The other day, I wrote about the impending restrictions that PayPal will impose on its users in India. These restrictions are actually put in place to comply with the requirements from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank.
Earlier tonight, I tried to send payment via PayPal mass pay to an Indian webmaster, but I kept getting the following error message.
* Line 1 : Currency type, Payment amount
* Line 2 : Email address
Click How to upload for more information on formatting payment files.
I tried several times, but it wouldn’t go through. The mass pay CSV file that I was using was perfect, no errors. In the end, I had to use regular PayPal payment to complete the transaction.
PayPal announced on its website that the restrictions will be in effect starting March 1, 2011. It’s not even March yet, but it’s already tough for Indian webmasters and merchants to receive PayPal payments. It’s going to be even tougher when the restrictions are actually in effect.
With PayPal virtually unusable in India, I am wondering how Indian webmasters will be able to stay in business online. There are, of course, PayPal alternatives out there. But can they actually replace PayPal? Will business be the same to Indian webmasters and online merchants without PayPal? Probably not.