Philippine Users: How To Withdraw PayPal Funds Using Your HSBC VISA Credit Card PART 1

So I signed up for a PayPal account a few weeks ago. It's a service that allows people to send and receive money using their email address (among other services it offers). However, if you want to transfer the money you've received directly to your bank account, you can only do so if it is a US-based one. But that doesn't mean PayPal users in the Philippines have no way of getting their hands on the money they receive from PayPal. Fortunately for us non-US-bank-account-having-Philippine-users, PayPal allows us to transfer money to a VISA credit card. I found this rather interesting because I never knew credit cards could receive money! Apparently, it would get credited as an advanced payment. But if you still do want to withdraw the money, here's how:

Oh, and before I begin with this how-to, I think I should mention what kind of VISA card I have since I can't verify if this works with every single type of VISA Credit Card in the Philippines (although I don't see that many reasons why it shouldn't). Mine is an HSBC Mabuhay Miles VISA Classic.

Part 1: Transferring money from your Paypal balance to your HSBC VISA Credit Card

Step 1
Make sure that the status of your account is VERIFIED.
To verify your account, you must first enroll your HSBC VISA Credit Card. After adding your card, click on the "Enroll in Expanded Use" link in your "Account Overview" page. Authorize PayPal to charge a US$1.95 fee to your card. You will then be given a 4-digit Expanded Use Number which you will find in your next credit card statement. It may take 3-4 working days for the Expanded Use Number to be posted. You can check this by either (1) viewing your credit card statement online or (2) waiting for your statement to arrive in the mail. Once you've received your 4-digit Expanded Use Number, login to your PayPal account and click the "Complete Expanded Use Enrollment" link in your "Account Overview" page, and enter the Expanded Use number.

Step 2
Once your account is VERIFIED and you have funds in your PayPal balance to withdraw, click on the "Withdraw" link under the "My Account" tab.

Step 3
Click on "Transfer funds to your card".
Take note that there is a US$5.00 withdrawal fee and a minimum withdrawal limit of US$10.00. To know your maximum withdrawal limit, click on the "View Limits" link in your "Account Overview" page.

Step 4
Enter the amount you wish to transfer and select your HSBC VISA Credit Card as the card you want to transfer the amount to.
Click "Continue".

Step 5
Review your details, and if the information is correct, click "Confirm".
As you can see in the picture above, the US$5.00 withdrawal fee is automatically deducted from the withdrawal.

Once you've completed these steps, the amount should be transferred to your credit card within 5-7 working days. Call the HSBC Credit Card Hot Line and talk to a customer rep to confirm. The number is 85-800.

I called HSBC after 5 days and asked them when the transaction was posted. This particular transaction was actually posted within 3 days. I can't say if that's the norm though.

***[UPDATE: Tue 30-Oct-2007]***
You can also check online (provided that your card is enrolled in HSBC's Personal Internet Banking Service). Here's a screen shot of my transaction details:
As you can see, the transaction was made on Oct 22 and was already posted by Oct 25 (less than 5 business days). I'm assuming the Cr at the rightmost column stands for Credit.
******

Notes:

• The transaction will appear on your bill as "PAYPAL *WITHDRAWAL".
• The amount posted to your HSBC VISA Credit Card will already be converted to Philippine Pesos. My US$15 ($20 - $5 fee) withdrawal was converted to Php649.92 (1:43.328). Conversion rates will vary everyday of course.
• If you have an outstanding balance, that amount will automatically be deducted from the money you receive (since it's going to be considered as an advanced payment).

Continue to Part 2: Getting Your Money

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