Getting Paid in South Africa - Paypal or Direct to Bank?

[samdaguiar]

Hi there, 

I am wondering if anyone could help explain the pros/cons of the different 'getting paid' options? 
I am trying to work out exactly how much money I will "lose", whether it's better I keep the money in dollars, and only use it for online purchases like software, or if the loss is so little it won't matter in the long run. 

I'm not too clued about how the exchange rate works and what the final figure in my bank account will be after this and banking charges. 
Any info would help, especially if you are a South African that has used either option. 

Thanks, 
Sam 

[491a02ce]

Hey Sam, I know it's been a couple years hopefully you're still here. Did you ever find out what payment route is best? 

[samdaguiar]

Hi Keren S, 

Yes, I have my prefence for sure: Direct to Local Bank wins! 

I tried both. Paypal incurred slightly more costs once conversion and withdrawal were complete. 
Paypal also doesn't let South Africans hold their money in there for more than 30 days, so this was a bit inconvenient. 

I've had no issues with Direct to Local Bank. 

Good luck! 🙂 

[044044e0]

Hi Samantha

Could you please let me know how long you waited for funds to clear? Busy weighing up options.. cost vs time to clear

[samdaguiar]

Hi,

Paypal was instant I believe but I've only used this option once, about a
year ago.
Direct to Bank has never taken more than 5 working days.

Hope that helps,
Sam

[044044e0]

Thanks. Paypal to Paypal is instant, but from there to FNB takes about as long as the direct to bank option then. 
Thank you for replying so quickly! 

[horowitz_yazmine]

Thanks for the insight. I had the same query.

[amandadelport]

Hi, I am also from South Africa and I found that the direct to bank method was cheaper than Paypal but still far more expensive than  Payoneer.  I have managed to almost halve my total fees ( Payoneer and coversion included) when transferring from Payoneer to Capitec, which takes about 24/48 hours.   I am busy looking into Wise as an alternative transfer.  It's 1.1 % compared to Payoneer at 3% and uses mid-market conversion rates so it could possibly be cheaper!  I have just opened and verified with Wise and and got my dollar account.  Going to update my payment details with Upwork using the direct to US bank method  and give it a try soon.  Will update if it works out cheaper.