Where to Use PayPal in Jamaica: Useful for Freelancers!

In an era of digital payments and online shopping, PayPal has emerged as a convenient and secure way to send and receive money worldwide. In fact, as a part-time freelance writer myself, PayPal is often the only method by which I can accept online payments in Jamaica. That being said, it can be difficult to access that income in Jamaica because we can’t simply withdraw to a local bank account (third world problems!). Sure, you can request a cheque but that will take weeks to arrive by mail and foreign cheques take up to six weeks to be cleared by local banks. There are third party businesses which cash out your PayPal dollars into Jamaican bank accounts, but they charge hefty fees and often use measly exchange rates (been there, no longer willing to do that!). Thus, how can Jamaicans benefit from PayPal? By figuring out which businesses will accept your hard-earned PayPal dollars in Jamaica! (Updated for 2025)

Please bookmark this list and check back often for updates. Businesses were grouped under the following headings: Bills, Clothes, Travel, Leisure, Beauty and Household. I’m aware that this option won’t be feasible for full-time freelancers whose sole source of income comes from PayPal though. In that case, consider setting up an account on Wise.com to receive payouts to your local bank account (step-by-step breakdown here).

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Bills

Digicel Jamaica is one of the island’s two main telecommunications companies. You can purchase credit for calls, SMS and data plans via their MyDigicel app using PayPal. This is how I top up my phone each month, and I find their exchange rates to be extremely fair. Ex: If I want $2,000JMD phone credit, I’ll pay US$16.18 which includes their usual 25% GCT. You can also top up your Digicel account with PayPal using Xoom.com, as well as your Flow phone.

International online subscription services which accept PayPal include Spotify, Netflix and iTunes.

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories

I can’t remember the last time I visited a physical store for clothes as I make most purchases online and import using a third party shipping company. The only annoying thing is the US$50 limit to avoid charges at Jamaica Customs but it’s 100% legal to split your order into smaller chunks so that none of your invoices exceed US$50. That being said, which online stores accept PayPal you may ask? These include:

• Adidas
• Aeropostale
• Calvin Klein
• Designer Shoe Warehouse
• Forever 21
• Kenneth Cole
• Kipling
• Nike
• Pandora
• Puma
• SHEIN
• Shoes.com
• Victoria’s Secret
• Zappos.com
• Zara

The only local brands I found which accept PayPal are the Kerry Man Woman Home and Etal Store, but there may be others.

Travel

I’ve yet to test this one out myself, and I’ve received advice that adjusting flight details after paying with PayPal in Jamaica can be difficult or impossible. Nonetheless, there are several airlines and accommodation platforms which accept PayPal. If you have personal experience using PayPal with any of these businesses, share with me in the comments!

• AirBnB
• Avianca
• British Airways
• Caribbean Airlines
• Delta Airlines
• Emirates
• Eurowings
• Hotels.com
• JetBlue
• LATAM Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Ryanair
• Virgin Atlantic

Entertainment & Leisure

Eventbrite is an American event management and ticketing website which is utilized by many Jamaican event, concert and party organizers to sell online tickets. Whenever I buy tickets online for Jamaican events using Eventbrite, I pay with PayPal such as when I attended the Jamaican leg of Chris Brown’s Under the Influence tour in August 2023. That concert is among my year’s top 10 highlights for sure!

The only local attraction I know which accepts PayPal is Pretty Close via their newly launched website! I love watching the growth and evolution of local businesses, so to see my friend take this leap is exciting. Book reservations on his new website and pay with PayPal! Tell him I sent you. 🙂

Beauty

Isn’t it great that two of the three Jamaican woman-owned skin & hair care brands which I highlighted earlier this year for International Women’s Day accept PayPal payments?! Ettenio and Soma Glow are among my favourite product brands because they deliver results; the local woman-owned factor is just an added bonus, or as we say in Jamaica, brawta. The only caveat is that these products must be ordered online in order to use your PayPal wallet and I generally pick up my Ettenio products at Fontana or Nicole’s Beauty Supplies. On the other hand, Soma Glow products are still only available online so I have enjoyed using my PayPal wallet on her website then having the products delivered to me by bearer.

Also, I was recommended Hair by Melfitz, a Jamaican cosmetologist who specializes in natural (Afro-textured) hair and accepts PayPal.

Household

Sheldon Lev is a Jamaican photographer who converts his stellar photos into delightful wall art and other memorabilia such as jigsaw puzzles, coasters, coffee table books and Christmas ornaments. His website accepts PayPal too which is a huge plus. Feel free to apply my discount code ELLE5 for a 5% discount!

Other options in this category which accept PayPal are:

• Ebay
• Etsy which may host other Jamaican artisans and crafters
• HP
• Wayfair

Other

Last but not least, here are other options which accept PayPal payments, but didn’t fall into any of the above categories:

• Social Media Platforms (Ex: for running ads): Facebook
• Printing, Stamps, Labels & Graphics: Copycat in Barbican Centre – I paid for my business cards with them using PayPal last year!
• If you need to hire someone for a project, platforms like Upwork and Fiverr support PayPal transactions.
• Online learning platforms, including Coursera and Udemy, often allow students in Jamaica to enroll in courses and pay using PayPal.

Wrap Up

Lastly, as a rule of thumb: look out for the PayPal logo or the “Pay with PayPal” option during the checkout process when shopping online. This indicates that the store accepts PayPal as a payment method. Did you find this information useful? If so, please bookmark or pin this post in order to revisit it later, and share with a friend. If there’s somewhere I missed, please leave a comment below so I can update the article! 🙂 While I can’t swipe my hard-earned PayPal dollars in local stores yet, at least there are dozens of online options to spend from my PayPal wallet in Jamaica. Thank you to all my friends & followers who dropped suggestions to help me write this article! ❤️ #crowdsourcing

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