Withdraw PayPal Funds to Singapore Bank Account


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Withdraw PayPal Funds To A Singapore Bank Account

Are you a Singapore web entrepreneur and use PayPal for your transactions like me? Do you run a business buying and selling goods on eBay using PayPal?

There is no denying that PayPal is an incredibly convenient P2P payment method, especially if you deal with people from all over the world. Merchants can also easily accept credit card payments over the Internet and without paying any monthly fees.

Unlike their Malaysian counterparts, Singaporean PayPal users can withdraw their funds to a local bank account. However, PayPal is very prompt to reverse your withdrawal if you make a mistake in your application, including charging you a SGD$9.00 administration fee. The Q&As below were obtained from eBay discussion boards and also my own experience with PayPal:

1. Can I change my PayPal name?
If you want to withdraw PayPal funds to your Singapore bank account, your name with PayPal has to exactly match the one in your Singapore bank account. The name in your PayPal account is set during application - you cannot change it in your Profile page.

2. What should I enter as my first name and last name?
If you have a simple chinese name, e.g. Lim Tiong Yong, then your first name is "Lim" and your last name is "Tiong Yong". But if you have an English name too, e.g. Larry Lim Tiong Yong, then your first name is "Larry Tiong Yong" and your last name is "Lim".

3. If I'm withdrawing to my POSB account, should the bank name be POSB?
According to those who have successfully withdrawn PayPal funds to their POSB account, the bank name used was "DBS Bank Ltd".

4. What is PayPal's definition of my bank's Institution Code?
PayPal's definition of the Institution Code is actually the bank's 4-digit ACH code. Similarly, the Branch Code is the ACH branch code and is usually the first 3-digits of your bank account number. Download this PDF file of Singapore ACH Bank & Branch Codes (by UOB).

5. Do I have to pay any fees for the withdrawal?
PayPal charges SGD$1 for withdrawals of SGD$199.99 or less. Withdrawals of SGD$200.00 or more is free of charge.

6. How is PayPal's exchange rate?
Not good. While AsiaOne's currency converter showed USD$1 converts to SGD$1.595, PayPal converted my USD$2,500 withdrawal at SGD$1.527!

7. How long will I have to wait for the funds to appear in my bank account?
If there are no problems, the funds will be transferred between 5 to 7 business days. However, if your PayPal withdrawal is reversed, your funds could be stuck for a week or more, before it is returned to your PayPal account.

Update (Sept 14th):
I initiated a withdrawal from PayPal to my OCBC bank account on Sept 4th. Although the status in PayPal showed "Completed" the next day, the funds did not show up in my Singapore bank account. When I logged into PayPal on Sept 13th, I found the withdrawal had been "Reversed" - there were no explanation or even email notification from PayPal. I wrote to customer service on the same day and am still awaiting their reply.

Hence, I strongly advise those using PayPal to confirm with customer service regarding the submitted information before attempting a withdrawal. If not, then try withdrawing a small amount first, say USD$10, to see if you are doing everything right. The SGD$9.00 admin fee is nothing compared to the money you lose due to the currency conversions.

My attempt to withdraw USD2,500 from PayPal to my Singapore bank account left me USD$143 poorer - see screenshot.

Update (Sept 16th):
PayPal replied that the payment was reversed at my bank's end, i.e. OCBC. Anticipating that I will have problems find an officer that can actually do something about it, I transferred the funds to another PayPal account in the US and withdrew from there.