How Cuba-Jamaica CFL Project Heralds LED's, Li-Ion Batteries and Sapphire Screens in Jamaica

Since Minister of Science, Technology Energy and Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell’s tour on Wednesday, October 23^rd, 2013 of the US$5 million Rare Earth Pilot Plant set up by Nippon Light Metal Company Limited at the JBI (Jamaica Bauxite Institute) located in Hope Gardens, along Old Hope Road as stated in my blog article entitled “Rare Earth Metal Pilot Plant at Jamaica Bauxite Institute to test Rare Earth Extraction Process - Nippon Light Metal Company Limited keen to beat China using Red Mud from Bauxite Companies” nothing more has been heard of the progress of the plant.

Remember the Rare Earth Pilot Plant was one month behind schedule as per the articles “Paulwell Impressed With Rare-Earth Pilot Plant”, Published Thursday October 24, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner and “A rare find”, published Thursday, October 24, 2013, The Jamaica Observer.

So I was expecting that they’d be more news on the progress of this plant. Reason being as it holds such great potential in reviving the Bauxite Industry via the re-utilization of the Red Mud from the RDA (Residue Disposal Area).

More interestingly, there is the potential to go into the manufacturing of everything from LED (Light Emitting Diodes) to Li-Ion Batteries for All-Electric Vehicles in Jamaica as opined in my Geezam blog article entitled “Oregon-based Porteon to assemble All-Electric Vehicles in Jamaica – One By One” and my blog article entitled “Porteon to manufacture All-Electric Vehicles in St. Lucia - Strengthening CARICOM ties with Jamaican Skilled Labour”.

Rare Earth Extraction from Red Mud – Electronics Manufacturing from Batteries to LED’s

That promise was the original reason why I wrote my blog article entitled “Japan’s Nippon Light Metal Company Limited to mine Rare Earth elements in Jamaica - Jack Reacher recycling gadgets for Rare Earth Elements”.

Hope for the revival of mined out Bauxite lands was another bonus which I later unearthed in my blog article entitled “Rare Earth Metals Extraction from RDA Red Mud's got Titanium and Iron by-products - All You Need is Kill the Scrap Metal Industry and Agriculture benefits in The Place Beyond the Pines”.

But even more precious to Jamaica would be the development of our own manufacturing industries based on the usage of some of these Rare Earth Metals such as making Laptop Batteries and even LED (Light Emitting Diodes) for Lighting purposes as noted in the article “Let there be LEDs”, published Wednesday, May 23, 2012 BY NEKIESHA REID Business reporter, The Jamaica Observer.

Especially as Minister Phillip Paulwell has plans to eventually revive the Cuban Light bulb Programme as the Cuba-Jamaica Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) Project as stated in my blog article entitled “Minister Paulwell revives Cuban Light Bulb Program - How to Ban Incandescent Bulbs and focus on production of LED Bulbs in Jamaica”.

This, albeit an extension of diplomatic ties with Cuba, is really a backward step and may amount to nothing more than Cuba Dumping Fluorescent bulbs on Jamaica in exchange for Tungsten mineral extracted from Incandescent bulbs.

Jamaica should be focused in banning the importation of Incandescent bulbs and the developement of the manufacturing, production and export of LED Lights in Jamaica as the US of A is planning to do by Wednesday January 1^st 2014 as stated in the article “US to phase-out 40w and 60w incandescent lightbulbs on Jan. 1”, published December 27, 2013 By Andrew Couts, DigitalTrends.

By the way, here’s a quick review of LED Light Bulbs that we can possibly make or manufacture on contract here in Jamaica as listed in “LED there be light: We pick the best bulb upgrades for your buck”, published December 20, 2013 3:44 PM PST by Ry Crist, CNET News.

Manufacturing using Rare Earth Products Possible – Cheaper Electricity is the Key

This would be possible thanks to the coming of cheaper electricity from EWI (Energy World International) who’d won the Bid to build the 360MW LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) Power Plant as stated in my blog article entitled “360 MW LNG Power Plant and 115 MW Renewable Energy Project Bidders have submitted Bids - Congratulations to the Energy Bidders as Liberated Energy Sector is Power to the People”.

