Partly. PayPal has a Ghana site and you can open an account with a Ghanaian address and pay for things online with it. Receiving money - what most people in Ghana actually want PayPal for - has long been restricted for accounts registered here, and withdrawing a balance to a Ghanaian bank is the other common complaint.
PayPal does not publish a plain list of what each country can do, and the answer has changed over the years. The reliable check is your own account: open it, then look at what it offers you to receive and to withdraw.
What to avoid
- Registering as if you lived somewhere else. The usual advice online is to sign up with a foreign address. An account opened on false details breaks PayPal’s user agreement, and the point at which that is found out is usually the point at which money is in it: PayPal can limit the account and hold the balance.
- “PayPal agents” who sell verified accounts, or offer to receive your payments and pay you in cedis. You are handing your income to a stranger, and paying them for the privilege.
- Buyers who insist on PayPal and overpay. A “client” or “buyer” who sends more than the price and asks for the difference back, or who sends a screenshot of a PayPal payment instead of the payment, is running a scam.
If you are being paid from abroad
What works depends on who is paying:
| Who | What to ask for |
|---|---|
| Family and friends | A transfer service that pays into Ghanaian bank accounts or MoMo directly. PayPal’s own Xoom does this, to mobile wallets and for cash pickup |
| A client or employer | A bank transfer to your account, or a payment platform that pays out to Ghanaian banks |
| A marketplace (Upwork, Fiverr and the like) | Its own withdrawal options; check which ones it offers for Ghana before you start work |
Whatever arrives, the receiving bank or wallet will want it to match your Ghana Card name.
— Receiving money in Ghana — Freelancing from Ghana — Wise, Revolut and Monzo in Ghana
If you only need to pay
For paying a foreign website, a Ghanaian bank’s Visa or Mastercard debit card usually works directly, without PayPal. Tell your bank before you shop online abroad; some cards are set up for local payments only until you ask.