Learning how to create a PayPal account in Ghana is a necessity because PayPal is one of the most competitive platforms at the forefront of the digital payment revolution in the world today.
What is PayPal?
PayPal is the online wallet service of an American financial institution registered in the United States and several countries. The company is also registered in other countries, including Canada, Luxembourg, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Paypal serves a global marketplace and is by far the biggest internet wallet service. It offers faster and safer ways to send money, make online payments, receive money, and set up merchant accounts around the world.
PayPal does this by developing technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable, and secure. People and businesses are therefore joining this platform to empower themselves and their businesses to thrive in the global economy.
Most Ghanaians are shockingly glued to the usage of PayPal for their online transactions and e-commerce. That is why this expert guide shows you how to use PayPal in Ghana for free.
Is PayPal available in Ghana?
Unfortunately, the PayPal service is officially not available in Ghana and some other African Countries due to some restrictions. However, it is active here, so you can still create a legitimate account.
In July 2014, Paypal blacklisted Ghana and some other African countries due to the high number of credit card frauds originating from these countries. Some of the countries on the list, like Nigeria, have had the ban level reduced but they still cannot receive funds through their PayPal.
Ghana is expected to come out of the PayPal ban, but that has proven very unlikely.
Benefits of having a PayPal Account in Ghana
Why do most people love to use PayPal and not any other payment method? Well, it is because PayPal has been around for a long time and is robust and very trusted.
Here are some benefits you can enjoy after opening a verified PayPal account in Ghana.
- Security of transactions
Disclosing your card details when carrying out financial transactions online comes with a lot of risks. This is where PayPal has an edge; with PayPal, online merchants don’t see and ask for your credit card details to carry out transactions.
Paypal simply collects your credit card details just once, which is when you are signing up for a PayPal account. Your card details are encrypted and secured, which simply allows you to trade online without fear of having your credit card details compromised or stolen.
- Buying Online
Having a PayPal account gives you access to thousands of online stores with just your email address and password, as most online vendors accept PayPal as a method of payment, which is one of the merits you derive from owning a PayPal account. You can easily purchase whatever you need, regardless of the location.
- Flexible with more options and costs less
Paypal comes with a lot of flexibility as it supports various types of cards (Master cards, VISA cards, Debit cards, Credit cards, etc). You can simply add and verify any of your preferred electronic cards to your PayPal account, and you can also add more than one card.
Paypal is also accepted on mobile sites and apps, which simply allows you to pay with your tablet and smartphone with just a few clicks. You also don’t need a token to use PayPal.
- Simple and Fast
With PayPal, you can send payment in exchange for goods, transfer funds, send money, and pay bills in a few moments. All these can be done anywhere and anytime; all you need is to simply log in to your PayPal account with your email address and password.
What do you need to create a verified PayPal Account in Ghana?
To create a PayPal account in Ghana, you need 3 things (which you should already have as a Ghanaian). These are:
- An active phone number (I recommend MTN and Vodafone; Glo and AirtelTigo sometimes have issues receiving OTP from PayPal).
- Full Name as it appears on a recognized National ID
- A working email address (You should never have tried to use this address to register a PayPal account)
Once you have all these three things, you can start the registration process on your computer. If you want to use a mobile phone to do the registration, I recommend Google Chrome browser or Yandex browser.
Remember to choose “desktop mode” on your mobile browser if you are going to use a smartphone.
How do you create a verified PayPal account in Ghana?
Creating a PayPal account in Ghana would require a connection to the internet, either through a smartphone or a laptop(recommended). If you’re using a mobile phone for the registration, it is advised that you use a Chrome browser and set it to “desktop mode”.
The steps below will guide you to create a PayPal account in Ghana:
- Visit the PayPal Lesotho website at https://www.paypal.com/ls/home. You must note that the reason for using Lesotho is that PayPal is Blacklisted in Ghana, so you need to use a country that is not on PayPal’s Blacklist.
- Choose to sign up for free. To do this, you must click on “Get Started” in the middle or “Sign Up” at the top right corner to be taken to the sign-up screen.
- To sign up, select a PayPal Business account. You must select the Business account because it gives you more access and freedom in sending and receiving funds.
- Confirm your personal and additional details and start using your PayPal account. To do this, you must enter your valid email address and the password you would like to use. You must also provide your ID, business name, phone number, business address, currency, and postcode.
- Confirm your PayPal account through the email you used to sign up. PayPal will send you an email upon registration, so all you’d need to do is confirm the email and the details. If PayPal did send you the confirmation message, then it means you’re on track.
- Sign in to your newly created PayPal account by logging in to your newly created PayPal account and completing all the necessary steps on the PayPal dashboard.
- Confirm your additional details and start using your PayPal account. You can now cross-check details to confirm all your required information was entered accurately. Now you can start using your PayPal account. After here, you should now have a verified and fully functioning PayPal account in Ghana.
- Add Your Bank or Card Details to PayPal. This must be done so that you can successfully transact with PayPal (especially with sending funds).
Note
Since Ghana has been blacklisted, you can only create a PayPal business account and not a personal account.
With the above description on how to create a PayPal account in Ghana, you should be able to create one for yourself and join the world of leading online transactions.
