I live in Australia and don't have a credit card, so I was wondering how I could enter money into my PayPal account, as it only accepts a bank deposit or credit card.

Here in America we have ATM machines that when you open a savings and checking account you can receive a card that may be used just like a credit card. It will even have a Visa or Master Card logo on the card.

You then use this as a paperless checking account. They deduct the amount straight from your checking account. There is usually no fees when used as a credit card.

If in Australia you have a checking account, check with your financial institution to see if you can get your ATM card and use it like a credit card.

This can be used for PayPal. Unfortunately, I believe PayPal charges for many of their services, to deposit money back into your account. Be sure to read all the fine print before signing up for anything on the internet.

I think your question would be better answered by PayPal. Different rules for different countries.

Philipmac,

If you don't do business with PayPal, I certainly don't advise starting. There are plenty of alternatives that work as well or better and more consistently. Many even have real living, breathing human beings you can talk with if things go wrong. (That was never my experience with PayPal.)

And most of all, I would NEVER recommend a person with assets and good credit EVER use a debit card through a USA based third party collection agency like PayPal and others. With a real credit card charge there is limited liability for fraud, even in the USA. (Credit and banking laws in the USA tend to lag international practices.) With a debit card the only limitation is what the bank is willing to sue you for. Do not expect them to help solve a problem.

If the amount of money is large, talk to your banker. For about $15 or less most good banks can handle your problem anywhere in the world. For smaller amounts travelers' checks are often free to good customers. Many travelers' check/ money order companies charge $8.00 to investigate a problem even if you are right. Therefore, there are still times when sending cash is the smartest thing to do.

I know it is a problem and even more so for people with assets and good credit. Checkless transfers bank to bank are the safest for people of means. Stable vendors can take credit cards direct without the third party problems. Remember that if your vendor mistrusts you, what do you know about them? They know their business associates. You might rather that you didn’t!

Good luck!

Bob

I would probably rather, just use a credit card to buy things in America. But to do this, I must have a Mastercard or Visa etc. All I can use is a bankcard which only works in Australia.

I have got a card which may be a debit card. But it only has a Maestro and a Cirrus logo on it. I have read you can use it with EFTPOS and ATM machines in 80 countries. But I am unsure whether you can use it over the internet, with shops in other countries. Does anyone know if it will work?

HI Phillip,

I have a Commonwealth Bank account with the bank card. I live in Asia and yes you can use ATM machines anywhere with the two logos. Have you tried to ADD A BANK ACCOUNT to your pay pal account. I believe you can do that. I've had people in Australia deposit money into my account using EFTPOS. You can have the account set to do Internet Banking. I have that because I live in Taiwan and only want to use the internet banking and have an ATM card.
Hope this may have helped.

JoJo