Transacting with Paypal is so easy and convenient. But that’s only if you want to keep the money floating around the internet. One of the problems of Paypal users in the Philippines is withdrawing virtual funds and converting it into cold cash.

Here are the following options to encash your Paypal.com/ph balance:

1. Withdraw to Philippine bank account.Yes, we are lucky because some countries don’t support this. However, this is the only option we have and in most cases, there are fees you have to pay for. More info on my post about Paypal withdrawals to Philippine bank accounts.

   

2. Withdraw to US bank account (Dollar accounts in a Philippine bank doesn’t count). This is free but not everybody has a US bank account. And again, you don’t end up with Peso, so you’ll still need to wire the money to Philippine soil.
3. Sell your Paypal funds. The growing number of virtual transactions (freelancers, shoppers, etc.) has made Paypal balance buying and selling popular. Individuals put up their ads in sites like eBay.ph and Sulit. There are even those who have put up shop just to exclusively buy and sell. It’s much like a foreign exchange operation, which I think is a violation of Paypal rules. In any case, a few transactions every now and then probably won’t make your account suspicious.

   

4. Personal transfers. If you know a friend or a relative who needs some Paypal balance, you can simply arrange a deal. For example – you can offer to pay for an online purchase your friend would like to make, so they don’t have to use their credit card or buy Paypal balance from somebody else.
5. Buy something else using your Paypal balance and sell it. Long-winded but this could be a double win if you can sell the merchandise fast at a higher price you bought it for. That’s entrepreneurship!

It sounds so easy – converting Paypal balance into cash. But ANY cross-currency transaction won’t escape the traps of foreign exchange rates. So make sure you weigh out your options and find the deal that works best for you.

As for me, I will try to sell my Paypal balance first so I can get the Peso at the exchange rate I want.