PayPal

PayPal is one of the world's largest online payment companies. Consumers use it to pay online, send money to friends and store payment methods securely, while businesses use it to accept payments on websites, in apps, through invoices and in person. Its origin is part of internet history. PayPal grew in the early 2000s as the payment method for eBay, solving the problem of trusting strangers online, and it became synonymous with online payments. Its founding team, often called the PayPal Mafia, went on to start or fund many major technology companies. After years as part of eBay, PayPal became an independent public company in 2015. For consumers, the core value is convenience and protection. People can pay without entering card details on every website, and PayPal's buyer protection policies cover eligible purchases that do not arrive or are not as described. PayPal also offers peer-to-peer payments, buy now pay later options, a debit card and, in some countries, crypto trading. Venmo, which PayPal owns, is a popular peer-to-peer payments app in the United States. For merchants, PayPal provides checkout buttons, a full payment processing stack through PayPal's platforms and Braintree, invoicing, subscriptions and point-of-sale tools, and its recognisable brand can increase conversion because many shoppers trust it. Fees are charged as a percentage of transactions plus a fixed fee, varying by country, payment type and currency conversion. The common criticisms concern account holds, frozen funds and disputes, which can hurt small businesses, currency conversion costs, and customer service. Seller protection policies have conditions that merchants should understand. Alternatives include Stripe for developer-friendly online payment processing; Square for in-person and small-business payments; Wise for low-cost international transfers; Apple Pay and Google Pay for wallet-based checkout; Adyen for enterprise payments; Revolut for personal money management; and Zelle and Venmo for peer-to-peer payments in the US. Choose PayPal when you want a trusted, widely accepted way to pay and get paid online.