Even the manufacture of Sapphire from Alumina would be also possible with cheaper power as stated in my blog article entitled “Sapphire Screens for smartphones by Q1 2014 - Unscratchable Sign of Virgo is the Man of Steel to revive Jamaican Alumina Industry” as there is a coming demand for Sapphire screens in the US of A for making Tablets and smartphones.

So I wait with baited Breath on some story from the Media as it relates to the progress of the Rare Earth Pilot Plant by March 2014 as Lithium-Ion Batteries used in All-Electric Vehicles powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells will soon be in short supply once All-Electric Vehicle catch on in the US of A as predicted in my blog article entitled “Tech Predictions for 2014 - PC killin' Tablets and Wearable Computers, Personal Drones and Autonomous Vehicles Hydrogen Fuelled Cars”.

Failing that, I myself might have to make a visit to the JBI (Jamaica Bauxite Institute) and ask for a guided tour of the Rare Earth Pilot Plant and possibly take a few pictures for an exclusive on my blog!

Tessanne Chin is the Winner of the Voice - Princess Kitana #BreadandButter work begins as March 2014 deadline for Universal Studios album from Mona Tessanne

It’s now a week after Tessanne Chin has won “The Voice” and the news hasn’t yet died down as stated in the article “Terrific Tessanne wins The Voice”, Published Tuesday December 17, 2013 10:57 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner and  “She did it! Tessanne is The Voice”, published Tuesday, December 17, 2013 10:56 PM, The Jamaica Observer. #BreadandButta is going to be a hot seller this Christmas 2013 as Tessanne Score a Flawless Victory like Princess Kitana in Mortal Kombat for all Talented Singers in Jamaica as the First Jamaican to win “The Voice”

The reason I’ve taken so long to do an article is that I was hoping that the excitement and euphoria over her win would have cooled down sufficiently to get some good analysis news of her winning “The Voice”. Plus I really like this new picture of her; maybe we should rechristen her Mona Tessa along with her Downtown moniker Chinita Goodas. Also I’m apparently being elevated to the Status of God as noted in the article “Jamaica's Tess”, published Monday December 23, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner.

I was wrong. There is still too much noise in the Traditional media. By “noise” I mean people either writing emotionally filled articles tracing her historic journey to finally winning as stated n the article “Tessanne's journey on The Voice”, Published Monday December 16, 2013 7:54 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner or just simply news about what Tessanne Chin doing currently. So now it's a week later and it’s still no quieter; so it’s now or never for my personal analysis of what went down on those fateful two (2) days on “The Voice”.

After all, who could blame them people? Not only was Blake Shelton’s winning streak been broken but it’s a Historic Win for our Music and speaks much about our singing ability as Jamaicans.  I’ll leave it at that, as I’m not one of those persons trying to extend our music and athletic prowess to imply Jamaicans can do everything; we’re just talented in these areas is my basic view. But it’s still historic as we have become the first foreign country to win “The Voice”, a big win for Jamaican Music that unites us All.

Night of the Voice – Half Way Tree Intersection of People resonates with Olympic Pride

On the night of her last performance at “the Voice” on the night of Tuesday December 17^th 2013, Half Way Tree near to the JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transit Company) Transport Center became the scene of a massive throng of people who apparently didn’t have a big screen TV at home as can be seen in the pictures in the article  “PHOTOS: Tessanne fever hits Half-Way Tree”, published Tuesday December 17, 2013 9:20 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Equally jubilant were her parents who were camped out supporting #TeamTessanneChin and #TeamBreadandButter via their Twitter party concept that was catching on among diaspora, being as it was their accounts that count as stated in “PHOTOS: Confident crowd at daddy Chin's home”, Published Tuesday December 17, 2013 9:59 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner.

The waggonists gathered to watch her perform on the Jumbo Screens that basically made the Half Way Tree Intersection a kind of mini Time Square just to get a glimpse of the Songbird. It was a crowd similar to the crowds I saw that sprang to life whenever our Jamaicans were running their races at the 2008 or even the 2012 Olympic Games. Definitely the Jumbo Screens are convenient, albeit the sound wasn't all that great!

