Forced To Leave Paypal

[LEAPresearch]

Some of you may not have noticed a change that Paypal made. They've just added a Mexico operation. That may not seem like much but it cuts off usage of Paypal by US citizens that live down here. How?

I have been with Paypal for a looooong time. They've made a wad off of me in transaction fees. However, now, in order to access my account, I MUST have a Mexican bank on file. I don't use Mexico Banks! That's why I kept my account at my US Bank when I moved down here. I live off my debit card, changing money as I need it.

And there seems to be no avenue open for past customers to rectify the problem. So, I will be bidding Paypal farewell very, very soon.

Which brings up the next question. Fill the void with WHO? I have both Clickbank and 2CO accounts. Who else is available that does free wire transfers between your bank and their operation?

Thanks for any assistance you might convey,

Bill

[LEAPresearch]

I can't even email Paypal US. I'm automatically redirected, due to IP, to the Mexico operation, whom I don't want to talk to. Plus, I tried using a proxy to get through. Didn't work when it hit the secure server.

It's not about having an address, I think, as much as it's locked to the IP. At least, that's what it seems to be doing.

Rather than fight with Paypal to take my money, I'll just change processors. That seems to be the easiest fix. Now, just have to figure out who to replace them with. And THAT is the question of the moment. WHO?

Bill

[tommygadget]

Look for a US-based proxy. That should do it. If not, tell PayPal that you are a teacher on sabbatical in Mexico and you need access to your account. If that does not work tell them that you are a traveling salesman and you need access to your account while abroad, Mexico for example.

TomG.

[Chris Ramsey]

Originally Posted by LEAPresearch

I can't even email Paypal US. I'm automatically redirected, due to IP, to the Mexico operation, whom I don't want to talk to. Plus, I tried using a proxy to get through. Didn't work when it hit the secure server.

It's not about having an address, I think, as much as it's locked to the IP. At least, that's what it seems to be doing.

Rather than fight with Paypal to take my money, I'll just change processors. That seems to be the easiest fix. Now, just have to figure out who to replace them with. And THAT is the question of the moment. WHO?

Bill

I've used Authorize.net very successfully in the past with many clients of mine. If you could get a piece of software that lets you charge quickly and easily through them, it shouldn't be a problem anymore. The only issue is they don't provide the code to just paste on your site like Paypal does, which makes it a little more complicated.

[schabotte]

Paypal has done stuff like this for years. They want to see the business have an interest in its base country which by living in Mexico, you don't have.

Amazon is the same way. If you want to sell on Amazon US as a marketplace seller, you need a US bank account, address, etc. And the same goes for the other Amazon properties.

They do it of course to try to avoid fraud.

[Chris Lockwood]

When did Mexico annex San Diego?

[LEAPresearch]

Good question, Chris. The real maddening part is the incapability to contact Paypal US via email. They'll only accept email off their site and it, as usual, keeps tripping the MX redirect via IP.

What other processors are people using that is "Paypal-type?" Other than CB and 2CO?

Bill

[Floyd Fisher]

Originally Posted by LEAPresearch

Some of you may not have noticed a change that Paypal made. They've just added a Mexico operation. That may not seem like much but it cuts off usage of Paypal by US citizens that live down here. How?

I have been with Paypal for a looooong time. They've made a wad off of me in transaction fees. However, now, in order to access my account, I MUST have a Mexican bank on file. I don't use Mexico Banks! That's why I kept my account at my US Bank when I moved down here. I live off my debit card, changing money as I need it.

And there seems to be no avenue open for past customers to rectify the problem. So, I will be bidding Paypal farewell very, very soon.

Which brings up the next question. Fill the void with WHO? I have both Clickbank and 2CO accounts. Who else is available that does free wire transfers between your bank and their operation?

Thanks for any assistance you might convey,

Bill

Bill:

Why quibble? Just take $5 of your money, open up a Mexican bank account, and use that on your paypal account.

Problem solved.

[Scott Woodside]

Here here! Just open up a Mexican Bank Account and keep on keeping on. I have a bank account tied to my pay pal account and have never really used it.

Normally I purchase everything I need with my debit card and when I have to, use the atm to suck our $400.00 per day minimums.

