We live in an era of globalization not seen ever before. People, businesses, governments, organizations, companies, etc. are connected with each other through an intrinsic web that is spread in each and every corner of the world. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, the world and the work culture have gone quickly from an in-office setup to a work-from-home or work-from-anywhere setup. As a result, you could be doing business in the USA but the chances that your workers are based in the farthest corners of the world are too high. What’s more, each day people are choosing to live a nomadic life as their work allows them to do so. What has prompted such a shift is not just the internet access but also how easy it is to send money across the world almost instantaneously. International payments used to take days, but now they can be completed in a few seconds if done correctly. One of the ways in which you can do so is through Paypal. And in this article, we bring you a detailed guide on how to pay someone with Paypal.
Let’s get started.
What Is Paypal
PayPal is not a traditional banking system, rather it is strictly an online payment system. You can use PayPal to make a payment online, send money abroad or locally, or receive money from anywhere in the world. It can also be used to send money to your friends and family and receive money as well.
How Does PayPal Work
PayPal, as mentioned before is not a traditional financial system like a bank, rather it is a merchant. It acts as a middleman that lets you transfer funds to and from your bank account to online merchants that accept PayPal. You can use your PayPal account not just to transfer funds, but it can also be used to make online purchases, international transfers, currency conversion, and to make international payments for goods and services. PayPal charges its users a small number of fees in return for providing them with the services mentioned above. We shall look into the fee structure of PayPal down below.
PayPal Fees
The fees charged by PayPal vary from region to region and also from what kind of transaction you are performing. For example, the standard rate for receiving domestic transactions is given below.
In case you wish to receive money from international payments on PayPal, an additional fee of 1.50 percent is levied on top of the domestic transaction fees given above. For a more detailed look into the fee structure, go check out PayPal Fees.
How To Use PayPal
In order to use PayPal, you need to create a Paypal account. Depending upon what purposes you need to use it, you need to create a PayPal account according to it.
Types Of PayPal Accounts
Personal account
If you wish to use PayPal for personal uses such as making online payments and sending money to your friends and family, then a Personal PayPal account is the best thing for you. A Personal PayPal account you can get your bank account linked, add credit or debit cards and monitor your online transaction history for your purchases online.
Business PayPal account
If you are a business or even an individual freelancer or a worker providing goods and services to people worldwide. You can receive payments in your Business PayPal account even if the customer is not a PayPal user. As a service provider, you can use PayPal to raise service invoices and request payment from your clients from all across the globe. The entire process is very easy, safe, and secure and hardly takes more than a minute to complete.
How To Create A PayPal Account
PayPal is available on the website and on mobile applications for both, Android and iOS users. In order to create a PayPal account on the website, follow the steps given below. You can easily use these credentials to log in to the PayPal mobile app once you’ve created the account successfully.
1. Go to www.paypal.com and click on the Sign-Up button.
2. Select what type of account you wish to create.
3. Enter your valid email address, and enter other details such as your phone number, etc.
4. Enter the verification codes received on your email address and your phone number as well.
5. Once you’ve done the above steps and agreed to the privacy policy, your PayPal account is created successfully.
6. You can now link your credit or debit card details to your PayPal account or link bank accounts to PayPal as well. PayPal will send very small deposits to your linked bank account in order to verify them and you must enter the amount that is sent to you in order to confirm that you are using that linked bank account.
7. Once you’ve added a funding source to your PayPal account, you can choose to add funds to your account and use the PayPal balance for smoother PayPal payments. Doing this will help save time entering your debit card or credit card details every time you make a payment.
Now that you have successfully created your Paypal account, let us learn how to pay someone with PayPal.
How To Pay Someone With PayPal Account
If you have a PayPal account, it is very easy to pay anyone using it. You can be sending money, do online shopping, pay someone for their service, etc. All of this can be done in a few clicks only as described below.
- Log into your PayPal Account.
- Go to Send Payments.
- Enter the recipient’s email address, telephone number/mobile number, or username.