I know as I was there, coming home from yet another computer repair job. While passing through Half Way Tree close to the JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transit Company) Transport Center, I bumped into the Crowd. I say “bumped” as it was about 8:00 pm and based on the crowd and how they were getting rallied by Miss Kitty powered by Digicel’s Boom Box Truck that point I realized that Tessanne Chin was soon to come on “The Voice” and not necessarily lost people.

I stood to observe the crowd on the opposite side of the Road and drank it all in. It was quite something else. So many people excited over someone that hardly knew as if it was an Olympic event and in all accounts had been underrated by the Jamaica Media Fraternity as noted in “Wild celebration as Tessanne wins The Voice”, published Tuesday, December 17, 2013 11:53 PM by Kimmo Matthews, The Jamaica Observer.

I eventually left, walking towards Clock Tower Plaza just as the CVM TV OBU (outside Broadcast Unit) and other Media entities were arriving to get some quick sound bites from the frenzied crowd for their respective entertainment shows. I was quite desperate to make it home to see the celebration myself on Television, but from all accounts the crowd was just getting started, so I had plenty of time.

I guess I should have stayed back a bit, as I reached home just in time to catch the celebration that was also wildly in swing once she had won. Swallowfiled where I lived erupted in a banging of Dutch pots and Vuvuzelas as we and the rest of Jamaica celebrated her win which spoke volumes about how Americans love Reggae Music and respect and revere Jamaican singing Talent.

Tessanne Chin represents Jamaica on the Voice – Three Musketeers sing their Three Last songs

A quick step back from the excitement on Tuesday December 17^th 2013 to her Last Mile on Monday December 16^th 2013 on “The Voice” that was to start at 8:00 pm that day!

Her final walk on Monday December 16^th 2013 saw her singing for the last time with her fellow Team Adam stable mate Will Champlin and Team Christina's charge Jacqui Lee. During this final show, she sang flawlessly as she did last week to make it into the Top 3 as stated in my blog article entitled “Tessanne Chin now in the Top 3 in The Voice - Historic #BreadandButter Victory within Grasp for Tessanne Chin as Blake Shelton supports her je ne sais quoi Voice”.

The three Musketeers were slated to sing three songs as stated in “Tessanne hits The Voice stage tonight with coach Adam”, Published: Monday December 16, 2013 7:23 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner and “The Voice Final: Can Tessanne do it?”, published Monday, December 16, 2013 6:19 PM, The Jamaica Observer. Each contestant was to sing a song that symbolically represented their journey through “The Voice” and support from their Coach:

1.      Their first song at the Blind Auditions on “The Voice”

2.      A duet with their respective Team Coaches

3.      A final Swan Song to declare to the world why they should be chosen as “The Voice”

In the case of Tessanne Chin, the path to victory was laid clear:

1.      Reliving the moment of vindication at the blind auditions by singing P!nk’s “Try”

2.      Duet with Adam Levine singing the Beatles song “Let it Be”

3.      Her swan song, which was the Whitney Houston hit “I have Nothing”

Thus the List of Blind Audition songs to be performed breaks down as follows:

1.      Will Champlin (Team Adam): Gavin DeGraw’s “Not Over You”

2.      Jacquie Lee (Team Xtina): Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black”

3.      Tessanne Chin (Team Adam): P!nk’s “Try”

The Duets were also equally interesting as well:

1.      Tessanne Chin & Adam Levine: The Beatles song “Let it Be”

2.      Jacquie Lee & Christina Aguilera: Christina Aguilera’s “We Remain”

3.      Will Champlin & Adam Levine: Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”

But it's the Swan song that's got the focus of the American Voting Public, as it's the song upon which they were to be judged winners of “The Voice”:

1.      Tessanne Chin (Team Adam): Whitney Houston hit “I have Nothing”

2.      Will Champlin (Team Adam): Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do (I Do It for You)”

3.      Jacquie Lee (Team Xtina): “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” (from Dreamgirls)

Adam Levine’s strategy involved older songs that resonated better with an older Millennial (ages 18 to 28) and Generation X (ages 29 to 45) crowd used to quality music on LP’s and CD’s, while Christina Aguilera swung for Teenager (ages 13 to 17) crowd and younger Millennial (ages 18 to 28) more used to MP3 Music.

