With so many restrictions of using PayPal, now it’s evident that everyone will look for other similar options available in the market for our online fund transactions. Be it a blogger or an freelancer, till now they were well versed with PayPal, but from now you need to adapt with other available options. So, let’s get started and know on how you can enjoy the same services of PayPal in other similar clients minus the latest transaction guidelines by RBI which have been issued to PayPal and will be effective from March, 01, 2011. It’s most likely that RBI will too apply the new guidelines to other similar clients, but till these are not applied, we can make the most of it.
The 7 alternatives of PayPal payment gateway are:
OboPay.com
OboPay is basically a service which lets you to send or receive money using your Mobile Phone via an SMS, WAP or also you can manage via a mobile application. Additionally, you can also connect your MasterCard, VISA Card or Bank account to OboPay account so that you can now control your money right from your Mobile Phone. What’s more is if you want to get money, then sender is not required to register for sending the money via OboPay.OboPay also has made tie up with Indian telecom operators like TATA Indicom, AIRCEL and Loop Mobile.
ePay.ProPay.com
ProPay is for all merchants that processes credit cards for online merchants, but without the buyer needing to setup an account. All the buyer is required to have is a credit or a debit card. Since many of the merchants don’t wish to give their personal information, this one is perfect for them as only the information of credit or debit card is enough. In ProPay, there is an annual fee and also a fixed fee per transaction, but the annual fee is refunded if the seller transacts at least or higher than 3000$ over six months period.
Moneybookers.com
Moneybookers too is just like a PayPal wherein it’s free to join and is available for transaction in many countries. Also, this one allows you to directly transfer the money and also can receive money via Cheques just like Paypal does. Also, additionally, this one connects a wide range of cards like MasterCard, Maestro, American Express etc. Also, with this cross currency transfer is allowed.
Xoom.com
With Xoom online money transfer, you can send money with wired money transfer method and also you can pay Xoom by Bank account, PayPal account or by a Credit card. Transactions can be as high as 5$ which can be very reasonable if you are sending some few hundred dollars. But with this Xoom money transfer technique, you can transact a maximum of 3000$ per transaction. Also you can track your transacted money using the unique tracking number which you get after the transaction.
AlertPay.com
AlertPay money transfer service is too just like a PayPal, but this one ensures the speedy transactions by credit cards and also allows transactions from above 190 countries and also with this you can shop very securely and also permits flexible deposit and withdrawal options. Also, with the referral programs you stand a chance to get paid too. With mass pay option and multi currency support, this has a potential to replace PayPal.
2checkout.com
2 Checkout is an online payment service which provides a secured reseller options for many products and services. This online transaction service promises a 30 day money back guarantee in case if you are not satisfied with the services provided and als this one employs fraud detection mechanisms, just in case if your money lands up with a wrong person then you can track and catch hold of it very easily. Security point of view this one is the best option if compared with PayPal. Just like PayPal you can register for free.
CCNow.com
If you are a small business retailer then this one is just ideal for you as for those who can’t easily get a merchant credit card account or only have not so frequent sales CCNow provides the service very easily. Though there are not so many services portfolio, this one doesn’t allow you to sell downloadable software, services, subscriptions, memberships, information, etc . With one of the best risk and fraud management system, this one is one of the secured gateways. This one is easily compatible with leading cards like VISA, Master card, AMEX etc.
Alertpay and western Union is what most sites accept, which i came across.
How can we pay on eBay.com? It shows only paypal. Also Getting a CC here in my area(rural) is impossible.
You need to Pay through Paypal only when you are buying through eBay.com. If it exceeds a 500$ transaction then you need to use a Credit Card. No other alternative as of now.
But even you can not buy through your payapl balance amount, $500 per transaction limit is for receiving money against your goods or services not for buying.
If you need to pay through paypal first you need to transfer money to paypal from your legitimate Indian bank account and then use that money for purchasing.
Paypal by March 01, 2011 will ban Online Payment of any kind, so the only option left out is payment through Credit Card.
Is entropay a good option? One friend of mine told me to create VCC from entropay, adding funds from our existing International VISA debit card(which is not accepted by paypal). What’s your opinion, and suggesions?
These restriction has been placed by paypal on Indian to incorporate with new RBI guidelines.
