The Freelance Pinoy

Expert Advice for Freelancers

How to Verify Your Philippine PayPal Account

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paypal verification - featuredPaypal is one of the most secure and flexible options to use for online transactions.

With a PayPal account, you can easily send and receive money from different people with the right account details and a click of the button.  And because it is quick and easy to use, it’s one of the best payment/withdrawal options for freelancers.

Pinoy freelancers can benefit from PayPal because of its quick set-up process, the ability to receive currencies other than pesos, and withdrawing your funds to your existing Philippine bank account.

But before you can use these services, you’ll need to verify your PayPal account.  In this post, we’ll discuss how you can complete the process successfully so that you can receive payments from clients and pay for business or personal expenses using your PayPal account.

Steps to Verify Your PayPal Account with a Credit Card

Photo credit to ugaldew

  1. Acquire a credit or debit card first, preferrably Mastercard or Visa as these are accepted by Paypal.  If you’re using oDesk to find clients, you can apply for a Payoneer debit card and use it to verify your account.   Steps to do this will be discussed later in the article.
  2. Type in the necessary data into your Paypal profile such as your billing address, e-Mail address, and your credit/debit card number.  Make sure to complete this particular process before moving to the next step.
  3. Add your credit/debit card number to your profile to receive a Paypal EXPUSE number, which is needed to complete the verification process.  Users will receive the EXPUSE number in the next statement of account.
  4. Expect to see a charge of $1.95 in your SOA. This is a precautionary move of PayPal to make sure that you are an active account holder.  The amount will be refunded after verifying your Paypal account using the EXPUSE number.
  5. Complete the verification process by typing in the EXPUSE number and clicking on the Verify Account link button.  You will then receive a confirmation email from PayPal in your inbox regarding successful verification.  The refundable fee of $1.95 will then be deposited to your PayPal account.

If you’re unsure of the process of acquiring a Payoneer debit card, you can apply for a Unionbank EON card.  This is a debit and savings account that you can use to verify and receive your funds.  For more information, you can check out the Unionbank EON page for steps and requirements.

Steps to Verify Your PayPal Account with Payoneer

  1. Apply for a Payoneer card.  Go to your Financial Activity > Withdrawals and then click on the link to Payoneer’s website.
  2. Expect for the card to arrive in your doorstep in 20 – 25 days.  You will receive an envelope with the Payoneer card and instructions on how to activate.
  3. Activate your card by depositing enough funds to pay for the $9.95 activation fee.  This is a one-time fee that you need to make to be able to receive the PayPal EXPUSE number, which you will see in your transaction history.
  4. Type in the EXPUSE number into the verification field and click the submit button.  You will then receive the notification email from PayPal and can now receive funds from your PayPal account to your Philippine bank account.

PayPal for oDesk Freelancers

Pinoy freelancers working through oDesk are given the chance to have their earnings transferred to Paypal, provided that the account is verified and the e-mail address used in the oDesk account is correct.

To withdraw, you only need to pay a fee of only $1 per withdrawal, making it one of the least expensive options to use for withdrawing funds.  But despite the minimal withdrawal fee, it is best to withdraw your funds once you’ve received a larger amount to avoid spending too much on transfer fees.

If you don’t need to withdraw on a regular basis (bi-weekly or per month), this is a good choice.  But if you need to withdraw regularly to make ends meet, you might want to consider using Payoneer instead since it has a much faster withdrawal period than PayPal.

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Comments

  1. Jackson de Guzman says

    Steps to Verify Your PayPal Account with Payoneer
    Apply for a Payoneer card. Go to your Financial Activity > Withdrawals and then click on the link to Payoneer’s website.
    Expect for the card to arrive in your doorstep in 20 – 25 days. You will receive an envelope with the Payoneer card and instructions on how to activate.
    Activate your card by depositing enough funds to pay for the $9.95 activation fee. This is a one-time fee that you need to make to be able to receive the PayPal EXPUSE number, which you will see in your transaction history.
    Type in the EXPUSE number into the verification field and click the submit button. You will then receive the notification email from PayPal and can now receive funds from your PayPal account to your Philippine bank account.

    What is the EXPUSE no… I already verify and when i check my Payoneer It already debit in my account… Can u help me detailed how can i verified my account in Paypall using Payoneer.. I already Add Bank using BPI and it is successful Add my problem now i cant widraw because my Account not yet Verify please help me,,, thanks

    • Stef G. says

      Thanks for introducing Entropay! This is the first time I’ve heard of it and I’m not sure if it’s applicable to Philippine PayPal users. It’s really the credit card that works for the verification process.