Personally I’m a Generation X (ages 29 to 45), which means I came of age in the 1990’s and thus my musical taste is more reflective of the 80’s and 90’s as I’ve opined in my blog article entitled “Jamaican Music Industry 2 Years post-Ban - How Artiste and Booking Agents Launder Money” as opposed to Millennial (ages 18 to 28).

So you know where my support would lie as even the British knew who the winner was going to be as noted in the article “Ladies in red! Christina Aguilera and The Voice contestant Jacquie Lee are glamorous in coordinating scarlet dresses as three finalists duet with their coaches”, published 17 December 2013 UPDATED: 15:30 GMT, Dailymail UK. Jacqui Lee duet with Christina Aquilera really showed the young Lioness' talent; it’s clear she’ll be a force to reckon with when she gets older and acquires more control over her powerful little voice!

Similarly sentiments probably existed among Americans, as the majority of Americans who own an Apple iPhone are actually older Millennial (ages 18 to 28) and Generation X (ages 29 to 45) as concluded from my blog article entitled “Kantar WorldpanelComTech Stats suggests that the Apple iPhone 5C is a Google Android smartphone whisperer – US$100 cheaper is still a Deal for the 38 year old Crowd”.

Clearly Tessanne Chin was pulling out the Big guns. To do a Whitney Houston song and do it well, singing what’s considered Sacred Ground in the US of A is to connect with the Black Community and MoTown whose singing talent came from the Church. And by all accounts she did it well as stated in the article “Tessanne nails Whitney Houston’s classic on 'Voice' finals”, published Monday December 16, 2013 10:03 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner.

In the process, she also secured the Top 6 positions on Apple iTunes, vindication of her growing popularity and singing quality as stated in the article “Tessanne secures six spots on iTunes Top 100 USA”, Published Tuesday December 17, 2013 2:08 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner which were still there at the time of writing this article. The support by the Americans was equally matched by Jamaicans at home and the Diaspora as noted in “TEAM TESSANNE RALLY AT HOME”, published Monday, December 16, 2013 9:50 PM, The Jamaica Observer.

Tessanne Chin and Celine Dion – My Fave Goddesses on one Stage

Tuesday December 17^th 2013 sealed it though, with all contestants doing duets, Tessanne Chin’s being Celine Dion as stated in the article “When Tessanne Sings Tonight”, Published Tuesday December 17, 2013 5:21 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner. Their duets were with established artiste from Universal Music to whom the winner would eventually be signed upon winning. And what a duet that Tessanne Chin Performed!

Absolutely takes my breath away! I would play this clip over and over again!

The other performance were also noteworthy, especially Jacqui Lee, who’s duet with Paramour “Ain’t it Fun” was very entrancing, like watching a much younger version of P!nk perform but with the same strength of character as Miley Cyrus as noted in the article “The Voice Season 5 Finale Recap: And the Winner Is… [Plus: 15 Additional Awards!]”, published DECEMBER 17, 2013 07:57 PM PST BY MICHAEL SLEZAK, TV Line.

But in the end there could only be one winner: Tessanne Chin! Her reason for winning is as gently outlined above: more older Millennial (ages 18 to 28) and Generation X (ages 29 to 45) own Apple iPhones and have an active Apple iTunes account than Teenager (ages 13 to 17) crowd and younger Millennial (ages 18 to 28).

They know good music when they hear it and thus put their money where their ears led them and voted….and Tessanne Chin Won! She was then given the Victory song Tumbling Down which was written for her by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.

