Top 15 Best PayPal Alternatives: Payment Solutions to Replace PayPal
By Sam Nguyen
Drive 20-40% of your revenue with Avada
After the rapid shift of the industry into digital, the demand to minimize cash payments has consequently increased for better convenience. Nowadays, more people would prefer transacting via online payment methods rather than taking their credit card to the ATM or carrying cash anywhere.
The growth of mobile banking and internet banking has made a massive impact on how people check out these days, with payment gateways being an indispensable part of completing the process. One of the top-tier names is PayPal, which has been widely chosen by most businesses to optimize online transactions. However, much advantageous as PayPal is, the payment solution still has some significant drawbacks that keep it from being the only solution. There are many other payment options available to alter PayPal and avoid those downsides.
Let’s scroll down to have a glance at PayPal and discover what other PayPal alternatives can help streamline your online payment process.
About PayPal
PayPal is one of the biggest payment platforms, which has facilitated over 17 million businesses from different scales all over the world. It’s a great tool for receiving and transferring money for both e-commerce and retail businesses thanks to the easy setup, advanced feature list, and transparent fee structure. However, there’s no such thing as perfection, and PayPal is not an exception. Despite the prominent big pluses, the payment solution still holds some significant drawbacks:
- Security and fraud protection for online payments is not stringent enough for both buyers and sellers.
- PayPal, according to its complicated policy, might freeze accounts for up to 6 months without notice.
- It might take a longer time to withdraw your money - from 3 to 5 business days.
- The transaction fee is relatively high.
If you want your business to avoid these situations, it’s time you thought of an option to alter PayPal. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place where we have covered a list of optimal PayPal alternatives for you. Let’s check out and find the best solution for you, your business, and your customers.
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15 Best PayPal alternatives to take a look at
1. Payline
Payline has always been popular for its variety in payment solutions, including mobile, online, or in-store payments. Many eCommerce stores use Payline, but its main advantage lies in the facilitation for offline retail shops thanks to its low price and ease of use.
Payline offers a wide range of software such as recurring billing, invoicing, ACH payments, Payline gateway, fraud protection, or data leaks and chargeback prevention. Each software is comprehensively built to fulfill your demands.
The features you get to process your card are based on the feature package you choose. If you are small businesses aiming for mobile readers optimization, then the Spark and Surge packages are wise choices to minimize the expenses. The other package - Payline Shop - is the most expensive, but you can get access to the most advanced and robust card-processing functionalities and own the tabletop card readers. This attribute definitely outperforms PayPal as PayPal’s in-store card processing only provides two card readers with only one of them being supported with EMV. But for the e-Commerce transactions, PayPal’s features do have more competitive advantages over Payline’s.
Pricing plans on Payline are not fixed but dependent on the interchange pricing model, which is one of the most transparent models in the industry. The cost to process payments varies based on different elements such as network, card type, or the markup from Payline, which ranges from 0.3% to 0.5%. That means the estimated average rate businesses have to pay in one transaction is between 2.05% 2.25%, plus $0.3 per credit card transaction, which is relatively lower than PayPal’s fixed rate of 3.7%. However, the monthly pricing can vary greatly depending on your accepted credit card, average transaction amount, and the number of monthly processing volume as well.
2. TransferWise
TransferWise is an ideal PayPal alternative to smoothen your international transferring process. This multi-currency platform has been a helping hand for over 4 million businesses, freelancers, and consumers to send and receive money across regions with minimum fees charged.
TransferWise offers profound services to make your transfer easier than ever. The Borderless account service provides a debit card to help you to hold and transfer your money in over 40 currencies in which you can charge your customers or run payroll checks. Additionally, there’s a “Transfer for Business” service that allows you to invoice your clients in their preferred currency.
Operation and pricing systems on TransferWise are made extremely transparent. The payment solution claims to use a real exchange rate with no hidden fees included. For example, you’re currently in the US, and you want to pay your freelancer in the UK. Your money will be deposited in TransferWise’s US account. Then the system will automatically deliver your freelancer the equivalent amount in British currency using the real exchange rate. It means that your money doesn’t cross the borders, and the transfer is still made - brilliant, isn’t it?
The exchange fees vary depending on the currency you want to transfer your money to. To help you get the closet price estimation, TransferWise provides an automatic exchange rate estimation system available for all currencies on the platform.
3. Stripe
When it comes to payments on online business platforms, Stripe is one of the best options to alter PayPal. With the belief in how payments are “rooted in code, not in finance,” Stripe has been reaching integrations that are robust, flexible, and uncomplicated to help you implement within a few minutes.
