PayPal in South Africa works differently to every other country. PayPal does not officially support South African Rands, but you can still use your account to accept foreign currencies. The only issue is that you cannot spend or store your money on PayPal. You must convert your foreign currency into Rands within 30 days of receiving it, and deposit it into your bank account. If, like me, you’ve linked your PayPal to the wrong bank account, there’s a quick way to unlink it. Unlike most things to do with FNB, the process is pretty quick and painless.
How to Unlink PayPal from FNB
First things first, you will have to call FNB. There is no other way to do this except through a phone call. I did initially find an option to unlink FNB within PayPal settings, but your PayPal email still remains connected on FNB’s side, and will not connect to another bank account.
* Unlinking PayPal Guide*
Call the FNB PayPal department on 087 572 9725 (between 07h45 – 16h15)
You’ll need to confirm your identity by giving them the following details:
Name and Surname
ID Number
Date of Birth
Phone Number
Email Address
Postal Address
The Types of FNB Accounts You Hold
The Rand Balance of the Account that PayPal is Connected To
Once you’ve confirmed your identity, they will instantly unlink your PayPal from that FNB account, leaving you free to link it to the correct account.
This whole process took me just over 3 and a half minutes – from the time I picked up the phone to the time it was completed. I was lucky enough not to be on hold at all. Hopefully you’ll have the same luck.