Tessanne Chin the Winner – Real work begins as March 2014 is deadline for an album

The rest is now history as I’d mentioned above. Tessanne Chin then went on a whirlwind tour of interviews on the Today Show and then Jay Leno as a Talk Show and even Access Hollywood (OMG!) as stated in “Tessanne Chin is The Voice” published Wednesday, December 18, 2013 BY RICHARD JOHNSON Senior staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer and “Tessanne To Appear On US 'Today Show Tomorrow”, Published Wednesday December 18, 2013 4:07 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Tessanne Chin eventually returned to Jamaica courtesy of a Private Jet ride from Telecom Provider Digicel, which ferried a tired but very animated Tessanne Chin back home to family, friends and an airport full of Waggonists  ….er ..I mean supporters as noted in the article “PHOTOS: Tessanne Chin Arrives Home”, Published Friday December 20, 2013 8:30 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner.

I say waggonists as I am sure many Jamaicans are wondering how come we never knew she had such singing Talent like yet remained undiscovered for so long. A plus for Corporate Investment in the Creative Industries as argued by Pulse CEO Kingsley Cooper in his Jamaica Gleaner article “Tessanne Proves The Point Of Creative Business”, Published Friday December 20, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner.

I’ll ignore the other articles I’ve read congratulating Tessanne Chin and all the folks she’s met, especially the so-called controversy regarding her statement on Jamaican roads when asked what vehicle she’d prefer from Kia Motors as noted in the article “'The Voice' Champ Quips About Jamaica's Bad Roads”, published December 19, 2013, Associated News via ABC News.

The NWC (National Works Agency) was the pig that got struck and squealed when the rock of a comment that Tessanne Chin spoke struck them as noted in “Point Noted ... NWA On Tessanne's “We Have The Worst Roads” Remark”, Published: Wednesday December 18, 2013 1:42 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner, as the roads are really that bad and really require a SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) to negotiate.

Tessanne Chin eventually got a 2014 Kia Sorento thanks to a local dealership for Kia in Jamaica that facilitated the prize being hand-delivered as noted in “Sorento For The Songstress: Kia Motors Ja To Provide Tessanne With Prize Vehicle”, Published Sunday December 22, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner.

These side issues, including her prize money of US$100,000 are mere distractions and is mostly gushing and rather pointless and neither adds or takes away nothing from her flawless victory, Mortal Kombat style!

She now has until March 2014 to complete an album of songs as per her contract with Universal Studios, albeit she’s opting to do the album here in Jamaica with GeeJam Studios in Portland as stated in  “Tessanne Wants A Grammy Next”, published: Monday December 23, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner. 

Already she’s set her sights on winning the Grammy and collaborations with her former coach Maroon Lead Singer Adam Levine and even the Marleys, who in Jamaica are considered Royalty as stated in her video interview at the Jamaica Observer Exchange on Monday December 23^rd 2013 as stated in the article “VIDEO: Tessanne to get cracking on new album January”, published Tuesday, December 24, 2013BY RICHARD JOHNSON Senior staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer.

The future for “The Voice” is clear: Denyque and Ishawna are to be the New Entrants into the Voice in 2014 as stated in my blog article entitled “Tessanne Chin now in the Top 6 in The Voice - Reggae Patios Song proves Americans Love her Underneath it All as Team Adam and #TeamBreadandButter sets up a Shelly Ann Fraser 1-2-3 finish”. Until then you know how to support Tessanne Chin in the future when her album drops in March 2014 on Apple iTunes!

How @Payoneer the Prepaid MasterCard can receive money via Paypal in Jamaica

If you’ve read my last blog article entitled “How to receive Payments online and spend it here in Jamaica - If it doesn't make spendable cash it doesn't make sense to Work online or do E-Commerce” you’ll notice that I made mention of Payoneer, the Prepaid Debit Card from MasterCard. This is necessary for working online as it makes money received via PayPal spendable here in Jamaica.

Whether you work online or you have an E-Commerce Website, transferring Cash to Jamaica is a hassle. Remittances via MoneyGram or Western Union are pointless for customers online, as they are mainly Americans and prefer the convenience of Credit Cards.

Hence the reason for PayPal as argued in my blog article entitled “How Jamaicans can set up a Payment Gateway in order to process Credit Card purchases - E-Commerce the main Catalyst for Increasing Jamaica's Internet Penetration”, the most ubiquitous and popular Payment Gateway online!

