Tuesday, March 1, 2011

My Top 3 Paypal alternatives and options for Indian users

Its March 1st 2011 and paypal has finally stopped its services for India ,WTF why dont they just close paypal in India with this new change its almost 60% shut down.
For a freelancer for a small business like me paypal was a great option to do business and transact with international customers,it helped me buy from international sites.With every purchase, with every transaction when someone paid me paypal got richer and now they have literally stumped us.
Now stops the grieving and an alternative search has begun...

So this is what paypal posted when i logged into my paypal account today for Indian customer's

"As part of our commitment to provide a high level of customer service, we would like to give you a 30-day advance notice on changes to our user agreement for India. 
With effect from 1 March 2011,  you are required to comply with the requirements set out in the notification of the Reserve Bank of India governing the processing and settlement of export-related receipts facilitated by online payment gateways (“RBI Guidelines”).
In order to comply with the RBI Guidelines, our user agreement in India will be amended for the following services as follows:
  1. Any balance in and all future payments into your PayPal account may not be used to buy goods or services and must be transferred to your bank account in India within 7 days from the receipt of confirmation from the buyer in respect of the goods or services; and

  2. Export-related payments for goods and services into your PayPal account may not exceed US$500 per transaction.
We seek your understanding as we continue to employ our best efforts to comply with the RBI Guidelines in a timely manner.
We regret any inconvenience caused to you and hope the advance notice will enable you to plan your future use of our services accordingly.
                 
Sincerely,
The PayPal Team


Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Why will PayPal not allow me to receive more than US$500?
Starting 1 March, 2011, PayPal customers in India will not be allowed to receive payments for any export-related goods or services for an amount exceeding US$500 per transaction. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.
Q: Why will PayPal not allow me to keep money in my PayPal balance?
Starting 1 March, 2011, PayPal customers in India will not be able to keep money in their PayPal account balance. Instead, all money received into a PayPal account must be transferred to a customer's India bank account within 7 days from the receipt of confirmation from the buyer in respect of the good or services. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.
Q: Will my customers be able to complete their checkout with their PayPal account balance?
We're glad that you offer PayPal to your customers. Unfortunately, we will not allow customers in India to send money from their PayPal account balance starting 1 March, 2011. This means that your customers will need to link a credit card to their account in before sending you money with PayPal. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.
Q: The customers on my website are not able to complete purchase or pay via PayPal. Why?
Starting 1 March, 2011, PayPal customers in India will not be allowed to receive payments for any export-related goods or services for an amount exceeding US$500 per transaction. If you are listing products greater than US$500 per transaction then you may need to seek alternative methods of payment. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.
Q: What is meant by receipt of confirmation from the buyer in respect of goods and services?
As an exporter of products or services abroad, you need to ensure that your buyer has received the product or services as per specifications set out on your website. As an exporter of goods, you may withdraw the balance to your bank account in India upon reasonable consideration of shipping time and other clearances such as excise and customs for the destination country. As an exporter of services, you may withdraw the balance to your bank account in India upon receipt of payment from your buyer into your PayPal account."


Ok so what are the restrictions with this new paypal change
1.Money has to be taken out within 7 days
2.Limit of $500 per transaction
3.Indian customers cannot make any purchases,payment from their paypal account with their paypal balance.
4.Indian customers can make payments with their credit card linked to their account.

So what are my Alternatives for paypal in India

1. Alertpay.com
I just signed up with them,pretty easy signup process,verified my email.They have 3 option personal account,personal pro account and business account.
I signed up for the personal pro account,they have 3 options to get your account verified
a.Bank Transfer wire transfer ( no options for indian customers)
b. Credit card verification ,enter your credit card details and you will get charged a small amount and you will have a validation code which will appear on your statement.
c.Phone validation and check withdrawal .Phone is simple to do ,check you need to have a balance.



Will do a complete review of alertpay as an alternative after i test and play around with it a little more.

2. Transecute.com 
My second alternative for paypal in India

Looked it up havent signed up yet,they look promising they claim to be the only company in india to have a complete customization of a payment gateway and payments page.
You would need to have a website to signup with them,you can signup as a sole proprietor ,business and a NGO.
The fee structure looks good,no setup fees,no chargeback fees they charged just a 5% tranaction fee.The signup process is not easy like with Paypal and AlertpayAlertpay

For Indian Merchants :

Setup Fees: NIL
Per Transaction Fees: FLAT 5% Per Transaction
Supported Cards : Visa / Master
Integration Fees: NIL
Free Merchant Integration Kit
Application Processing Time : 2 Weeks
Withdrawals : Weekly
Withdrawal Charges: NIL
Technical Support: Lifetime FREE
Chargeback Fees: NIL

I might sign up for my website with these guys,once i do will review them throughly and post.

3.Xoom.com

My 3rd alternative for paypal in India
Xoom.com
I have used them in the past,they are cheaper than western union.I havent had issues collecting payment from the locations that they specified.The only problem is that you should have trusted customers who will send you money through xoom.

The easiest and the best option by far is Alertpay.com ,lets see how it goes and hopefully RBI doesnt clamp regulations on them and we pray that our customers will be confident to pay us using this option.Till then we will be paypal's slaves ;-) or we made them our masters.

keep coming back ,i will be looking at other alternatives and reviewing other services and sharing your my experiences.Feel free to comment and let me know your feedback.