Comments on: How PayPal really works for Israelis and Shekels

By: Nissim Ohayon

Nissim Ohayon — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:23:49 +0000

Hi Ingla,

To connect an Israeli bank account to a PayPal account, you will need to open a PayPal account and register it with your address in Israel.

By: Ingla

Ingla — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:50:42 +0000

I’m in Israel. I have a US PayPal account with a US bank and a US address.

Can I link an Israeli bank account to that US PayPal account?

By: Review of PayPal Israel Q&A Event with Nissim Ohayon | illuminea marketing and media

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:44:58 +0000

[...] by how to use PayPal in Israel? You’re not alone. No matter how many times we write it up and try to understand all the ins and outs, and jump for joy at new developments, we still have more questions. Ever [...]

By: Fred Schlomka

Fred Schlomka — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:32:53 +0000

It’s a real boon to be able to link Israeli PayPal accounts to both a USA bank account AND an Israeli bank account. Those of us who have accounts in both countries will now be able to do international bank transfers via PayPal for less cost than direct bank to bank transfer.

However there’s no excuse PayPal’s unfortunately low exchange rates for US$ to Shekels.

By: Eliyahu

Eliyahu — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:16:56 +0000

I don’t mind your paraphrasing, Nissim… You answered the question perfectly. Thanks!

Eliyahu

By: Nissim Ohayon

Nissim Ohayon — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:12:38 +0000

@Eliyahu asked (allow me to paraphrase):

“how should I post my items for sale, in USD or ILS?”
The answer is that “it depends” on whether you believe that the buyer would think twice about making the purchase if he is faced with a currency conversion fee. You see, if the credit card owner pays his bills in USD and you charged him in ILS, then he will get a charge in the equivalent USD amount, plus the conversion fee. As such, receiving the fee in ILS means that you do not pay the exchange fee when withdrawing the funds, since they are already in ILS.

“Can I combine currencies for a single withdrawal, in order to reach the 1000 ILS minimum to avoid the 8 ILS fee?”
Withdrawals need to be made from a single currency. If you wish to withdraw more than you have in a single currency (like the ILS for example) you need to click on Manage Currencies in your account in order to covnert those funds to ILS.

By: Eliyahu

Eliyahu — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:43:51 +0000

Hi Nissim, Miriam – and all Israeli Paypal fans

Well I’m happy that Paypal have finally got it together and now allow direct transfers from Paypal account to bank account without the credit card intermediary. So much for my bank manager understanding Paypal (see my previous post!) I only hope he’ll understand my needs to obtain a mortgage one day – better than he understands Paypal (else I might be stuck with using a credit card machine to manage my mortgage payments!)

My question is this: I’m in Israel, but I also try to attract overseas buyers and donors to my site. They of course work in Dollars etc. while I’m working in Shekels. I understand there’s no problem in accepting either currency – and I’ve done it too. However, I’m at a loss for knowing which is actually the better currency to work in as the default currency for me. For example, can those in the USA pay in Shekels for things they wish to purchase from me – though their banks are working in Dollars – or MUST I set up the Dollar “Add to Cart” button for them?

Likewise for Israelis – is it a MUST that everything be set up in Shekels for them, or can they just as easily purchase off the Dollar “Add to Cart” button?

The reason I’m asking this is based upon transfer fees and the like. Though Paypal seem to explain their terms “clearly” regarding costs, personally I’m lost. I’ve now got two currencies set up – Shekels and Dollars. Money is paid to both. But when I withdraw, I have to choose which to withdraw from, or make a conversion and then withdraw.

Is it best to simply withdraw from each individually (and wait for each to accumulate to at least 1000 shekels before doing so – to avoid extra costs,) or to first make a transfer into one of the accounts (and if so which?) – and then make the transfer to the Israeli bank?

I’m trying to reduce banking and transfer fees, and would like to know the best way of using my Paypal account in Israel so that it ends up attracting the least Paypal and other fees along the way.

Thanks again.