Previously from last one year or so, all Indian transaction of paypal were under scrutiny by RBI and Indian Govt.
So no matter what method you choose or opt sooner or later RBI and Govt will come in between and get their due. 🙂
Actually if you closely look in to matter and look into terms like PayPal new is India and RBI is old government regulated body, RBI have their predefined rules before PayPal came. Just when PayPal was not following those guidelines RBI contacted PayPal for the reason and what PayPal now doing is skipping all those points (in term making hard for Indian customers by setting limitations) which are highlighted by RBI.
looking for paypal alternative as RBI is posing some rules like money should be with drawn with in 7days….etc.
I am choosing alertpay.
Thank you for the post at the right time.
Hi,
Can anybody lists the above listed 7 alternatives to paypal in the order of preference based on their real time experience with them please?
No one can have a real time experience with all of these companies and most of the users would be using at a max 3-4 services. Also everyone has a different experience and feedback about every service.
“Transactions can be as high as 5$ which can be very reasonable if you are sending some few hundred dollars”
I feel something’s wrong there?
Hello Amit, I am a Freelancer from India, in all the above which do you think is the best?
Everything depends on your requirements.
Alertpay has no india
Alertpay has no india
Deposit :Credit your AlertPay account
1.Bank wire
2.Certified check/money order
Bank Transfer (for deposit and withdrawal)
We apologize, but localized bank transfers to India are not supported
Bank Wire (for withdrawal only)
Withdraw funds in EUR , GBP and USD
nice post amit but i think that still most site accept paypal. as its the most trusted source.
This post would have been more helpful if there were recommendations along with the options. As of now, it doesn’t make sense!
I Completely agree with Narayanan Hariharan. This article really didn’t help me, i’m still in the search for the alternative.
As per your need and requirements, you can select the one of the above 7.
All the above mentioned services have restrictions for Indians, please do inform us if you now any other.
since different people has different needs, it will be difficult to recommend ONE particular medium.
I checked many, for Indians i see no best alternative than paypal.
In alert pay they dont allow to deposit from bank. In money bookers, they saying the opposite also must have money booker. Ebay.propay is for sellers only. All the above 7 has some way of restriction to Indians.
Hello dishwara, thanks for looking into every option. You are really helping us. If you got a alternative for PayPal, please do inform all of us:-)
Hi AMIT, If I want to pay in Godaddy.com, which is best site, if I don’t have CC and paypal account?
I would rather suggest to opt for Credit Card using the Instant Credit Card option mentioned here https://www.amitbhawani.com/blog/instant-credit-card-icici-bank/ because there is no better alternative for that.
How can one pay/shop online using VISA debit cards? And what is ebay’s “paisapay”? Can someone kindly elaborate?
u just use the number & name to enter in payment details. VISA debit cards accepted by many sites. But some sites won’t. The problem is ur bank is not that much hitech. Icici, hdfc,sbi cards can be accepted with out problems. While LVB may have problem.
Paisapay is nothing but a payment method in which u pay to ebay instead to seller.
Sellers tell u to directly pay to their bank acc. ….but if u pay using paisapay (u r going to use ur visa enabled debit card only), u actually pays to ebay, the money is sent to ebay. After u receive ur item & if everything is right, then u have to give feedback & item received in ur transaction. Then ebay will pay the money to seller. If u didn’t get what u wanted or broken product….u msg to seller & after all problem solved & u give feedback money will be sent to seller. Also if u dont give feedback even after 15-20 days of receiving item then also ebay pays to seller, considering u got the item with out problems & u forgot to give feedback. & if anything goes wrong, ebay returns ur money, so u dont have to worry about refund from seller if seller sends u broken item & not accepting it..
I consider alterpay.com is the best alternate for Indians
I don’t know what is the problem if the government has put restrictions. I feel such blog posts and comments as if we’re stealing money from internet.. The laptop you use, internet service providers, all banking networks, education, ultimately everything is ultimately moderated by the government, and it deserves to tax your $10000+ income every month. So better pay them…
Hello,
I would like to know the best bank for freelancers like us where most of our money comes from Paypal and in USDs from foreign clients?
Patrick.
