7 Best PayPal alternatives which you should use in 2021

PayPal is one of the largest online payment processors in the world. After rising to prominence through its partnership with eBay, online merchants across the Internet accept PayPal as one of their accepted methods of payments.

In this article we have Discussed Best PayPal alternatives for you so that you can shop with ease and can accept payments from multiple sources

PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American company operating an online payments system in most countries that support online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders.

The company operates as a payment processor for online vendors, auction sites, and many other commercial users. It charges a fee in exchange for benefits such as one-click transactions and password memory.

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PayPal is also the faster, simpler way to make recurring payments to all your monthly bills and subscriptions. The following are some of the key features:

• Credit card security: When you sign up for a PayPal account, you type in the credit cards and bank accounts you wish to use for purchases one time on the PayPal secure system. Once that is accomplished, you never again have to disclose your credit card information online. By paying with PayPal, you keep your credit card information private. 
• Flexibility: Relieve yourself of the embarrassment and hassle of trying to purchase goods and services online only to have your credit card declined. Because you can set up multiple bank accounts, debit card fund credit cards to fund your PayPal account,
• Send money: PayPal users can instantly transfer money with just a click of the mouse.
• Online auctions: PayPal is integrated with the online auction powerhouse; you can place bids and make purchases safely. 
• Cost: One of the best reasons for using PayPal is its cost: free. 
• Discounts: PayPal sponsors special discounts for customers that shop with PayPal at selected retailers. Users who visit shopping.paypal.com 

But PayPal is not available everywhere. The online payment gateway is not available in 20 countries as of 2021. Additionally, some businesses don’t like PayPal due to their hefty chargeback fees and their ability to freeze accounts based on what they deem as suspicious activities, which takes months to resolve. Well, here are some key drawbacks to the payment solution:

• PayPal doesn’t provide protection for sellers selling digital products and services 
• Many PayPal Alternatives charge lower fees than PayPal’s 3.7 percent plus US$0.30
• PayPal has been known to freeze accounts for up to six months without warning 
• It can take a long time to withdraw money to your bank account,3-5 days can be the standard 

Fortunately, there are many PayPal alternatives you can use to send and receive funds online. In this article you will learn all about the best PayPal Alternatives available to help you   decide which one is best for your transactions.

Best PayPal alternatives

Braintree

A division of PayPal is a company based in Chicago that specializes in mobile and web payment systems for e-commerce companies. It provides businesses with the ability to accept payments online or within their mobile application.

Allows automatic shopping cart integration with PayPal among other payment types. It launched with the v.zero SDK, which supports “One Touch Payments”. PayPal’s mobile app also allows One Touch Payments. It does not require those users to create an account on an e-commerce site or enter credit card details every time they want to buy something.

Braintree is suitable for small businesses that are just starting out, to large fully-fledged companies. Some well-known companies include Airbnb, GitHub, Pinterest, and Uber. Braintree Direct, Braintree Marketplace, Braintree Auth, and Braintree Extend are the different solutions that cater to each business model.

Pros:

• Solved the problem PayPal had when redirecting user from website to PayPal server
• No monthly payment fee for processing payments
• Multi-currency options
• Extensive integrations available

Cons:

• Long setup times for accounts
• Not suitable for high-risk industries

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Google Pay

Google Pay (stylized as G Pay; formerly Pay with Google and Android Pay) is a digital wallet platform and online payment system developed by Google to power in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices, enabling users to make payments with Android phones, tablets or watches. Easily one of the best Paypal alternatives Users in the United States and India can also use an iOS device, albeit with limited functionality.

In addition to this, the service also supports passes such as coupons, boarding passes, student ID cards, event tickets, movie tickets, public transportation tickets, store cards, and loyalty cards. by far the best choice if you’d like a place to store and use your debit and credit cards. Spending money is easy online, and you can also put all your cards on your phone for spending at physical locations.

Pros:

• Allows you to accept Google Pay from your customers, whether it be on your website or a physical store.
• It only takes a moment to send out or receive payments.
• Sending out payments from your smartphone is the primary feature, and it can be done online or in person.
• The security is solid.
• There aren’t any fees, and your customers don’t get charged anything extra.

Cons:

• It’s still limited to only iPhones and some Android phones.
• The security still scares us a bit.

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TransferWise

TransferWise terms itself as a ‘cheaper way to send money internationally’ and it’s one of the best PayPal alternatives if make lots of international transfers.  

TransferWise offers the real exchange rates right on the homepage. You can calculate how much money the recipient will receive in real-time and how much cut TransferWise takes from the transaction.

For example, if you send 1000 USD to the customer or client in Europe, the receiving person will get 815.32 Euro and TransferWise takes around 10.41 USD as fees.  The money is deposited directly into your bank account instead of an online account like PayPal.

That’s not all. The service’s Borderless account provides users with a debit card, allows you to manage money in more than 40 currencies, run payroll, batch payments, charge clients, and more. Plus, with TransferWise for business, you’re able to invoice your customers in their own currency. 

Pros:

• One of the most accepted and cheapest tools for making international money transfers, with 4 million customers globally.
• Very transparent pricing.
• Their new borderless account allows you to hold and transfer between +40 currencies.
• With TransferWise for business you can invoice your customers in the currency that works for them.
• The money never actually crosses borders so you can keep down costs and ensure fast transfers.

Cons:

• You can’t send or receive money if it’s not a bank transfer
• You can only receive money in EUR, USD, AUD, and GBP with the borderless account
• You don’t get all the nifty extra features like recurring billing yet

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Amazon Pay

You can use Amazon Pay on your online store, and it would act as a great payment platform if your users are already aware about Amazon. Amazon Pay enables your customers to make payments using their own Amazon account credentials. This makes the transaction process fast without much friction.