Eliyahu

By: Miriam Schwab

Miriam Schwab — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:13:25 +0000

Hi Nissim (and Nora, and everyone else),

I wrote a newish post on PayPal usage and the new option of connecting a PayPal account to your Israeli bank account here: http://illuminea.com/israel/withdraw-paypal-to-israeli-bank-accounts/.

Nissim, there are quite a few questions from users there, so if you can I think some of them would be happy to get answers from an “authority”.

By: Nissim Ohayon

Nissim Ohayon — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:17:46 +0000

Hi Nora,

You are in luck. You no longer need a Visa card to withdraw from PayPal. Miriam blogged about quite nicely here:
http://illuminea.com/israel/withdraw-paypal-to-israeli-bank-accounts/

Just add an Israeli bank account to your PayPal account, and withdraw the funds directly.

By: Nora

Nora — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:30:45 +0000

Hi,
I don’t have Visa and I don’t want to have another credit card. Is there any possibility to ask for a family member who has Visa to withdraw the money for me from PayPal?

By: Miriam Schwab

Miriam Schwab — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:34:56 +0000

@joe funny you should say that because within the past few days things have changed for Israeli PayPal account owners: we can now link our PayPal accounts to our Israeli bank accounts, and withdraw unlimited funds to our bank account! I wrote up a tutorial on what this entails here: http://illuminea.com/israel/withdraw-paypal-to-israeli-bank-accounts/

By: joe

joe — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:21:32 +0000

if you were paypal would you want to work with israeli banks? – what chance do we have…?

By: Miriam Schwab

Miriam Schwab — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:19:32 +0000

@Fred Not that I know of. PayPal recently appointed a new biz dev guy, but whether that means they succeed in getting the banks to work with them is another story. In the meantime, we’re stuck with Visa as our only option.

By: Fred Schlomka

Fred Schlomka — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:51:58 +0000

any news on when PayPal Israel will allow linkage directly to bank accounts?

By: Nostalgia Sunday – eBay Within Reach | ISRAELITY

Nostalgia Sunday – eBay Within Reach | ISRAELITY — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:31:34 +0000

[...] transfer system. In other words, how does one get paid (Illuminea’s Miriam Shwab wrote an excellent blog posting at the time) and even more significantly, how does one pay the Israeli tax authorities their share? [...]

By: Fred Schlomka

Fred Schlomka — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:47:15 +0000

Nissim – my pleasure. Direct Debit cards from PayPal accounts would be a big boost to your service in Israel. It’s standard for US accounts and would seem to be a logical thing to offer here.

By: Nissim Ohayon

Nissim Ohayon — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:56:39 +0000

Answering a few posts here today:

Fred Schlomka – Great suggestion. There is no such offering immenent, but we are always looking for innovative ways to bring great new services to our users. Thanks.

George Farah – Not sure what these codes are either. What language is your PayPal account interface in, French?

BuyWine – I was able to run throgh the checkout with my account, which had a local Israeli address already registered in it. We will get back to you offline about anything we find out. As for shipping in Israel, there is no issue there. You can ship to Israel, especially considering that your are shipping locally.

Betsy – Once you have initiated the process of Link and Confirm My Card from inside your PayPal account, you should be able to see the transaction within 2-4 business days on your debit/credit card statement.

Fred – Thanks for your help in trying to answer the questions

By: Fred Schlomka

Fred Schlomka — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:43:49 +0000

BuyWine – I’m only telling you my personal experience. Just checked your website and you are correct. PayPal refused to ship to Israel – and from an Israeli supplier no less – What Chutzpah!!

Do you have an Israeli PayPal account or a USA PayPal account? That might make the difference. You need to call them and sort this out

By: Fred Schlomka

Fred Schlomka — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:35:58 +0000

you should have online access to your account. That way you can monitor the account at any time, and see when PayPal makes the verification deposits

By: buywine

buywine — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:25:07 +0000

fred – what are you talking about? go to my website and try to pay with paypal with shipping address in ISrael. Paypal told me they dont allow shipping to Israel. It is not an option in the country field.

“PayPal doesn’t ship anything and therefor can’t dictate to you where to ship your products.” – It would be nice to think so