[LEAPresearch]

Not that easy, Floyd. And it takes $100 to open an account here. Simply put, I don't care to have any Mexican operation handling any of my funds. That comes from experience. The only thing I use down here is a debit card and ATMs. Keeps an extra hand outta the pot.

Bill

[dsmpublishing]

bill

after reading your post i can really understand your problem. I moved to portugal this year from England and i would have to have a portuguese bank account in order to satisfy paypal.

Even though ive been here since June i prefer to keep my bank accounts in england mainly because the bank charges here for bank transfers and cash withdrawals are huge.

The way ive got round it is by keeping my paypal account in england and as my bank account is also registered at my friends address paypal are fine with it.

What about using an address in the USA say a family members or something similar.

If i didnt have paypal i would put everything on clickbank though it does mean no transfers though.

ive had problems with paypal in the past and there not the best situation but there really isnt many alternatives.

god i wish there was and i bet theres lots of warriors that agree with me. Ask the warriors how many times theyve had there accounts stopped or suspended cos they were doing well with sales.

if you need any more advise with paypal please PM me!


samantha
X

[ivana]

as Samantha,

I am moving to Croatia, and I kept my business registered in US, as well as the bank account. So far no issues with using paypal this way. I rented the physical address for 2 1/2 years and moved my business registration at friends account. Works so far..

[Art Turner]

Getting around the IP address issue should be easy with a paid proxy service like anonymizer. I ran into the IP issue when ordering online from Asia over several years time, and it shouldn't have any trouble dealing with secure servers.

Art

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by dennishardy

I'd check into having a 'virtual office' in the US. For a small fee, there are services that will let you setup shop with their physical mailing address in the states. I've seen some that offer phone answering services, meeting rooms, etc. for under $100 a month. I'd have to believe that for an address only, it would be much cheaper.

This might be quite a business idea if you also added in the ability to setup a VPN or other private terminal connection that would make it look like you were a US based business.

I did a quick Google search and it looks like somebody is already getting started in this market: AlwaysVPN | BETA

[Art Turner]

I think we're all assuming you've already called them on the telephone and spoken to a real person. Have you?

[SeanIM]

If the 'proxy' issue still plagues you...

just rent a remote windows server in the US and login from there...

I have one in Pennsylvania and it works like a charm when needed.

You can usually pickup cheap windows boxes for like 60-80 a month.

- S

[phoenix212]

You have to understand that Paypal are doing it only for client security and to avoid fraud, but I can understand your predicament and that it probably, well...sucks. The worst thing is that Paypal are huge and have very little competition that are as big as they are and can do pretty much whatever they want these days.

[Ted Kopelli]

2 Checkout takes PayPal payments, so that is your best option. Since you already use 2CO, your search should be over.

[ShayRockhold]

Originally Posted by dennishardy

Sometimes the simplest answers are the best

Reminds me of how NASA spent over a million dollars to develop a pen that would function properly in zero gravity. The Russians just decided to use a pencil.

Dennis

I almost splorphed my coffee all over my keyboard reading this.

So true, so true....

[Floyd Fisher]

Originally Posted by LEAPresearch

Not that easy, Floyd. And it takes $100 to open an account here. Simply put, I don't care to have any Mexican operation handling any of my funds. That comes from experience. The only thing I use down here is a debit card and ATMs. Keeps an extra hand outta the pot.

Bill

You don't have to put all your money in a Mexican bank, just enough to open the account to get your paypal unlocked.

You can still have the US account attached to it, in fact you can have as many bank accounts as you wish attached to it as long as they are all yours.

[VeraRaposo]

It seems so odd that they would do that. I live in Canada and hope that they do not have any intentions on doing that to Canada also.

Thanks for the little insight on this.

[Daniel Molano]

Don't worry about it, I'm also living in Mexico and I am not Mexican.

Just open an account here in Mexico with Banamex (It's actually Citibank), they charge you 30 pesos a month and nothing else, everything else is free (30 pesos is the equivalent to $3 USD I believe) and you can use PayPal without any problems.

Then call up your US bank and order a transfer of funds to "feed" the Mexican account, all you need to open it are 1,000 pesos (about $100 USD) and you do not need to keep that balance neither.

