PayPal has become a hot topic for discussion since FNB announced their exclusive Top Up and Withdraw service with PayPal last week.

FNB customers can now use PayPal to receive payments for goods and services online (previously South Africans could only use PayPal to make payments). The two major benefits are that it is quick and easy to set up and use, and is incredibly secure. Basically you eliminate the security risk of exposing your credit card or bank account number, ensuring safe and secure transactions.

This opens up a whole range of opportunities for South African businesses in terms of selling products, accommodation and packaged holidays to overseas clients, to name a few!

To get to grips with the nuts and bolts of how it actually works, and what is involved in setting it up, we chatted to Vanessa Clark, co-founder of gourmet backpackers Highstead Houses to see how she found the process:

What do you need to set up a new FNB-PayPal account?
Anyone can open a PayPal account, and as far as I know, you need to have an FNB cheque, transmission or savings account plus use online banking. Just an FNB credit card is not going to be enough to link to PayPal.

What was involved in setting it up?
In my case I’ve had a verified PayPal account for a while as I have used it to buy things online. Fortunately I also bank with FNB, so all I had to do was link the two by following the instructions on the FNB online banking site. Now, under my list of accounts I see PayPal – simple as that.

Setting up a PayPal account is easy, you need a credit card to verify it, which takes a few days (basically, they take a tiny amount off your credit card, just to make sure you are who you say you are!), and then bob’s your uncle. If you don’t have an FNB bank account – join the queue to get one – I am sure FNB are going to get a heap of new business out of this!

What are the costs involved?
FNB takes 1.5% of any money transferred into and out of your PayPal account and also sets the foreign exchange conversion rate. Also, don’t be surprised if it takes a few days for the transfers to reflect, it’s not as quick as transferring money between your regular FNB accounts. PayPal charges you around 2.4% – 3.4% + 30 US cents per transaction.

What tips can you give our readers to keep this process as simple as possible?
It really is very straight forward. I was amazed. Just the simplicity of it all makes me realise what an enormous opportunity this is for South Africans. If you get stuck, I am sure you can find help online or that FNB will be able to assist.

How will it benefit your business?
Visitors to Highstead House will now be able to pay for their accommodation via PayPal. This is fantastic as most overseas clients are comfortable booking through a system that they are familiar with.

Although I will still pay the PayPal and FNB charges, these are significantly less than I was paying to a third party payment system that handled my credit card payments. In addition, it’s super easy and people know the system, so you earn trust as a business by accepting PayPal payments. Of course, the service is also more secure in any case which is important. While we might be finding this all a bit new, people in the States and many other countries don’t bat an eyelid at transferring money via Paypal.

How long have you been a FNB customer?
Over five years – since I moved back to South Africa.

How would you rate their customer service?
So, so. Once you get to the right person who can actually help you, they’re great. But recently I got caught up in a call centre black hole, where very helpful people simply didn’t have the power to solve my problem, yet I never seemed to get hold of someone who did. Luckily getclosure came to the rescue in less that 24 hours in that instance .