Still many questions remain unanswered by many Jamaicans as it relates to the use of Cash on their Payment Gateway i.e. PayPal. Specifically, how do you put money on your PayPal Account to spend online? And how do you spend it here in Jamaica? Finally, how do you load money unto your Payoneer, the Prepaid Debit Card from MasterCard?

This article should be of interest to you if you’re a MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) with your own E-Commerce Website, a Worker online or even a Reggae or Dancehall Artiste looking to transfer your earning legally to Jamaica after a stint abroad as described in my blog article entitled “Jamaican Music Industry 2 Years post-Ban - How Artiste and Booking Agents Launder Money”. Hopefully I’ll provide all the answers to the questions that you have.

How to put money on your Paypal Account – The Reason why having a blog is a good idea

This is a burning question for many, as PayPal explicitly forbids Jamaicans from Transferring Cash from their Local Bank Accounts to PayPal, as can be seen from the screenshot below.

It’s simple really!

Once you get your PayPal Account and verify it using your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card, you’ll need to have a US Bank Account to transfer funds to PayPal, This is a bit of a difficulty, especially if you want to use PayPal to buy things securely online and you’re not a US Citizen with a Social Security Number.

There is a clever workaround as the screenshot itself suggests. Money can only be transferred if someone pays money to your Account. Now if you’re working online, that’s easy as when you work, you get paid via PayPal as noted in my blog article entitled “How Jamaicans can Legally make US Dollars as Freelance worker Online - Jamaican Flexworking to make money from the Internet”.

However, for secure personal purchases, the only way is to use your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card and pay money to your Account. To do this, you’ll need to create a Webpage with a PayPal Button using the instructions in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to use Scotia VISA Debit Card Online”.

In your PayPal Account, go to Products and Services Tab and then select Website Payments Standards. Then create a PayPal Button once you’re on the screen as show in the screenshot below.

Now for the hard part! If you’re like me and you have your own blog, in my case My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica, you can integrate the script for the PayPal Button into your blog as a Donate Button. Then you can, literally, using your own Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card, donate money to yourself.

Alternately if you DON’T have a blog, you can create a Google Drive Account and then create a Website hosted by Google Drive as described in Kemory Grubb Geezam blog article entitled “How to publish a simple HTML Website using Google Drive”. But instead of a Resume, you just place your script for the PayPal Button on that Webpage and then keep a copy of the hyperlink for the Webpage or even create a URL shortcut.

Then whenever you need to transfer money to your PayPal Account, just click on it and use your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card to transfer funds to the PayPal Account. If you’re smart, you can even use the new Webpage as a mini Payment Site to collect payment for selling items online.

Even better, make a shortened URL of your mini Website using a URL Shortening Service that pays you per click  as described in my blog article entitled “How to become an e-book Publishing House via e-book Piracy - Tablets in Schools sets the Stage for Rampant e-book Piracy”, and placing the shortening URL as an ad in the Newspaper. Thus you earn per click as well as when the person buys the item from your Webpage!

Payoneer is Convenience for Internationals – Spend on the Go in Jamaica Earnings Online

But what about spending your cash earned online? That’s where applying for a Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card comes in. Once you go to the Website, you basically follow the procedure as show in the screenshot below. This is to collect information about you in order to create your Payoneer Prepaid Card.  

The service is facilitated by MasterCard, a payment Gateway that creates the Prepaid Debit Cards. It’s no different from the Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card, except it’s hosted in a US Bank Account.

You are then sent a physical Plastic Prepaid Debit Card with your name on it. Additionally, an online Account is created at Payoneer that allows you to check your Card Balance as well as make Withdrawals. You also receive email from paymenrs@payoneer.com advising you of changes to your Account, be it deposits or Withdrawals.

As it’s a regular Prepaid Debit Card, you can actually use it to not only verify your PayPal Account, but you can also spend the money here locally as soon as you get it. This as ATM (Automated Teller Machines) that accept VISA and MasterCard based on the stickers posted, will process payments from these Cards. Just remember not to use it JUST when you get it without any money being on the card initially, otherwise the ATM will eat your card, thinking it is stolen US Bank of America Prepaid Debit Card!