Why is this a smart thing to do? There are no taxes here in Mexico for bank accounts with a balance of $25,000 pesos or below ($2,500 USD) and even if you do exceed that balance like in my case, they only take 2% off from the exceeding amount.

I am amazed I have seen alot of post on how to try and get around the problem... but I have not seen one that mentioned paypal may be required under law to do what they are doing..

I am no laywer and will give no advice here as such (please do not take this the wrong way it is only a possible opinion of why paypal does what they do) but if you are having money handled in the US and taking money off a debit card in mexico then that could be considered money laundering. Again this is only an opinion and I am not saying youare doing this.

Paypal does have a great deal ofcrap to deal with when it comes to governments, FCC, FTC, IRS, and many others..

I think there are 2 post here about just open a mexico bank account.. I would have to agree with them.. Instead of trying to beat around the issue just solve it by doing what they request..

James

[Louis Raven]

Google Checkout.

[blase40]

If you are determined to get a physical US address, you can get a box at a UPS store which provides you with an actual street address rather than a PO Box number.

[LEAPresearch]

Let's just say, it's a case of "principle." While Paypal has taken my money for years, they now have made the decision for me that I must obtain a Mexican bank account. This, I refuse to do. And I have my reasons.

The only thing a person seems to have control over is their own personal funds. We elect who gets what and why. While my leaving Paypal won't cause them to lose any sleep, it will make me feel much better and I have not been forced into something I never wanted in the first place.

I spent last night reading through 2COs website, as I haven't used them for "years." I needed to know what they were up to these days. And, actually, with the debit card promo their running, it behoved me to open a new account with them.

So, Paypal is out and 2CO is in. The individual freedom of choice is still dear to me and I exercise it every chance I get. In this day and age of tight money, I applaude a company that's doing so good it can afford to drive customers away. However, there's one dollar they'll never see again. Mine. Paypal decided they could "control" me. They were wrong.

All the talk about getting a US address was non-secuitor since blockage is by redirect via IP. I finally got them on the phone yesterday. It must be a call center becuase the dufus I was talking to had no clue. A wasted international call.

So, I'm back in business again!

Bill

[Michael Oksa]

Originally Posted by dennishardy

Sometimes the simplest answers are the best

Reminds me of how NASA spent over a million dollars to develop a pen that would function properly in zero gravity. The Russians just decided to use a pencil.

Dennis

[highjack]

Hi Dennis,

Sorry, but I just had to set the record straight. This is nothing more than an urban myth - it is false. NASA used pencils, too, and Russia now uses the pens. Also, NASA didn't spend anything on developing the pen.

You can read the facts at...

snopes.com: NASA Space Pen

All the best,
Michael

[/highjack]

[Michael Oksa]

Originally Posted by LEAPresearch

Let's just say, it's a case of "principle." While Paypal has taken my money for years, they now have made the decision for me that I must obtain a Mexican bank account. This, I refuse to do. And I have my reasons.

The only thing a person seems to have control over is their own personal funds. We elect who gets what and why. While my leaving Paypal won't cause them to lose any sleep, it will make me feel much better and I have not been forced into something I never wanted in the first place.

I spent last night reading through 2COs website, as I haven't used them for "years." I needed to know what they were up to these days. And, actually, with the debit card promo their running, it behoved me to open a new account with them.

So, Paypal is out and 2CO is in. The individual freedom of choice is still dear to me and I exercise it every chance I get. In this day and age of tight money, I applaude a company that's doing so good it can afford to drive customers away. However, there's one dollar they'll never see again. Mine. Paypal decided they could "control" me. They were wrong.

All the talk about getting a US address was non-secuitor since blockage is by redirect via IP. I finally got them on the phone yesterday. It must be a call center becuase the dufus I was talking to had no clue. A wasted international call.

So, I'm back in business again!

Bill

Hi Bill,

Just to offer a counterpoint here, why do you live in Mexico? I am guessing it's because there are enough advantages to doing so.

PayPal hasn't done anything you didn't agree to, and they didn't tell you to go live in Mexico. Sounds to me like you want to have your cake and eat it too.