- Enter the amount you wish to send.
- Write the purpose you wish to send money for in the details.
- When you click on Continue, you’d be asked what purpose are you sending money to the recipient. Specify clearly which one is it. If you are sending money to friends and family, then select that option, or if you are paying for items or services, then select it.
- You’d be directed to a page that shows you the details of the transaction.
- You will notice that if the recipient is to receive payments in a different currency, then the currency conversion fee is included in the details of the transaction.
- Here you can also change the payment options, i.e the funding source of your account. You can choose to send money from your PayPal account balance, credit or debit card, or your linked bank account.
- Once you have completed the transaction, you will receive a payment receipt from PayPal in your email. The receipt will have all the payment information that might come in handy in future scenarios like filing taxes or in case of any disputes with regard to the transaction.
How To Pay Someone With PayPal without A PayPal Account
PayPal offers users the ability to pay someone without having to create a PayPal account as well. So even if you do not have a PayPal account, you can still make a payment. Suppose you are a buyer that is paying for items or services online and the seller/service provider wants to receive payments via PayPal. All they have to do is raise a payment request or send invoices generated using their PayPal account to you. Once you receive the invoice in your email, follow the steps given below.
- Click on the Pay Now option in the email you’ve received from PayPal that contains the money request.
- PayPal will prompt you to sign up and create a PayPal account, but you can skip it and enter your credit card or debit card details and confirm the payment.
- You will receive a detailed invoice for the transaction in your email.
How To Receive Money In Your PayPal Account
Now that we know both methods of how to send money through PayPal payments, let us look at how you can get paid and request money using your PayPal account. The process of receiving money via PayPal is pretty straightforward forward as explained below.
- Log in to your PayPal account and you can find options such as Request Payment Option, or the PayPal.me link that can be sent to anyone whom you want to receive money. These options are available on both, the website and the PayPal app as well. PayPal also allows you to create a detailed invoice for payments that you are to receive.
- If the user that is paying you has a PayPal account, you can simply send them a payment request using their PayPal username, email address, or mobile phone number. They can choose to pay you either through their PayPal balance, debit or credit card, or their linked bank account. The funds received can be seamlessly transferred to your linked bank account easily.
- You can also send the person paying you, your PayPal.me link and they can complete the payment using that link. Once they complete the transaction, the amount will be reflected in your PayPal balance. You can transfer the amount to your linked bank account without any hassles easily.
Limits To Using PayPal
While PayPal is very efficient and effective when it comes to sending money to friends and family, or when you shop online or have to pay someone for goods or services. But there are some limits to it. Some of these limits are as follows.
PayPal Account Verification
If you have created a PayPal account but your account is unverified, then you can send only a limited amount of money. This limit is around USD 500 in most cases but can vary from region to region or any other factors.
Linked Bank Account, Credit or Debit Card
Once you have verified your account, you will have to link your bank account and your credit or debit card with your PayPal account. Without it, you will not be able to receive or send money via PayPal.
High Fees On International Transactions
PayPal can be used seamlessly for making payments while buying online goods and services in the USA or to send money to friends and family. The fees charged by PayPal on international transactions can be pretty high and can go as high as 4 percent depending on various factors such as where you are sending money, if it is being transferred using a credit or debit card, etc. On top of that, PayPal charges a currency conversion fee, if there is a conversion of currency involved.
PayPal Alternatives
While PayPal is very user-friendly, effective, and fast, there are some alternatives that you can use, such as
- Stripe
- Wise
- Venmo
- Payoneer
- Skrill
Final Thoughts
PayPal is one of the best payment options available in the world if you want to pay online, send payments easily, or make a payment for goods or services online. It is one of the pioneers of online payment systems and has been at the forefront of online payments, trade, and commerce. One of the major advantages that PayPal has over most of its other competitors is the fact that it is available in the majority of countries of the world. So, no matter which part of the world you are in, whatever currency you use, PayPal is always available for you.
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