PayPal

Account Registration & Payment Collection Guide

A step-by-step guide to setting up your PayPal account and receiving payments

For questions on currency & withdrawal, see PayPal Help Center

Overview

This guide covers the two core steps needed to receive payments via PayPal:

Step 1 — Create and verify your PayPal account.
Step 2 — Share your PayPal email and receive payments.

Withdrawal methods, fees, and currency conversion vary by country. Rather than providing potentially outdated details here, please refer to the official PayPal Help Center links provided at the end of this guide.

Part 1 — Creating Your PayPal Account

Step 1: Go to the PayPal Website

Open your browser and visit the PayPal website for your region. The main global entry point is:

https://www.paypal.com

💡 Tip: PayPal automatically redirects you to your local version (e.g. paypal.com/gb for the UK,

paypal.com/de for Germany). You can also search 'PayPal' + your country name to find the local page.

Step 2: Choose Your Account Type

Click Sign Up and select the account type that fits your needs:

Personal Account — Recommended for individuals receiving author fees, honoraria, or one-off payments.
Business Account — For those operating as a registered business or selling goods/services regularly.

💡 For most authors and freelancers receiving payments from a platform, a Personal Account is sufficient.

You can upgrade to a Business Account at any time from your account settings.

Step 3: Fill In Your Registration Details

You will be asked to provide the following information:

Full legal name — Enter your name exactly as it appears on your passport or government-issued ID.
Email address — This will be your PayPal ID. Use an email address you check regularly.
Mobile number — Used for security verification and notifications.
Password — Create a strong password (minimum 8 characters, mix of letters, numbers and symbols).
Country of residence — Select the country where your bank account is held.

⚠️ Important: Your name must match your bank account and official ID exactly.

Mismatches can cause payment holds or failed withdrawals.

Step 4: Agree to Terms and Create Your Account

Read PayPal's User Agreement and Privacy Policy, then click Agree and Create Account (or equivalent button in your region). Your account will be created immediately.

Step 5: Verify Your Email Address

PayPal will send a confirmation email to the address you registered. Open the email and click the verification link to activate your account. Without email verification, your account will have limited functionality.

💡 If you don't see the email within a few minutes, check your spam/junk folder.

You can also request a new verification email from the PayPal login page.

Step 6: Complete Identity Verification (Recommended)

To remove receiving and withdrawal limits, PayPal requires identity verification. This typically involves:

Uploading a government-issued photo ID (passport, national ID card, or driver's licence).
Confirming your date of birth and residential address.
In some countries, providing a tax identification number (e.g. SSN in the US, CPF in Brazil).

To complete verification: go to Settings → Verify your identity (the exact path may differ by country).

⚠️ Unverified accounts have lower limits on how much you can receive and withdraw.

Complete verification as soon as possible to avoid payment holds.

Part 2 — Receiving a Payment

Step 1: Share Your PayPal Email Address

To receive a payment, simply provide the sender (your platform or client) with the email address linked to your PayPal account. No other details are needed.

💡 Double-check the email address carefully before sharing — payments sent to a wrong address

may be difficult or impossible to recover.

Step 2: Await the Payment

Once the sender initiates the transfer, the funds will appear in your PayPal balance. Processing time depends on the sender's account and payment method, but most transfers arrive within minutes to a few hours.

Step 3: Check Your Notification

PayPal will send an email notification as soon as the payment is received. You can also check your balance at any time by logging in at paypal.com or in the PayPal mobile app.

Step 4: Review Your Balance

After logging in, your balance is shown on the home screen. Funds may be held in the currency the sender used (e.g. USD). You can choose to convert them to your local currency or keep them in the original currency before withdrawing.

💡 PayPal supports holding multiple currency balances simultaneously.

You are not required to convert currencies before withdrawing — check your region's options.

Part 3 — Withdrawing Funds to Your Bank Account

The process for withdrawing funds to a local bank account — including available methods, fees, processing times, and currency conversion — varies significantly by country and account type.

Rather than providing details that may become outdated, we recommend consulting the official PayPal Help Center for accurate and up-to-date guidance specific to your region:

To withdraw funds:

Then follow the on-screen instructions for your region.