So, assuming there are many advantages to being in Mexico (lower cost of living, perhaps), then just chalk this up to being one of the disadvantages.

Anyway, I hope everything works out, and I mean no harm. Just wanted to play Devil's advocate for a bit.

All the best,
Michael

[TonyRush]

Without trying to be abrasive, it seems to me that much of the answers here have gone toward telling Bill what he "should" do instead of simply answering his question. His question is simply, "Who do you recommend other than Paypal?". But it seems that providing background to his story has caused everyone to focus on the background rather than his actual question.

Bill, I've been in network marketing for years so the landscape of IM has changed enough that I won't bother with my recommendations. They may or may not be integrated enough for your needs. Google Checkout is simple enough depending on what you're doing. 2CO (which I think you mentioned having used before) seems to do well, too.

Anyway, best of success to you in finding a Paypal alternative.

Tony

[Daniel Molano]

Originally Posted by Michael Oksa

Hi Bill,

Just to offer a counterpoint here, why do you live in Mexico? I am guessing it's because there are enough advantages to doing so.

PayPal hasn't done anything you didn't agree to, and they didn't tell you to go live in Mexico. Sounds to me like you want to have your cake and eat it too.

So, assuming there are many advantages to being in Mexico (lower cost of living, perhaps), then just chalk this up to being one of the disadvantages.

Anyway, I hope everything works out, and I mean no harm. Just wanted to play Devil's advocate for a bit.

All the best,
Michael

Hey Michael, I'll jump in and answer that for you. Besides Mexico being cheaper in every aspect, the opening of Mexico PayPal is actually an advantage.

Therefore I don't get the concern of the OP about "tight money", this place is close to a tax haven. Like I mentioned before, you don't get taxes for an account balance of below $2,500 USD and even if you exceed that amount (which I do) you only get charged 2% of taxes on the exceeding amount.

In other words, you are saving A LOT more money.

PayPal actually did us foreigners who are residing in Mexico a favour, they gave us access to saving even more money.

Mexico is a fantastic place to hold your accounts for this very reason and best of all EVERY SINGLE payment processor or online business accepts operations in Mexico as opposed to other tax havens or cheap places.

[Chris Lockwood]

Originally Posted by TonyRush

Without trying to be abrasive, it seems to me that much of the answers here have gone toward telling Bill what he "should" do instead of simply answering his question. His question is simply, "Who do you recommend other than Paypal?". But it seems that providing background to his story has caused everyone to focus on the background rather than his actual question.

That's what happens on forums.

It's usually meant to help. Say someone posts "I just got a CD with 10 million email addresses. What script should I get to email my Viagra ads to those people?". Is the only valid response to name a script? Or would it be better to explain that doing that will just get him in trouble and not make him any money?

[LEAPresearch]

Thanks, Tony,

I'm glad someone read the original question. I've opted to go with 2CO since they have an ancillary offering that takes care of what I had with Paypal.

And, as to why I live here, it's simple. I have no family in the US and all my family, on my wife's side, is down here. Yes, I decided to change locations. And now that I can look back, I see things I didn't see when I was living there. It's eye opening to look at your country from the outside. There are pluses and minuses to living down here, that's for sure.

Let me ask a question. Would you want all your online income locked into a deteriorating currency? Me neither. Ergo, no Paypal bank account down here. They say "you WILL accept your funding in Pesos!" I don't think so. That sets you up for a loss of value.

Anyhow, problem is now taken care of. Thanks, all. And, no problem, Michael. I do it myself, all the time. LOL

Bill

[Michael Oksa]

Hi Bill,

Glad to hear the problem has been solved.

It would be interesting to learn what some of your observations of the US are, now that you are in Mexico.

All the best,
Michael

[LEAPresearch]

Nope. It would set off a firestorm in this forum. Seen it happen too many times before.

Bill

[LEAPresearch]

Let's change gears here for a moment. I know there are people here that use 2CO regularly. I've done business with some of you.

Is there anthing in the "inner workings" of using 2CO that you'd convey to a new user? Learning a new operation is both maddening and fun so I am trying to lessen the maddening part and expand on the fun part. Also, is there a ebook anywhere that describes using 2CheckOut?

Thanks,

Bill