Debit card you are able to withdraw from paypal into your Debit MasterCard. My question is, have you actually received funds from someone to your local TT PayPal account? I know some people in here in Trini and the only way they are able to receive is by using their skybox/US address. Which I know you’re not supposed to do. No one Iv’e spoken to is able to receive with their TT account/address. I triedopen a shopify store and was ready to launch after checking PayPals website which as you know, says we should be able to receive, however that wasnt the case. So if you are getting payments with a TT registration and TT address PayPal would you mind sending me an email, or me emailing you just to see if you might be able to help me with that?
How do you receive payments? I would really really really like to know!
Hi Joshua, were you able to find a way to receive credit card payments with your shopify store? Or were you able to find out if you are able to withdraw into your TT Credit card from PayPal?
Hello,
First of all, thank you so much for writing this article. I was so intimidated by having an online store so I kept putting it off. I am new to this whole PayPal experience and so far I`ve run into a lot of problems with setting up. I keep trying to link my Visa Debit card in order to receive payments but when I go on the seller preferences, I get an error:
”You have requested an outdated version of PayPal. This error often results from the use of bookmarks.”
I have been fighting up with this for days now and I am now considering using another online payment option. I saw someone mentioned Payoneer and would like to know more about your experience with this or if you think its a good alternative. I live abroad, originally from the Caribbean and would like to send and receive payments to my US/visa debit card/any method which enables me to withdraw and deposit into personal bank accounts. Note, I do not live in the US so getting a US account is not doable.
Hello Kim. PayPal is still fraught with issues, limitations and workarounds if you live outside USA. If you are in T&T then I’ll always advocate our local solution WIPAY is it is a bona fide solution available to anyone in the Caribbean. The bottom line is that you want to accept online payments via credit card and WIPAY does this. However, WIPAY remits payments in TTD only. If you are earning USD via sales outside T&T then you will have a case for keeping the USD legitimately earned. I believe WIPAY is working on such a feature.
Hi, I know my question isn’t related to paypal but I hope you can answer. If I get a payoneer account in order to accept payment from amazon. Can I deposit it into a US account in trinidad, in order to keep the money in US rather than depositing it to a tt bank account.
Once anyone is legitimately earning USD, which you are, you have a right to your USD and should be able to deposit to a USD denominated account in T&T.
Hey Zaf, I would like to find out if I can purchase membership from games online. I’m 20 years of age and i play a few US based games online but how I’m from Trinidad I can’t go to the mall and buy gamecards since they’re US based and to get membership/subscription you need a credit card or paypal. I’ve seen a lot of people saying you need a US account and stuff to receive payments. But what if I want to put money on my paypal account through a TT bank so I can pay for the membership online. Will my money be converted to US and the payment for my subscription go through or TT banks can’t do that because we’re local and Paypal is US based? Please reply as quickly as possible thanks!
You can set up a PayPal account and link your TT credit card. Your PayPal account can have a zero balance and still used to pay as it will draw funds from your credit card. I have a PayPal account linked to my credit card issued by RBC Royal Bank and use it all the time to buy templates and other web related item, and have been doing so for past 7 years. Important thing to note is that you MUST link a credit card, cannot work without it.
I what in Trinidad I am a Trinidadian due to my father. I plan on going there either visiting or moving there. I would like to start a bank account please and thank you and I would appreciate a quick reply if possible
As long as you have your Trini documents for identity then you should have no issues opening an account at any local bank; if you don’t have local ID, passport or drivers permit you should get started on them.
So glad that I came across this post. When you say credit card does that include debit card as in republic bank’s Visa travel money which is a debit card? It says Visa electron at the bottom as well. Will this work for receiving money online through PayPal?
Thanks in advance for your response
Yes, credit cards or debit cards, but they must have the Visa or Mastercard logo, and yes Visa Electron is included. See this LINK.
Thanks so much for your quick reply. Last question though. Do I need to set up a business account to receive money? Or can I use a personal account? I am not selling anything. I am working for a large platform like data entry that pays their workers online. Is personal good or should I use business?
Thanks much.
I mean pay their workers through PayPal sorry.
You can use a personal account, it doesn’t matter to PayPal; it’s just that your info would be your personal name on the account and not a company name.
Hello, I am trying to set up a pay pal account but it is asking for a US state and zip code.
