How To Withdraw Money From PayPal In Kenya

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

So, how can you withdraw money from PayPal? This post keeps getting updated and gives you current and most accurate information on how withdrawal from PayPal is done.

The Problem

A few years ago, PayPal withdrawal was one of the toughest things for most freelancers to get by.

Many clients and freelancing websites pay by PayPal. Therefore, getting this cash from the internet to M-Pesa, local bank account or a Kenyan ATM was a real struggle.

But things have just kept getting easier over the years.

This post will help protect you from scammers while directing you to Kenya’s most trusted PayPal withdrawal options.

The Truth

There are three real methods that you can use to withdraw money from PayPal in Kenya. These are:

Equity Bank
Payoneer – A trusted method that no longer works for new applications
PayPal to M-Pesa

The only direct withdrawal method is withdrawing through Payoneer, the rest are all indirect.

Let’s now check out the viable options you have…

1. Getting Money from PayPal to your Equity Bank account

Equity Bank is currently one of the slowest options for withdrawing PayPal cash. It takes one business day to get the cash in your bank account. However, it can be convenient for those who receive bigger payments, e.g. $3,000+.

If you have a local dollar account, you can receive the money there, withdraw in dollars, then exchange the dollars at good exchange rates from a forex bureau.

You can still perfectly use it to receive money in your KES bank account.

Read: How to Withdraw from PayPal to Equity in 1 Day

2. Using the official PayPal to M-Pesa Service

There’s an official collaboration between PayPal and Safaricom. This came in April 2018 and was an answered prayer to most Kenyans.

You can use this method to send money from PayPal to M-Pesa. Or from M-Pesa to PayPal.

Transactions take between a few minutes and 3 days to complete. Smaller amounts ($200 and below) take minutes (even one minute sometimes). The system shows you how long it will take to process each transaction.

Read: How to Officially Withdraw from PayPal to M-Pesa

3. How to Withdraw Money from PayPal using Payoneer

Editor’s note: Unfortunately, this method was stopped by PayPal in 2014. It no longer works for new applications. People who were using it earlier can still continue using it.

Payoneer is a friendly payment processor that is accepted by many freelancing websites and online payment platforms.

Even PayPal itself used to accept it. It is the most trusted and ONLY method of withdrawing PayPal money directly. Here, I mean that you withdraw by going to PayPal and clicking “Withdraw”. The M-Pesa and Equity Bank methods are all handled by separate sites.

When you receive the cash in your Payoneer account, you can withdraw it from ATMs and banks worldwide, including here in Kenya.

Note that joining Payoneer through any of my affiliate links will earn you free $25 once your cumulative withdrawal adds up to $1,000. I’ll also receive a commission.

Currently, when you join Payoneer, you also automatically get the Global Payment Service. This is a fantastic service that you can use to receive money from different companies all over the world. For example, you’re given a US account number, just like a local US citizen would.

When companies pay you using the Global Payment Service, the cash is deposited into your Payoneer account.

In case you already have a Payoneer account as you’re reading this and don’t have the Global Payment Service, simply send an email to Payoneer through their online contact form and they’ll get you sorted out real quick. You can also call or chat with them.

Once again, this PayPal withdrawal method was stopped in 2014 but Payoneer is still one of the best payment services. You can use it to receive money from your clients without using PayPal.

Bottom line

All these methods are great for PayPal withdrawal in Kenya.

It may be advisable to have all these accounts ready since that way, if you have an emergency you can make a quick PayPal to M-Pesa withdrawal.

When withdrawing volumes of cash, you can use Equity Bank or Payoneer because of the low commissions. Remember PayPal to Payoneer no longer works for new applications.

The Equity option is also great for those who would want to access loans in the future. You know how hard it is for freelancers to get big loans.

At the end of the day, the great thing is that these are legit ways through which you can withdraw money from PayPal in Kenya without being scammed.

NOTE: If you join Payoneer through this affiliate link, you get free $25 once you hit $1,000 in your Payoneer account. Also, note that PayPal is not the best way to receive payments. You can consider Payoneer, Paxful, or Wise (formerly TransferWise) where applicable.

Have you tried any of the above PayPal withdrawal methods? What’s your favorite?