Visa and Mastercard did not gain widespread usage in Nigeria until between 2005 and 2010. With a population of about 200 million (as of 2019), Nigeria still does not have financial inclusion for all of its population. This creates a gap for alternative digital currencies where an internet payment system is required. One of such systems is Perfect Money (PM).
PM is popular in Iran, Vietnam, Nigeria, Pakistan and to some extent, Japan.
There is no public record that shows Perfect Money is regulated by the financial authorities of any country. Thus, there is a higher element of risk in your use of this online wallet.
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How did Perfect Money grow?
Perfect Money may have been started as far back as 2007. For the next 6 years, however, it lurked in the background as an alternative to the now-extinct Liberty Reserve. It didn’t have much patronage nor use. When the United States government shut down Liberty Reserve in 2013 for money laundering, the usage of Perfect Money spiked upwards sharply and has remained wildly popular as an alternative digital currency ever since.
Another factor that would be considered a direct consequence of Liberty Reserve’s shut down is that Perfect Money stopped using perfectmoney.com as its primary domain for its website and email. It instead migrated to Iceland’s ccTLD .is with the domain name perfectmoney.is
What is the Ownership Structure of Perfect Money?
There are no public records about the ownership structure of Perfect Money. It may be connected with owners in Russia, the Czech Republic or somewhere else in eastern Europe.
As of 2010, its EV SSL showed it had a company registration in the Central American country of Panama. There is no public evidence that this company is still active.
What currencies does Perfect Money support?
The online wallet supports funds deposits in United States Dollars (USD), European Euro (EUR), Gold (XAU) and Bitcoins (BTC). A user can add, receive, spend or maintain funds in any of the currencies.
Buy Perfect Money in Nigeria
You can buy PM from any reputable PM exchanger in Nigeria. Dozens of them can be found from a Google Search. They would typically accept Naira via bank deposit/transfer to their business account, mobile money transfer, cash payment at their office while a few might accept card payments.
In choosing an exchanger, it is very important to verify the credibility of the company. Considering PM is not licensed to operate in Nigeria, (neither see any of the exchanges), you have no legal recourse should the exchange abscond with your money.
- How long have they been in business?
- Do they have a traceable address?
- Are they registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)?
- How much traffic does their website receive? (Alexa might help with a vague idea here).
- Are they reachable on phone? Do they have a landline?
How do I exchange my funds in Perfect Money to Nigerian Naira?
You can convert your funds from PM back to Naira through any reputable digital currency exchanger in Nigeria. They would usually pay Naira via bank transfer or hand you cash at their office for smaller transactions.
Your choosing criteria should still be very strict as described above, considering PM payments are typically irreversible.
Can I convert my funds to PayPal or Bitcoins?
The short answer is Yes.
PayPal
PayPal typically frowns at all and every use of its services in relation to any other digital wallet. You would hardly find any reputable exchanger openly offering an exchange from PayPal to PM or vice versa. Your only option might be private exchanges with traceable and trusted individuals.
There is a high chance Pay Pal will freeze your account where they catch a glimpse of any PerfectMoney exchange.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is much more open and not centrally managed. Exchanging BTC for PM or vice-versa is not only easy but can be fast and straight-forward where you use an automated exchange service.
Where can I spend the PM funds online?
Thousands of merchants accept payment via Perfect Money across the world, for a diverse range of products and services.
1000s of merchants accept payment via Perfect Money across the world, for a diverse range of products and services. Share on X
Web4Africa is a PM merchant and accepts payment through PM for all services it offers. These include Dedicated Servers, Virtual Servers, Website Hosting, SSL Certificates, and Domain Names.
Other merchants accept PM for eBay vouchers, Amazon Gift Certificates, VoIP accounts funding etc. Other uses include Forex Trading and the highly risky so-called High Yield Investment Programs (HYIPs).
FAQ
What is Perfect Money?
PM is an online wallet system that enables most people from around the world to store and spend money online.
Is Perfect Money available in Nigeria?
Yes. Perfect Money is available in most countries including Nigeria. The notable exception is the United States of America. No US citizen or resident of the US can open or operate a PM account.
Is Perfect Money Safe?
“Safe” is relative. If you consider an unregulated online wallet based in a place you can not trace to be safe, then perhaps PM is safe. Their country of active incorporation is not published and the only address on their website is a mailing address in Hong Kong.
How can I buy Perfect Money in Nigeria?
You can buy PM through any of the dozens of exchangers in Nigeria. A Google Search will help but do some due diligence to avoid losing your Naira.
How do I deposit into Perfect Money?
Typically, you would pay your fiat money (Naira, Dollars, Euro etc) to an exchanger who would then fund your PM account. The exchange can be private with another PM account owner or with an established exchanger.
How do I withdraw money from Perfect Money?
This is the reverse of funding. You would typically pay the PM funds you wish to withdraw to an exchanger, who would then pay you in Naira, US Dollar, Euro or whatever currency you agree on. The exact process and payment methods with each exchanger would vary.
Can I buy Perfect Money with a credit card?
Yes but this is very difficult. Strict rules by card schemes like MasterCard or Visa make this almost impossible. To prevent fraud, the few exchangers who would dare accept credit cards also implement a very stringent verification process for every customer they will accept card payment from.
How do I buy Bitcoin with Perfect Money?
This is super easy. Considering neither Bitcoin nor Perfect Money are as risky to accept as say PayPal or Credit Cards, many exchangers would readily accept process this exchange. Popular platforms like Localbitcoins also have dozens of open trades for this transaction.
Is Perfect Money legal in Nigeria?
Perfect Money as a company is not registered in Nigeria nor is the service licensed by the banking regulator CBN. Your use of this wallet is at your own risk.
How do I transfer money from PayPal to perfect money?
PayPal’s terms of service strictly prohibit the exchange of funds from PayPal to some other wallet service. You may be able to transact privately or with exchangers who would risk this but you may lose your PayPal account if found out.
How do I find out my Perfect Money account number?
You can locate this after login to your account. There are 4 wallet numbers. One for each of the US Dollar, Euro, Gold and Bitcoin accounts.
Conclusion
Perfect Money can serve as a perfect option for transmitting and receiving money where there is no access to more traditional banking and financial services. However, extreme caution must be applied considering it stands a chance of being targeted by US authorities for being unregulated.