THat shouldn’t be, you can set up a PayPal account with a US state, plus use ZIP 000000.
Hello, I am from Trinidad, a simple person that is pondering to make a little extra cash online by doing surveys. I believe i have a regular PayPal Trinidad account and wanted to know ( and maybe you did state it and i maybe didn’t fully understand) but, if am I able from making money online, and lets say the the company am using can transfer the money i made to my Trinidad PayPal account….. my question really is how can I transfer the money i made to my Trinidad debit bank account from my Trinidad PayPal account?
In theory you should be able to transfer from your PayPal account to your TT credit card account and withdraw the funds in T&T via your ATM card.
Hi, glad I came across your site. Im trying to set up my paypal account here in Trinidad to receive payments from online, but i get an error each time: ”You have requested an outdated version of PayPal. This error often results from the use of bookmarks.” As a result I cannot setup my account properly hence,I cannot receive payments. Happens on every browser i tried. Any advice? thanks
What platform are you using? Perhaps the module that links the PayPal account has outdated code. I recommend using Wipay instead of Paypal. Also, there is a setting on your PayPal account side that you have to enable receiving payments.
Hey Zaf,
I currently have a TT Creditcard and a verified paypal account. I am about to start a dropshipping business that operates solely in the U.S. im fully aware of the holds paypal puts on accounts of new sellers(90 days), so i put money into the account as “float”. i need to know that when im ready to recieve payments for sales, that my paypal account accepts said payments and also that my TT credit card bank account will accept transfers from paypal. please advise if i should set up a U.S. bank account/ Payoneer account etc…
Hi Kenson. If you can open a US bank account then that would be best as you can obtain a debit/credit card from that bank and essentially have a Us PayPal account that doesn’t have the country-specific limitations Paypal has for it’s international business. One such limitation is that PayPal cannot link a Trini bank account to a T&T based credit card. With the US bank account you will be able to withdraw funds (after holding period) to your bank account directly.
Hi Kenson. Payoneer doesn’t work with PayPal anymore. Did u come across anything else that does work with PayPal besides payoneer or local banks?
Hello, I need some help. I have tried setting up Paypal, 2checkout and stripe and now first atlantic. To date none of them works,
I have been struggling with this issue since February. Can I get some technical assistance with any of these please.
Your website is a WordPress platform and FAC via Wipay can be easily set up in literally minutes. Contact me directly and Ill help you.
Hi can you setup wipay for my shopify store.am having a problem with payment gateways for my store.
WIPAY cannot be set-up on Shopify at the moment, I’ve been directly told this by WIPAY. Only First Atlantic Commerce (FAC) can be used as a payment method via a plug-in which I believe is available from one of my competitors locally.
I am from Trinidad and about to set up a YouTube channel. Would I be able to be receive my payments via Paypal, also can Trinidadians actually earn money on YouTube?
Yes as long as you have a PayPal account linked to your T&T credit card you should have no issues. YouTube in global and I don’t see any reason why anyone from anywhere in the world can’t make money. I theory it’s possible, I don’t know of anyone offhand locally who is doing it.
Hi. I recently started using Tripadvisor to get bookings for my bed and breakfast in Trinidad. I am Trinidadian and I do not have a US bank account in a US bank. So Tripadvidor suggested I use PayPal. I think I followed the steps correctly and Paypal was able to charge my credit card and replace the money as part of their routine security test. But when Paypal tries to pay me they say it failed. I don’t know what might cause this and I haven’t been able to get help from PayPal to resolve it. Can you give some suggestions?
Your PayPal account is probably not set up to receive money. Check your settings and make sure that this is set up.
Hi i need help i went to Rbc or it is know Rbtt in Trinidad. I went today to the bank and no one seem to know what is paypal. So i add for a routing number they said they have a swift code so i said OK i try it. When i arrived home i tried no lock. I would like to know what should i do, go to another bank. I try the routing number the routing number is rbc ga . when i placed in my account number which i think is 7 digits and it still does not work. Is their a way to send funds from paypal to a credit card or something like that. Please help i am indeed of help. Thank for your time
Don’t waste your time with RBC they are a useless bank. You don’t need anything except the credit card you’re using to be linked to your PayPal account. Is it linked and verified?