The payment solution is specially designed with a simple API (application programming interface), which makes customization and integration much easier. Therefore, many big eCommerce platforms, including Shopify and Squarespace, have decided to integrate Stripe to their payment system.
Stripe’s payment processing system is comprehensive - from receiving the money to transferring them to the bank account (including ACH payments and Bitcoin transactions as well). Stripe accepts payments from anywhere over the globe, and the tool is available for mobile payments as it is supported by Apple and Android Pay.
Aside from payment processing support, Stripe also offers a wide range of development tools of your interests, including the Stripe Checkout module, subscription tools, Stripe billing, Stripe Connect, team management, wallet payments, and several others.
Pricing and fees on Stripe are transparent with no hidden extra costs, setup fees, or monthly subscription fees. You will only have to pay for the service you use. The transaction rate is 2.9% per transaction plus $0.3, which is relatively similar to other standard payment solutions.
4. Google Pay
Google Pay is a superior option to alter PayPal. Everything is optimized and streamlined in your saved cards in your Google account - from paying for services on websites, paying in-apps, or purchasing in offline stores. Just add the details of your debit and credit card to your account, and spend your money at ease.
Since Google Pay is a part of the Google system, setting up this tool can be completed in a blink of an eye. The payment solution is suitable for the business model as Google Business allows you to accept Google Pay to fasten the payment process for your customers. Also, with Google Pay, businesses are enabled to send any special offers, recommendations, or gifts to your customers as well.
Money transferring on Google Pay, surprising, is mostly free for any customers or businesses. To be specific, bank transfers and debit card transactions are free, while credit card transactions are charged at 2.9%, which is just as high as PayPal.
5. Square
Square initially focused on mobile POS (point of sale) transactions, but you still can utilize this tool as a PayPal alternative for online payments. Square is one of the top-rated options in the market to alter PayPal effectively.
The POS services on Square are designed to smoothen the users’ payment process. Even as a business or a customer, you still can accept cash, checks, cards, or gift cards. And especially, these POS integrations are all free.
Besides card processing, Square offers many other services with incredible features to grow your business. The tool comes with a domain-free online store that later combines with the shopping cart integrations. Square also provides invoicing, recurring payments, card info storage vault, recurring payments, real-time inventory management, appointment booking, and payroll tools.
About the pricing, Square doesn’t include any monthly subscription plans, but the fees are charged based on different types of POS transactions. The rates are 2.6% for in-store card processing and ranged from 2.9% to 3.5% plus $0.3 for online, invoiced, and custom payments.
6. Shopify Payments
If you have used Shopify before, then you’re no stranger to Shopify Payments. With Shopify payments, credit and debit cards are accepted directly on your Shopify stores without a third party as the payment solution is a default part of the whole Shopify platform. You might think that this tool is only optimal if you’ve set up a Shopify store in advance. Still, Shopify Payments are useful enough to progress your e-Commerce business to streamline the payment process.
For your Shopify store, Shopify payments allow you to manage the transaction process right from the main dashboard. Besides, the payment gateway can also be integrated with a wide range of other e-commerce platforms, including third-party payment processors such as Facebook shops, eBay, Amazon, and several others. Apart from supporting online payments, this payment solution also enables your retail in-store business to accept card payments with Shopify POS (point of sale).
Transaction and processing fees on Shopify payments are a big plus to consider as well. If you integrate PayPal to your Shopify store, you will be charged 0.5% to 2% transaction fees to process your card, while Shopify payments get you through with no transaction rates at all. You will only have to pay the card processing fee, which is heavily based on Shopify plans. These plans start at $29 per month for a basic Shopify account, and the processing fees amount to 2.9% plus $0.3.
7. Payoneer
Like TransferWise, Payoneer provides you with a debit card and an online bank account to optimize your money transferring process in just one step. With this debit card, you can smoothly go to the ATM to get the cash or go to any offline stores using a Payoneer account.
Setting up Payoneer or Payoneer accounts is extremely easy - it doesn’t require any advanced programming knowledge to implement the system, and you can receive your money real quick. It doesn’t take much time to create a Payoneer account, either.
Payoneer is applicable in many working industries. The platform has a generous offering of several handy integrations and tools to benefit freelancers, service providers, digital marketers, online sellers, or even vacation rental hosts. Work-related transactions are now optimized, especially for international payments, since Payoneer has expanded into the global marketplace.