Don’t be amazed if you get better conversion rates on your store because Amazon pay lets your customers make the payment process so seamless that your customers do not have to think much about how to do the transaction. Moreover, you are enjoying the trust your customers have on Amazon for your own benefit so that is why You can call it as one of the best PAYPAL alternatives available out there .

Regarding the security, you can be assured of that as Amazon makes sure that all your online payments and transactions are secure. The transaction includes fraud protections and offers you the same level of security as PayPal. Regarding the commission charges and pricing, it is like PayPal. You will be charged 2.9% + $0.30 for domestic US transactions and 3.9% + $0.30 for non-US transactions.

The benefit of using Amazon pay is that it can be used on any device, smartphone, or desktop, which makes it a great option to receive payments on your online store.

Pros:

• No separate account required
• No billing until goods are sent
• The transaction fees are just like PayPal
• The security is very advanced compared to other competitors.
• Everyone is familiar with Amazon, so your customers will have it easy when paying.

Cons:

• Can only be used together with an Amazon account
• Consumer protection concerns: Amazon has information on the customer’s payment behaviour and consumer history
• There are some random fees like domestic processing fees and cross-border processing fees.
• Integrating with your online store may take a little programming knowledge.

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QuickBooks payments 

QuickBooks is one of the best accounting software for freelancers and professionals and also one of the great Paypal alternatives. It allows you to easily send invoices to your clients and accept payments directly into your bank account. Your clients can click on the pay button anytime and make payment using their credit card. QuickBooks is an accounting software so you can connect it to your credit cards, bank account, and PayPal to capture all your transactions.

QuickBooks payments is a pay as you go solution. Fees for an invoiced payment is 2.9% + 25¢ on each transaction. If you charge more than $7,500 a month, then you can contact them for a discounted rate.

Pros:

• Integrate with QuickBooks.
• Gain access to TurboTax.
• Send invoices just like PayPal.
• Get paid anywhere with mobile payments.
• You can include a Pay Now button on your website.
• Accept ACH bank transfers.
• Connect your payments with timesheets and payroll.

Cons:

• The rates are competitive enough if you’re not working with QuickBooks.
• This isn’t what you would want to go with if you’re only looking for something for your personal sending and accepting.

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Stripe

Probably the most popular of all the PayPal alternatives, and you’ll notice that some ecommerce platforms state Stripe as their preferred payment processor. For example, Squarespace has been working with them for a long time and now Shopify provides its Shopify Payments system through Stripe. The whole point of Stripe is that it eliminates the need for a merchant account and gateway.

Everything is handled by Stripe, from collecting payments to sending those payments to the bank (including ACH payments and Bitcoin transactions). It’s one of the more streamlined alternatives out there and it’s no wonder so many platforms partner with them. Keep in mind that the basic transaction fees are pretty much the same as PayPal.

Pros:

• Stripe automatically puts your transaction money in a bank account.
• Mobile payments are available.
• Accept payments from people and companies all over the world.
• Real-time fee reporting is available.
• Only pay for what you use.
• The pricing is transparent, with no setup, hidden, or monthly fees.
• Apple and Android Pay are supported

Cons:

• You generally must wait a few days after a transaction to gain access to the money.
• Although you can accept payments from all over the world, merchant accounts are only available to the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and many European countries.
• The interface may require some programming knowledge
• International cards require an additional 1% transaction fee.

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Shopify Payments

It is the simplest way to accept payments online. It eliminates the hassle of setting up a third-party payment provider or merchant account and having to enter the credentials into Shopify. With Shopify Payments you’re automatically set up to accept all major payment methods as soon as you create your Shopify store.

You can simply manage your transaction processing system right from Shopify’s main dashboard. The result is a seamless cohesion between your online store and your payment system.

But, make no mistake. Shopify Payments is not all about online payments. It also offers POS hardware to support well-synced in-store payments.

Now, if Shopify Payments’ features don’t entice you, the accompanying privileges possibly will. You see, while using PayPal on Shopify will force you to pay 0.5-2% transaction fees above the card processing charges, Shopify Payments qualifies you for zero transaction rates. You only pay the card processing fees; whose rates are based on your specific Shopify plan.

The highest they can go is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, while the lowest rate is 2.4% plus $0.30. When it’s done, the subsequent pay-outs are scheduled for every 3 business days. PayPal, on the other hand, takes about 5-7 business days.

Pros:

• It’s built into Shopify to offer a seamless payment management experience.
• Shopify Payments can be embedded with a wide array of platforms and solutions, including third-party payment processors.
• It works well with numerous accounting applications to facilitate accounting and reporting.
• It eliminates transaction fees on Shopify.

Cons:

• Shopify Payments is only available in a few countries.
• Your account could be frozen and investigated without warning.
• Shopify Payments deducts $15 for every single chargeback.

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PayPal has its perks and strengths, but there are plenty of great alternatives out there for you to consider. Many of these have lower fees or features better suited to different needs. To finish, here’s a roundup of the best PayPal alternatives along with our thoughts on what each payment solution is best suited to,

TransferWise is Best for individuals and service-based businesses with a high volume of international transactions. While Google pay  is best for quick, easy, and free payments from a well-known brand. At the same time Stripe is best solution for businesses wanting an intuitive and flexible API (application programming interface).ShopifyPayments is suitable for ecommerce businesses using the Shopify platform.

BrainTree is a good paypal alternative for very large businesses and corporations and QuickBooks are suitable for freelancers and other small service-based businesses who also need a professional accounting tool. Finally,  Amazon Pay is best for an all-around, trusted payment solution with brand appeal. You can choose any one among them according to your business needs. 

If you have any great Paypal alternatives recommendation for us then please Let us know in the comments.