Great articles Forward MMedia
i recently set up a bed and breakfast in Trinidad and Tobago…i am looking at the different options payment gateways. i am currently looking at the FAC and 2checkout options. i currently have a wix website and was wondering how to go about putting this into my webite also since i am just a start up business which one of the payment gateways should i use. The banks are telling me i have to setup a business account as well
Hi Peter. You’re actually in luck as their is an online payment solution now available in T&T just for small entities like you that works like PayPal and you won’t have to go through the headache of setting up payment gateways. It won’t work with Wix though as their platform is closed; you’ll have to consider perhaps a very basic WordPress site. I would also suggest a booking plug-in as well that can also accept online payment. Contact me if you want to learn more.
Hi Forward Multimedia,
Great article on Paypal use in Trinidad & Tobago.
I recently went thru the process of getting a debit card for the sole purpose of Paypal withdrawals and only after adding it to my Paypal account I see that it does not accept Paypal withdrawals (an old credit I have is listed as “Accepts PayPal withdrawals”)
Do you have a list of local bank debit cards (international) that are known accept Paypal withdrawals?
There is no reason why it should not accept your debit card. Technically there are no ‘local’ cards, all debit/credit cards are issued locally in whatever country via local banks but are part of the international system by virtue of the Visa or Mastercard logos. What is the error message you are getting? Have you contacted Paypal support? There is a local solution similar to payPal that I’m testing though, I’ll announce soon. This should eliminate the need for PayPal altogether.
Hi I’m from Trinidad and Tobago .I would like to know would I be able to get paid from the us to my Trinidad and Tobago PayPal account I want to start working online
Yes you can use your PayPal account to get paid. The funds will remain in your account till you withdraw to your credit card linked to it, or you can leave the $ in your account and shop online on sites that accept PayPal.
Hi, I currently use Paypal Here in the US to receive Credit/debit card payments for services and will be going home to Trinidad soon to do some business at home. Will the Paypal here card reader work in another country? Hypothetically I’m assuming it would once I use the app, but don’t want any surprises.
Thanks!
Hi Danelle,
As far as I’m aware, PaypaL Here is only in select countries and can only be used within the country it’s set up in so won’t work here. It may be theoretically possible but transactions would usually be flagged by PayPal if originating from a non US IP address. If you need to collect payments while here in Trinidad, you can simply issue a PayPal invoice or send a request for money to the locally based person to pay online.
Being that you have a US PayPal account, there is the option to accept payments from anyone without a PayPal account and have them pay by credit card alone. Hope this helps.
Good day, think you can help or assist me?
I’m setting up an ecommerce website using wix which right now I want to pull out my hair as the checking out/cart hangs when checkout with paypal is clicked.
I was setting up a business paypal but when it asks for a us credit card option I have to leave it blank.
Perhaps I don’t understand what I am suppose to do. Can you help via e-mail please?
Thank you
Hi Louann,
I’ll email you shortly. For the benefit of other readers I’ll still post a reply here. Usually a regular PayPal account should work. There is no way for a PayPal account to work properly without a credit card linked to it as that’s one way to withdraw funds from your PayPal account. The other way is to withdraw to a linked bank account but it’s not possible to link a Trinidad bank account so a credit card is the only way.
Hello. maybe you can help me. I know it’s out of the topic but maybe you can help. I also have a client from Trinidad and I am looking for a other way how they gonna send me my salary aside from Paypal,Payza, and Payoneer using their local accounts.? Usually, for the online money transfer they only accept the US Bank accounts which is so disappointing into other nations like Xoom. By the way I am from Philippines.
Thank you.
A regular wire transfer, i.e. bank to bank, should suffice to any country in the world without restriction. There are other ways as well like Western Union.
Hi, I too would like additional Information on getting my fund from paypal to my TT account. I have online banking but I am not permitted to transfer fund from my credit card to my savings account.
Thanks a lot.
Connie, if you cannot directly transfer funds from your credit card to your savings account via online banking, it doesn’t stop you from doing it offline by withdrawing the funds via ATM from your credit card as a cash advance and then depositing to your savings account. It may be that online banking at your bank only permits online transfers in. Per how you phrased the question, I assume that you are able to transfer funds out of your PayPal account to your TT credit card.
hi, I am from Trinidad and Tobago. I will be working from home soon on the internet, and I wanted to set a personal paypal account to receive my usd earnings and also to shop online. can you send me the information how to go about doing getting this done? would really appreciate this! thanks.
Hi, I replied to you via your email.