Best of all its far more convenient than MoneyGram or even Western Union, as you can even give relatives abroad your Bank Account Number and let them transfer instantly spendable cash to you! The FAQ for Payoneer is the best resource to check to answer all your questions related to the service, which is a boon for Internationals wishing to work in the US of A online but remain in their host country.

How to Privately Load your Payoneer Card – The Irony of a Card that needs Live Cash to Accept Paypal

Albeit the Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card is mainly for earning money online, you can also reload the Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card. You can also spend the money you earn working online from any POS (Point of Sale) or ATM (Automated Teller Machine). But what if you money is on your PayPal and you want to place it on your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card to avoid the long wait associated with clearing PayPal Cheques?

For that, though, you have to go into PayPal, select Withdraw and register your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card as the US Bank Account from which you can receive payments as shown below. 

However, there is a problem.

You have to have live cash on your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card, otherwise you’ll keep getting and error message from PayPal quote “We were unable to process your bank Account registration at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again at a later date”…..and you do wan’t that.

So place a couple hundred dollars on your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card so that you can then add it to your PayPal Account! This may seem to be a bit of an irony, as your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card will initially be empty when you receive it and you may have money accumulating on your PayPal Account from working. Hence this makes it difficult for you to get your money from your PayPal Account to spend on your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card, the main aim of this article.

By right, Payoneer wants you to receive funds from working online with a Website that accepts Payoneer DIRECTLY instead of just attaching the Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card to your PayPal Account immediately as noted in “How to add funds to your Payoneer Account”, published NOVEMBER 30, 2011, Payoneer. Here’s a quick list of some of the over 60 companies that have already joined Payoneer:

1.      2CheckOut

2.      Amazon i.e. Associates Program and Kindle Direct Publishing

3.      AvantLink

4.      BuySellAds

5.      ClickBank

6.      Digital River i.e. OneNetworkDirect

7.      eBay

8.      Elance

9.      GoDaddy

10.  Google

11.  Kontera

12.  LinkShare

13.  oDesk

14.  PayPal

15.  ShareASale

Once you’ve begun working for any of the above companies and you’ve begun to receive regular payments, you become eligible for Private loading. This is where you yourself can place money on your own Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card Account, just as you did with PayPal. The difference from the workaround method for PayPal is that it can be done directly via their Private Load Website sing your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card but with a minimum transfer of US$20 or a maximum of US$1000 as shown in the video below.

Clearly from the popularity of the video, this is a problem that has bedeviled the best of us involved in E-Commerce or working online. Another method I’ve yet to try is to do a SWIFT/BIC Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication/ Bank Identification Code) Transfer using the SWIFT/BIC for your Bank and Bank of America. All you should need is the following information:

1.      BANK NAME: Bank Of America

2.      Account Type: CHECKING

3.      17-Digit Account #: e.g. XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-X

4.      9-Digit ABA # or Bank Routing Number: e.g. XXXX-XXXX-X

It should work, as it’s a regular Bank Account albeit it may have restrictions, being as it’s earmarked for working online.  An even better method is to get a friend in the US of A to send your money via your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card Account. This should work, as again it is a Bank Account that designed to facilitate Internationals e.g. Jamaicans working in the US of A.

Please note is no guarantee that this may be possible, as there may be restrictions as it relates to actual Cash Deposits to the Account, even if the person is in the US of A. I shall try BOTH of these methods and report back to you my fellow readers to see if they work.

Payoneer Bank Charges – Worth it if you’ve got Great Cashflow and Can’t Wait on Paypal

There are charges associated with the ownership of the Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card. But for the convenience, if you’re really serious about making money online, these charges should not be a major inconvenience to you, especially if your business has solid steady cashflow and especially when you realize that it takes 3 weeks to clear a cheque requested from PayPal!

Thus payments made to PayPal, be it from working online or transfers from the Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card can be conveniently used here in Jamaica and once connected are automatically transferred to your Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard Debit Card ready to spend online or shopping in Jamaica.

Merry Christmas to all and have fun working online or making money via your E-Commerce Website!

Here’s the Link:

Payoneer Facebook Account

Payoneer Twitter Feed: @Payoneer

Payoneer Website

Payoneer YouTube channel