      • Learntoearnmoney says

        Ya I have verified mine and used it in several places for payment as creditcard…….It helped me in renewing my several softwares including my antivirus…..Hope it helps….let me know if you wanna know something else. I am following this post…
        Thanks

  3. Gracesaints says

    Hi Stef, thanks for all the helpful tips ha? Ask ko lang po, ’cause I’m planning to start a career in Odesk, hindi lang talaga napaprioritize, I dont have a credit card, so what is the best suggestion that yu can give me?
    You said that we can’t verify a Paypal account pag walang card. So does it mean for people like me, yung Payoneer card is the best solution? Thank you…

    • Stef G. says

      Hello Gracesaints, thanks for asking. Unfortunately PayPal does require a credit/debit card in order to verify your account and withdraw funds to a Philippine bank. But what you can do is use Payoneer to verify your PayPal account, since it does function as a Mastercard debit card. Same goes for the Unionbank EON card, which you can easily open at a nearby branch. Once it’s verified, you can instantly use PayPal to receive and withdraw funds.

      Hope this helps!

  4. Hannah Lyn says

    Hello Stef,

    Your posts are becoming really helpful. I do have a couple of questions, though.

    Can I verify one debit card and then withdraw using another bank account?
    How do I verify my BPI express teller account so I can withdraw?

    I’d really appreciate it if you could help. Thanks!

    Hannah

  5. Joanne says

    Hi Stef, I’m new on oDesk and currently have one job on going.
    I already have placed my BPI expressteller account as my withdrawal method, but would like to have a PayPal account, just for back up.
    Problem is, I don’t know if I should sign up for a personal account or a business account. Which one do you think should I sign up for?

    Thank you =)

    Joanne

  7. Assi Olido says

    Hi Stef,

    I have some concerns about verifying account. Is it necessary that I must have either credit or debit card before I could verify? or can I use my savings account in verifying?

    Thank you 🙂
    Assi

  8. Rubie says

    Hello. I already activated my payoneer account however when I try to verify my paypal account, it says that it has been denied. Do I need to load up certain amount on my payoneer card?

  9. felay says

    Hi,
    I have my BPI atm express teller savings, i dont know kong pwed ba sya magamit to verify my account? if not pwed ba ako makigamit ng credit card o debit card ng ibang tao?

    Thanks

    • Stef G. says

      Hello,

      Yes you can use another person’s credit/debit card. Just make sure to get the PayPal EXPUSE code from the credit card owner’s statement of account to finish the verification process.

      • NEo Osborn says

        Hi Just to clear this one, Paypal is strict in terms of verifying the account, paypal surname must be the same name that appears on card, just to clarify.

        Thanks,

        Neo

  10. Nath says

    hi stef.. just wanted to ask.. can I use the credit card of my brother for my paypal verification? Ive been working for almost a year now but I havent verified my paypal yet cause I dont have a credit card..

    Hope you can help me..

    Thanks in advance.. 🙂

  11. Patricia Arceta says

    Hi Everyone,

    I just wanted to share this since I can see a lot who are trying to verify using their debit cards. We tried to verify my husband’s Paypal account using Security bank’s cashcard and it worked. You just have to be patient with their customer service when getting your verification code because most of them are unaware about paypal; but in the end, we got ours and my husband’s account is now verified 🙂

    Also, IF you wanted to be a freelancer but you dont have your own bank account, it is still possible for you to withdraw your earnings. I for one dont have my own account so what I did was link my husband’s Paypal account into my ODesk account so that when I withdraw my funds, it will go directly on his account.

    Hope this helps anyone in the future. 🙂

    • Stef G. says

      Thanks, Patricia! If you could post a link to Security Bank’s web page on this cash card, that would be useful for the readers of the blog. 🙂

      • Patricia Arceta says

        Hi Stef,

        Here’s the link. In order to get the card that can be used to verify in Paypal, you should get the Security Bank CashCard International MasterCard . This can also serve as your bank account when withdrawing from Paypal, i’m not sure how much they charge for every transaction since we use BPI.

        • Charlene Pagara says

          hello can i have the link of the customer service or the site where i can get the verification code from security bank cascard mastercard?

  12. ruth says

    Hello
    Im ruth, freshmen college student. does anyone of you here, knows a job that i can work online? even just four hours a day? and clean job. please do email me: bhindsfeet0988@gmail.com
    thank you so much and God bless you more!
    -Ruth-

  13. Niccolo says

    What if I already verified my Paypal with my credit card but then would want to withdraw my Paypal earnings thru my BPI account. Do I still need to verify for BPI? Or only 1-time verification is needed for Paypal? Because I’m thinking if I should fund my BPI first for the Paypal activation fee.

    • Stef G. says

      PayPal verification is only for your PayPal profile. Your bank account will not be involved in the verification process.

      • faith says

        I have linked my BPI bank account sa paypal ko but it still says its unverified. please advice po.

        • Dwighterz says

          Hi Faith,

          Just to share my experience, linking a BPI account as “Bank Account” is different from verifying paypal, you still need a debit or credit card with a code provided, you may use Unionbank EON account or any visa or mastercard credit, and I think above share like the security bank card that worked. Once you have verified using a debit or credit card that was the only time you can withdraw money from paypal either to your BPI or to be added on card, just to let you know, BPI is charging P150 aside from the P50 deduction from paypal.