I would suggest to opt for ICICI Bank because their NRI Department would be the most helpful in transactions between different countries.
but the truth is, there is no better alternative currently available for paypal
Most of the alternatives suggested by other users are not viable
since they have also come under the RBI scanner. Paypal is in
the eye of the storm because of the larger volume of transactions
involved.
That said, patience is the only cure for this. Notice that it hurts
payapl more than the users, though I do understand that some
of the low end users can be at their wits end with this situation. Unfortunately,
individuals have little or no control on Government regulations on
international transactions.
Let us wait for a while and then may be, collectively address
Pranab da and others through an appropriate forum.
Xoom stopped receiving paypal payments some time back
AlertPay & Moneybookers are on my hit list. But still I will prefer paypal upto an extent.
hi Amit,
can you please guide me that, if i am doing a web development business, and i am getting paid by paypal, what short of declaration i need to give to Indian Gov., and if any time any query is asked by Gov. of India, then how can i prove that the payment sender (by paypal) is “XYZ” and that payment was for web development/ software development.
Like how we do export of goods, and get paid by bank, and then bank gives FIRC certificate, like that how i can get this details from paypal.
regards
why RBI is putting so many unnecessary restrictions thus blocking the development of internet business related to foreign countries???? are Indian officers still in the mindset, before the internet came???? why? why? why? gotta write to RBI head soon … with such kind of useless protectionism india will never come up in the global competition … too bad indian government policy 🙁 🙁 🙁
RBIs taking the measures to control the accumulation of black money in paypal accounts and also to ensure that Indian money gets invested in india and not in western countries.paypal also has some transparency issues with the rbi.I dont think rbi’s completely to blame. paypal seems to be hiding something !
hello prakash!
explain me how black money will be accumulated in Paypal account?!
just indians want to use Paypal to pay & receive money on internet connected to foreign clients and as of now everything is blocked unless one has a credit card but most of the people want to use Paypal because they don’t have a credit card. most of the people who want to use Paypal are middle class or lower middle class who are not even eligible for a credit card what to speak of accumulating black money, have some common sense man!
btw, there are lots of black money everywhere in india & abroad due to dishonest indians, that need to be over-howled not on Paypal account.
Hello Mr.Common sense,
Lets say i have something to sell worth,lets say,50k.I send it over to whoever wants it and the customer pays via paypal and phoof! i have 50k to shop online without paying any tax what-so-ever! Get it?
prakash!
do u know how many tax evasions are going on all over india in all kinds of trades, institutes & departments and compared to that temp. money with Paypal is negligible that too the user has to withdraw within 7 days, so what’s the problem?
hi amit,
its amit here. i used to use paypal for online transactions but after the RBI guidelines i am not able to find any alternative solutions. I dont have a credit card and have a SBI account which i had linked with paypal. please help me and if there is any possible solution for me then notify me.
Thanks,
Amit Kashyap
I ‘ve searching for an online money transfr processor for the last two days. Ya it was really a severe search —–
Now ‘m going to conclude it, primarily i ‘ve reached the assumption that 3 of them are main processor
>paypal
>alertpay
>moneybookers
Then all my searching and analysis, i reached the one that is
#=> moneybookers*
i think which is more optimized for an indian user considering the present situation of other payment processor.
If u ‘ve noticed any high level disadvantage 4 it then let me know that information ….
I am using entropay for my online credit card transactions. Seems secure, and easy to use.deducted some 1 dollar extra from my stan chartered debit card extra when I bought 30 dollars into my virtual credit card.
But as my card had an online password(Verified by visa) security, standard chartered vbv window also opened up in the same page as entropay-was like a window inside a page. So I was a little suspicious there(so I changed my VBV password).
Another thing, many Indian sites are not accepting that card- I have tried it on vodafone, irctc and reliance-prob they dont accept international credit cards. But I used them successfully on Kaspersky Indian site(in rupees) and many U.S. sites(its easy). So check if ur merchant accepts international credit card or not.
That was my limited experience on Entropay.
I can add another option for accepting credit cards and come other methods online – Paysera. It is in Indian market not that long ago. Before it was operating mostly in Europe. Hope it will be one more useful payment option.
Since PayPal isn’t supported for India. Do you think getting a USA PayPal account from Auction Essistance can bypass this restriction?