Pricing plans on Payoneer are quite transparent. There are different ranges of fees depending on the service you choose: to get paid, to withdraw funds to your bank account, or to pay. Payments made among Payoneer are completely free of charge, but credit card transactions, unfortunately, are relatively high compared to other services (3%). You will also have to pay a small amount of fee to transfer your money to the bank account.
8. Skrill
At first glance, Skrill shares some significant similarities with PayPal, but its outstanding features prove how this tool is qualified to alter PayPal.
Skrill is extremely easy to use - its ease of use might be one of the top-notch in the market. Setting up a Skrill account would only require a few steps to finish. And when you already set up your account, you can send or receive money, archive your card details, link your bank accounts and make payments with just an email address. And of course, all your card processing will be optimized with a user-friendly and simple interface.
Skrill also provides a prepaid debit card that allows you to make international payments. The money can be easily transferred to this debit card, and you can move these funds from Skrill to your bank account or instantly make withdrawals from the ATMs.
Besides, the tool also offers gambling and playing games with money (systems like Bitcoin, Ether, or Litecoin), so you can consider these as a source for income or…entertainment. Your winnings will be transferred directly to your debit card, and you can send them to your bank account or withdraw them as you want.
Skrill charges you different rates for different types of transactions. The fee is not charged when you receive money from a friend, upload or withdraw funds, send money to an email or Skrill wallet, and make local or international payments. Remember to make a transaction every 12 months. Or, a fee of $5 (or equivalent) will be deducted monthly from the funds in your account. For transactions involving currency conversion, Skrill will charge 3.99% of our wholesale exchange rates. The exchange rates vary and will be applied immediately without notice.
9. 2CheckOut
2CheckOutoutperforms PayPal for its international payment acceptance. While PayPal limits the number of countries you can accept payment through this payment gateway, 2Checkout supports over 180 countries, with 87 currency and 30 language options available. With 2Checkout, the global transaction is no longer a barrier to concern.
You can choose from 8 payment types, while the tool allows you to accept 45 payment methods, including debit cards, credit cards, and PayPal. You can also set up a recurring bill for your customers.
Besides, 2Checkout offers several checkout options that are all mobile-friendly and localized. That means for different countries; the checkout experience is tailored based on how you customize it for your brand. Transactions on 2Checkout will go through 300 fraud checks for each transaction, so the security is perfectly tight.
2Checkout provides three pricing plans for your needs - to sell, to subscribe, or to monetize. The cheapest plan starts at 3.5% plus $0.35 per transaction.
10. Amazon Pay
Amazon Pay serves the market as a trusted PayPal alternative. Like Shopify, Amazon already has a reputation as one of the leaders in the e-commerce market, so no wonder why people become familiar with Amazon’s payment solution real quick.
Amazon Pay is most popular for its checkout system where the process is significantly accelerated. Users can just simply log in to your account, use your saved payment details then make payments. Because all user information is already stored, the payment process on Amazon Pay is faster than most regular shopping carts’ checkout. In this way, Amazon Pay has eliminated unwanted checkout barriers.
The payment solution is available on all devices, bringing convenience to your business and customers’ purchasing and transacting process. Just like PayPal, Amazon Pay’s fraud protection system is stringent. Therefore, security is especially advanced. However, to integrate Amazon Pay to your online store and CRM, you might need some advanced programming knowledge.
Pricing on Amazon Pay varies depending on the payment solution you opt for - the standard web and mobile payment or paying with Alexa. The standard rate for standard payment would be 2.9% plus $0.3 per transaction when paying with Alexa - which is offered for voice shopping - will be charged a higher transaction fee of 4.0% plus $0.3. There might be some other fees, such as cross-border or domestic processing fees, so make sure to notice before you make final payments.
11. Braintree
Braintree is actually owned by PayPal, but the platform runs a fairly independent business that can directly compete with PayPal. As a PayPal service, the brand offers innovative payments technology and scalable solutions that are trusted by many experienced fintech develpopment company.
Braintree deserves to be a PayPal alternative as it provides a list of advanced features that PayPal doesn’t have. The Braintree system offers to collect your recurring bills and store your credit cards. Its feature list is optimal enough to integrate well with major payment providers such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. Braintree accepts all types of payment methods, with online and mobile payments available as well.
However, in order to integrate Braintree to your business, you might need some programming-specialized knowledge as the tool has a lot to customize. But no needs to worry too much since Braintree itself has “compensated” a solid hand-on customer support system to improve your overall experience.