  14. Jessa says

    I have here Bpi easy saver. Can i use this to verify my paypal account? its actually a debitcard but the problem is, I couldnt find the mastercard or visa printed on the card. This is my personal bank acount and I have been told that I can use this to withdraw my eanings from pypal. Can you pls help me out about this. I’m really having trouble getting my money just because my paypal is not yet verified.

    • Dwighterz says

      I have the same thing, BPI easy saver, I did used it to link link it to paypal as my bank account, so everytime I withdraw money, it will be on my BPI, but sad to say you can’t used it to verify your paypal, it can only be used as a bank account, yu may use Unionbank bank EON to verify (same as I did) or a visa or master card debit card.

  15. Marty says

    Hello,
    Western Union has a prepaid credit card right? Can I use this to verify my paypal account? Or do you recommend using Unionbank EON card instead? Thanks for this great article.

  16. Bernadette says

    Hi, I was wondering if I am able to verify my paypal with a wester union cash card. It has a visa logo on the front.

  17. Mylene says

    Hello Im just wondering whether I could link my Odesk account to my cousin’s paypal account or not?…Because I have tried to just send my earnings to my cousin’s verified account as I dont have a verified paypal, but then it said that I need to link debit/credit card first before I could send payments. I left no choice but to procure my own bank account. I just want to ask if this is new to paypal, that you couldnt make transactions like sending payments if it isnt verified yet?….Additional question is that could I link my mothers bank account to my paypal?….also is it ok that the address in a paypal account is different from the address of bank account linked?….thank you very much……

  18. Red says

    Hi! This is a really helpful post. Just wondering, does BPI have an extra charge when withdrawing from Paypal account? I’m withdrawing an amount greater than PHP7000.

  19. gloria premiro says

    hi, how long does one get verified. it’s almost a month since my husband got an eoncard and linked it to paypal to get verified. Paypal asked for some billing address and we submitted it to paypal by uploading. do you know how to access customer service directly to paypal? we feel it s getting more complicated using paypal services now. can’t send or receive payments unless you lift limits, for newbies ti’s kind of complicated.

  21. Sandy says

    How can I add my card? It says that the bank issued your card did not approve the transaction. I call Unionbank and they said that my card had already activated and the problem is not with them. So how am I going to verify my account?

  22. jeyjei says

    Good Day Stef G.,

    How I understand it is that you just need to verify your account using a debit card(payoneer,security bank cashcard IMC), and once that is verified, you can now withdraw funds to your bank account(BPI, MTB, Bank of Commerce, Security Bank etc.). Was that correct?

  23. jher says

    hi ms. stef, may i ask how can i verified my paypal if i only have a BPI express teller…the required for you to get verified is you must have a “card type like, VISA, MASTERCARD,AMERICANEXPRESS AND DISCOVER”. can i use the another bank card like metrobank atm but with a logo of mastercard and i have also a supplimentary credit card pwede po ba yan? help ms. stef..thanks in advance! god bless!

  24. Marsvic says

    hello ms. stef, this article is really useful, but still i had some questions, if gagamit ako ng credit card ng sister ko, will it be ok? and how long will it take para makuha yung codes na kailangan to verify the paypal account? do you have a facebook so we can reach you… thanks

  25. Marsvic says

    payoneer is useless. really complicated to deposit funds on payoneer account since the only way to load it is thru US payment service, and you have to wait and earn enough funds for you to be allowed to use private load service. if theres anyone who can help me with this concern and change my point of view.. i would really appreciate it.

  26. grace says

    Hi I am using my BPI Savings account. How am I going to receive the code if I don’t usually have a statement? Will BPI send me something? Thanks 🙂

  27. Oscar says

    Gusto ko lang sana malaman kung ito bang BPI remmitance na gamit ko sa pilipinas ay pwede ko din bang ilipat yung earnings ko galing sa fanbox acount ko. kasi po member po ako ng isang parang binary na parang pyramid na kung tawagin eh fanbox ( im sure familiar po kau dyan ).kaso po may earnings nako dun and pwede ko lang daw ma widraw yun kung meron daw akong any card na acredited yung paypal.para daw po dun pumasok yung earnings dollars ko.so ano po ba ang dapat kung gawin.

    And meron din naman akong gamit dito sa aking company which is quickpay remmitance dito sa saudi arabia. bale remitance card lang po namin ito mula sa aming company.so bukod po dito wala na po akong ibang card.

    kaya nga po ako nagtatanong sa inyo na kung pwede yung BPI remitance ko sa pilipinas.

    ito po bang BPI ko ay acredited ng paypal at kung sakali nga po na ito po ay acredited wala po bang problema sa perang pinadadala ko galing sa saudi na equevalent sa peso. kasi po yung dito sa fanbox earnings ko eh dollars po yung pwede ipasok sa acount ko. and san po ba ako pwede mag inquire na BPI kung sakali po na nandito ako sa saudi riyadh.

    maraming salamat po sanay matulungan nyo ako sa aking mga katanungan.. god bless