# Paypal: another option? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939 "2003-03-04T05:02:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/1 "2003-03-04T05:02:36Z")
I signed up to a paypal account a few weeks ago because I needed an easy way to receive a payment from an sponsor of my site. I had the choice of an international account (I am out of the US) or an US account. In my country there wasn’t a way to withdraw funds, so I signed up for an US (unverified) account and would mail the checks to a friend’s house in Fla. Now it happens that I can’t do that either without having a US checking account. ☹ So, they now have my money and I’ll have to figure out how to get it from them. But that’s not the question, the question I have is "is there another choice that is as reliable as paypal to collect payment from advertisers and that would allow me to withdraw the money from out of the US? Any ideas? If this violates any of the guidelines of the SDMB I am ok if the mods delete or move the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/2 "2003-03-04T06:09:16Z")
Amazon used to have something similar to that. I’m not sure any other options you have besides moving to the US. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/3 "2003-03-04T07:48:00Z")
You could ask for an electronic bank-to-bank transfer. Ask your local bank for details, costs, fineprint, etc. Or, you could ask for a Western Union Money Transfer: [http://www.westernunion.com/](http://www.westernunion.com/) ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/4 "2003-03-04T07:53:07Z")
This might help. Not sure how correct the information is, but you can always verify that with the banks: [http://www.foreignborn.com/self-help/sending\_money\_abroad.htm](http://www.foreignborn.com/self-help/sending_money_abroad.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/5 "2003-03-04T07:56:17Z")
[http://bidpay.com/](http://bidpay.com/) Basically a way to snail-mail a physical money order, but without the risk of paper cuts or venturing into the real world. > **[Yahoo Finance - Stock Market Live, Quotes, Business & Finance News](https://finance.yahoo.com/)** > > At Yahoo Finance, you get free stock quotes, up-to-date news, portfolio management resources, international market data, social interaction and mortgage rates that help you manage your financial life. AFAIK, it’s basically a clone of Paypal. Plus, if you have an SBC Yahoo e-mail account, they offer a little Paydirect box in your Compose E-mail window so you can send it with the e-mail. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/6 "2003-03-04T14:37:34Z")
Thanks a lot Dopers. I will a little research later in the day and read all your links. ---
**Author:** ![Harli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c0e974/32.png) [@Harli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harli)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/7 "2003-03-04T14:44:41Z")
I’m in Canada and have an International PayPal account and am able to transfer my funds into my Canadian bank account. I’m assuming that option isn’t available for you, **Mighty\_Girl**. I’ve made payments by BidPay. It’s a workable solution, as long as your sponsors don’t mind the $3US surcharge. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-another-option/158939/8 "2003-03-04T16:00:27Z")
Another alternative,I used to have a guy from South Africa mail me US dollars. Worked just fine. Yes, the usa dollars were at the time tightly regulated in SA.