When you go with Braintree, there will be no minimums, no monthly fees, or no hidden extra fees charged. The standard rate is kept at 2.9% plus $0.3 per transaction. But based on your volume and business model, you might need custom pricing which will vary significantly and add up to a large total amount of fees charged.
12. Authorize.net
Authorize.net might not be popular as a PayPal alternative but this payment solution has some competitive advantages that caught the eyes of many online store owners.
Authorize.net first impresses the market with a friendly interface that everyone can use. The tool also provides excellent 24/7 customer support. Besides, security on Authorize.net is prioritized to guarantee safe payments. With this payment solution, you can enjoy many services such as recurring bills, invoicing, POS checkout with a comprehensive API system.
However, Authorize.net is not recommended for personal use as you won’t be able to send or receive money from your friends or family. And unfortunately, you won’t get the personal finance and money sending tools like in PayPal either.
About the pricing, there’s a gateway fee for $25 every month and a pay-as-you-go fee for 2.9% plus $0.3 per transaction. The fees vary greatly depending on the plan you choose, so you should contact Authorize.net directly to get detailed information.
13. Dwolla
Some of you might not be familiar with this payment tool, but Dwolla has always been the top-notch payment solution for fast-growing businesses. Just like PayPal, Dwolla allows you to send and receive money from individuals and companies for personal use, but its main advantage lies in the ACH bank transfers, which are extremely useful for bulk bank transferring.
If you’re looking for a fund transferring solution rather than a card processing one, Dwolla is the right destination for you. Dwolla offers a scalable and reliable method to help your customers move money. Their payment API is extremely developer-friendly and integrates seamlessly to your application. Your customers can start sending funds in just 3 in-app steps: verify information, attach a bank account, and initiate a transfer. Dwolla will automate your transfer and can send up to 5000 payments with 1 API request.
One perk of eliminating card processing is that the transaction fees will be kept lower. Dwolla’s pricing policy is made to maximize the benefits for its users. The Pay-as-you-go plan charges 0.5% of the total transaction, with a minimum of $0.50 and a maximum of $5.00. The Scale and Enterprise plans are subscription plans for $2000 and $10000 respectively, with more advanced and custom features
14. WePay
WePay can be considered a direct competitor to PayPal, and that’s enough to explain why they can alter PayPal ideally. The payment solution is designed to mainly support online money transfers. And for in-store payments, WePay still lacks a proper system for implementation, but that wouldn’t affect or limit WePay’s functionalities in digital transactions.
The tool provides a flexible API and other advanced features to fully support crowdfunding, which makes it outperform PayPal easily when it comes to this type of transaction. The setup process is simplified for all merchants - just choose the provider (which is WePay), build your account, and start facilitating billing.
WePay supports a variety of payment options and integrates well with third-parties payment services, in which, unfortunately, PayPal is not included.
Pricing on WePay is relatively transparent. The standard rate is 2.9% plus $0.3 for all types of transactions except for ACH payment processing which is charged 3.9% plus $0.3. No other hidden or extra costs including, so no worries about the unexpected accumulation of fees.
15. Worldpay
Worldpay is another top-rated name that supports payments worldwide. Just like PayPal, the payment solution offers quite a lot of payment options, including debit cards and credit cards, while enabling card transactions both online and offline, which will significantly benefit e-commerce stores as well as retail businesses.
Especially for in-store payments, Worldpay is designed to support multiple channels. You can enjoy the POS systems, process the ATMs along with taking advantage of mobile payment to flexibly accept credit card payments and cash.
Pricing schedules on Worldpay are pretty diverse with an offering of tiered and interchange plus packages. The total amount of fee you have to pay per month greatly depends on your average monthly processing volume, as well as your transaction record. The standard pricing for offline card processing will be 2.9% plus $0.3 for one transaction. However, be sure to note that you will have to pay $295 if terminating the service too early, so make sure you can commit at least 3 years when you go with Worldpay.
Final Words
It’s normal to see how people may hesitate to move from PayPal to other payment solutions because PayPal itself is one of the most compatible and cohesive platforms for most industries. But in fact, PayPal also has some major downsides, and you can think of avoiding these drawbacks by going for other alternatives.
We’re not telling you to altogether drop off PayPal for other options, but suggesting that there are several other alternatives that suit your business or store much better than PayPal. Each recommended alternative has a distinct advantage and pricing level, so make sure to check out one by one before making your final decision.
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