Paypal in France?

[Wibblywobbly]

I am resident in the UK and work here. I have a property in France that is slowly being renovated as and when funds allow. To finance phases of the project I BACS the money to my French bank account, as this usually involves large sums of cash. However, to top up the account to pay bills etc, I am wondering whether it is possible to use Paypal?

I use i in the UK, but have no idea how I could use it to send money to my French account, has anyone else done this (from the UK), and if so, how is it done?

Hoping someone can help?

Many thanks

Rob G

[Juswundrin]

Check out http://www,moneybookers.com for something similar (but better, IMHO).

Usually takes 2 days from Moneybookers to our La Poste a/c (plus a BACS transfer from our UK account to Moneybookers, unless you leave cash in there).

Costs €3.50 each time.

[fulcrum]

Rob

You say the sums being transfered are substantial so I would advise sticking with your current system. Although quite popular, using any of the other methods involves risk. Paypal accounts can be locked if a dispute arises. Forex companies can hide internal cashflow problems.

You may spend a bit more but you can at least rest a little easy. 

[Benjamin]

[quote user="fulcrum"]

Rob

Paypal accounts can be locked if a dispute arises. Forex companies can hide internal cashflow problems.

You may spend a bit more but you can at least rest a little easy. 

[/quote]

It might be interesting to know in percentage terms how many Paypal accounts are locked at any given time compared to the number of transactions that they handle.

I can't remember the last time I saw a Forex company go under, although of course the industry would try to supress that type of information.

[fulcrum]

Benjamin

You make a valid point. However Rob stated that the sums involved are substantial. In the circumstances I feel that my suggestion is sensible.

[Sunday Driver]

I think Rob was intending to use Paypal to drip feed smaller amounts into his French bank account to cover monthly bills....

 

[fulcrum]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

I think Rob was intending to use Paypal to drip feed smaller amounts into his French bank account to cover monthly bills....

[/quote]

You're right. My mistake [:)]

 

 

[Wibblywobbly]

Yes, I wouldn't use Paypal for the large sums as the commission would be horrendous, I make a trip to the bank for that. However, my UK bank branch is a long way from work or home and a pain to get to (don't ask!).

This is why I was wondering whether I could transfer smaller amounts via Paypal, as I can do that from home without any bother at all.

The hype about Paypal and accounts being hacked/locked etc is pretty much just that. It's probably a much lower % than the number of people who drop their wallet in the street every day? I am perfectly happy with it security wise, and this is coming from someone who works in the banking industry on the tecchie side!

So, back to my original question...has anyone transferred money from the UK to France using Paypal?

Thanks

Rob G

[alnmike]

Rob - I have tried, but to get the different currency accounts I had to have 2 email addresses, it got to confusing. Moneybookers as mentioned above works in a similar way to paypal - you can email money as well as transfer. The fee is low, and you get a good currency exchange rate. www.moneybookers.com is what I use for small (less than €5000) amounts.

[Sharkster]

I use Paypal to transfer small amounts from France to the UK etc. without any problem.  Paypal have strict rule on money laundering which is another reason not to transfer large sums regularly and this would be the likely time for your account to be frozen.  I use it every 3 months or so to transfer about £25 and yes their is commision and charges etc. but they are usually a couple of £'s so not an issue.  It is probably not the most efficient and cost effective way of doing it but it is very easy to do.  You will need to nominate you French bank in the same way as you did in the UK I think but it is worth noting that Paypal France on accepts credit cards and does not accept the French Maestro card for transactions (I use a Mastercard but like I mentioned I am transferring money in the opposite direction).  Hope this helps.

[Wibblywobbly]

To cut a long story short, I contacted Paypal, and they advised me that although transactions between the US and UK are possible, it would require two Paypal accounts linked to two email addresses (one in UK and one in France) in order to transfer money this way.

Curses!

Rob G

[Sharkster]

What is the problem with that?  If you currently have only 1 email address sign up to hotmail, yahoo or some other online email account.  Setting up another Paypal account is a non issue too.