You will need a PayPal account if you wish to buy or sell goods or services online in international markets. 

PayPal is available for South African users but all transactions are processed in US$. 

We suggest you do this immediately if you are serious about starting an online business as the verification process can take up to 5 days and this might hold you back with your site launch.

What Can I Do With PayPal?

• You can use your PayPal account to make or receive payments for goods and services online.
• Shop online at merchants in most countries and regions.
• Pay for things and send money without sharing your financial information.
• Check out quickly at hundreds of your favourite online stores.
• Receive payments from buyers in 190 countries and regions.

To assist people with opening a Paypal account in South Africa, FNB has teamed up with PayPal to enable all South Africans to transact on Paypal using any local bank account.

View the FNB quick PayPal account guide here.

There are 3 types of PayPal accounts: Personal, Premier, and Business.

How To Sign Up for a PayPal Account:

Go to the PayPal website and click ‘Sign Up’ at the top of the page.

Select the type of account you would like to open, “Personal” or “Business.”

Select your country.

Enter your email address and choose a password.

Click Continue.

Fill out the form and enter the CAPTCHA.

Confirm that you’ve read the PayPal User Agreement and click Agree and Create Account.

You can start to use your new PayPal account right away.

Whether you’re buying or selling, you want instant, unlimited access to your funds.

Get Verified and Eliminate Send and Receive Limits.

Improve your PayPal reputation, too.

Once you’re Verified, you can:

Send and receive money as much and as often as you like

Boost your credibility with buyers and sellers worldwide

Send payments instantly from your bank account

Take advantage of exclusive services such as PayPal Seller Protection.

Get Verified Using Your Credit Card.

Provide Paypal with your credit card info then they will make a small charge to your card.

Return to PayPal and enter the charge along with the adjacent code as they appear on your credit card statement.

PayPal will reimburse you for the charges and you will be Verified.

You can find your 4-digit PayPal code on your debit or credit card statement next to or near the charge amount.

Your code will look like this in the item description section of your statement:

PayPal*1234 CODE or PP*1234 CODE

Please allow 3 to 5 business days for the PayPal code to appear on your online card statement. 

If you do not have online access to your statement, you’ll need to wait for your statement in the mail.

To enter your PayPal code, log in to your PayPal account, click the Business Profile icon next to “Log Out” and select Profile and Settings.

Click My money under My Profile and then click Update in the debit and credit cards section.

It’s fast, easy, and Paypal will guide you through each step.