BPI for PAYPAL

Minimum age to apply is 10 yrs old
Initial cost was P500 for the annual fee for 2 years of the card's validity compared with UnionBank's annual fee of P350. It costs P600 for those outside GMMA.

Daily limit is P10,000 compared to Eon which is P20,000; so I guess for small online purchases like Android apps, coupons, vouchers, airline tickets, hotel bookings, etc. it's ok. For more expensive purchases, a credit card is still the way to go but you have to be vigilant with the charges so you can monitor if there's unauthorized usage that you can dispute with the company.

You can deposit/fund the card using BPI ATMs, cash acceptance machines, and thru BPI ExpressOnline.

Another downside, you can't withdraw Paypal payments to your BPI E-prepaid card and it cannot be used like an ATM unlike the Eon.




How to Apply for the BPI E-Prepaid Card:

1. I applied online thru BPI's website.
Choose "Prepaid Cards" in the dropdown menu then read the agreement form that follows.





2. Fill up the details in the registration form and nominate a branch nearest you where you will pickup the card.







3. Go to your nominated branch to pickup the card. Allow 2-3 business days before picking up the card. Might also be a good idea to call the branch first to ask if your card is already available.

I went to my nominated branch to pickup the card after a week, showed a valid ID then paid the card fee of P500. The BPI employee told me that they require a P500 initial deposit ( not stated on the website) so I also made a deposit, considering that I'm going to require some funds to verify the card with Paypal.

You might want to load some funds initially while you're there so that the card can be enrolled into your Expressonline account or to have it activated. You'll also need to sign a card enrollment/agreement form to link your card with your EOL account (if you have one).








4. To link it with Paypal, log in to your account (or register if you don't have one yet) at the Paypal website. Click on "Profile" then "Add/Edit Credit Card." Enter your card's details. Make sure that your E-prepaid card already shows up on your Expressonline account and that you have a minimum of P150 before verifying it with Paypal or you'll get an error message. Paypal charges $1 (non-refundable) to link your card plus P100 to verify that the card is yours (will be refunded later after you verify your card). Click on "Confirm my debit or credit card."









5. You can either check your BPI online account after 2-3 days for the 4-digit Paypal code listed under "View last 5 transactions" or send an email (like I did) with your full name and 16 digit card number to myeprepaid@bpi.com.ph and they'll reply with your 4-digit code.



Log in to Paypal again to confirm your card by entering your personal Paypal 4- digit code.





6. After confirming your card, you can now use the card for online shopping in eBay or other online stores that accept Paypal. The P100 Paypal deducted from your account will be refunded after a few days as Paypal funds (in US$).