Using the Paypal Topup Card to Withdraw Money

**envnet** · 04-19-2010, 03:17 PM

Recently Paypal started offering a Topup card which can be used to withdraw money onto. This is available in a number of countries where PayPal can be used including England and USA.

Top up Card Basics

The Top up Card is run by different banks depending on the country you are using it in. In England for example the cards are provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The top up card is actually a type of debit Visa card and can be used almost anywhere which accepts Visa. It is however an electronic only card which cannot be used in the antiquated credit card machines which create a copy of the cards raised numbers.

Fees

The fees for using the card will depend on the country where you are using the card. There aren't normally any monthly fees and you will only be charged a fee for withdrawing money from an ATM.

When using the card abroad you will also be charged a handling fee. This means that you will be charged a worse exchange rate than normal.

Is it Worth it

If you're receiving payments in a foreign currency then PayPal will already charge you to convert them into your own currency. You will then be charged again when withdrawing the funds from your card in a foreign country.

The withdrawal limit is also very low which can be restrictive in some circumstances. If you are only using the card to withdraw small amounts of money then it should be fine, however withdrawing large sums of money will be very expensive because you need to pay the fee several times.

The PayPal card is only really useful if you're using it for small amounts of money or you want to get your money very quickly. It is however very expensive to use.

**andysmith** · 04-23-2010, 01:05 PM

I've never actually used the topup card before, in fact I didn't even know about it until now. I wonder why they don't seem to promote it as much as they could on their site?

I think i'll give it a go and see how I get on with it.

Thanks!

Andy

**envnet** · 05-01-2010, 03:56 AM

Yes I have no idea why they don't advertise it more. It suggests they don't really like you to use it! Even searching on their site doesn't seem to find the page.

UK Paypal Topup Card: [URL="http://www.paypal.co.uk/topupcard/"]http://www.paypal.co.uk/topupcard/[/URL]

Actually after some digging there seems to be something better than that already which could be why they're not promoting it. It's called the [URL="https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/cps/account/DCIntro"]PayPal debit card[/URL] and allows you instant access to your money. Must be very new though because I can't even access the terms or apply.

No Idea how much it costs to setup or what the transaction fees are. I will write another review as soon as I find out!

Andrew