International Members PayPal Tutorial

PayPal is an on-line payment service which is used by many official pay sites, sell sites (e-bay), donation programs and much more. It’s many years of experience in processing these different forms of transferring money and the gain of official certificates makes it a trustworthy method to conduct on-line payments.

UFOP has been working with this system for several years and has successfully received donations made by our members in the past by the use of this service. It is relatively easy to sign up, which is required in order to transfer money, and all steps are efficiently displayed as you sign up or make use of the site’s paying services.

For the international market however, mostly non-US, the steps to signup and transfer money are somewhat different then the US part of the site. Especially when does not own a credit-card. That is where this short guide comes in. Though depending of the PayPal page for your country of origin, the following steps and tips should provide you with an accurate insight for use of PayPal.

1. Sign-up: To signup for the PayPal system you need to surf to the following url: https://www.paypal.com/. Click the "Sign-Up" button, if you do not already have a username and password. (Alternatively, you can click here to go to the sign-up page directly.)
2. You are now in the first part of the sign-up procedure. Follow the steps and fill in all the needed information PayPal requests of you. Make sure you fill everything in TO THE LETTER. Left out information will not be processed and thus you will not be able to use the services later. Remember to give your real-life information accurately -- it will not be accessible by an UFOP members.
3. You do not have to fill out any credit card information, even though it may be asked of you. Credit Card information is only needed if you wish to pay by means of credit (pay first by PayPal, then add the amount to your PayPal account). For donations to UFOP, this is however not needed. So, finish up the rest of the information and send it in.
4. You will receive an e-mail from PayPal, accepting or refusing your sign-up. PayPal can refuse your sign-up if the information you provided them with is false/missing. The exact reason for not accepting your sign-up will be communicated to you directly or can be found on the PayPal site. When you are accepted, you will be able to login to your PayPal account on-line. So, let's take a look at your account.
5. Head over to http://www.paypal.com and enter your username and password in the designated empty slots, then hit the "log-in" button. Your sign-in will now be processed. Most likely you will get to some advertising first. Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "Go To My Account."
6. You now see an overview of past transactions, account balance and more information. You will see your account balance is 0. The currency will be displayed in your selected currency or the standard US dollar. All transactions and such will be recorded and thus can be viewed here.
7. Adding Funds: To transfer money without the use of a credit card, you will need to transfer money from your bank account to the PayPal system first. To do so, you can simply use telebanking, internet banking or even the old transfer sheet which is filled out by hand at your actual bank. But, of course, to transfer money you will need to know where to send it. The "Add Funds" option in the top menu within the "My Account" screen contains all the needed information on how to transfer your funds from your bank to the PayPal system, based on your country’s banking and legal system. Simply note what is written on that page, and start wiring the money with your usual banking program.
8. Donating from PayPal to UFOP: A few days after you decided to move funds from your bank account to the PayPal system (4-5 days), you will see in the main screen of "My Account" your new account balance. The money you transferred and means how so will be displayed within this screen. If, after a week, your funds have not yet arrived, contact PayPal and your bank immediately. Now it is time to actually donate your funds to UFOP. To initiate this procedure press the "Send Money" tab in the main menu.
9. A new screen will appear where you will need to provide PayPal with the EXACT information of where your funds will be going to. You will need to provide the following information:
• Recipient’s Email: webmaster@starbase118.net
• Amount: the amount you wish to donate in USD (US dollar)
• Currency: Always use USD. Calculate the correct amount yourself and do not donate in any other currency! (See the PayPal help/currency system for more info if required under 'manage' within the screen 'My Account')
• Category of Purchase: Service
• Email subject: Donation
• Note: please add your character and rl name, ship name and date.
10. After you are done following the instructions, you will receive a verification from PayPal via e-mail. Together with that verification and your own verification by going to the "My Account" and looking at your balance, you will now see your donation has been successfully transferred to the account of UFOP. FltAdml. Wolf and his staff will send you a personal e-mail once your donation has been processed and received.
11. Make sure you write down your username and password for future sessions of donations, and the use of this system at other (pay) sites. You will probably find this an easy and secure service.

Head back to the donation station.