PayPal has been a popular name for some time in the online payments sector. However, today, more consumers are turning to digital payment solutions, specifically after the pandemic outbreak. As a result, many players are coming up to gain a significant position in the digital payment industry, and now, there are innumerable options that can be good alternatives to PayPal.
With day-to-day innovations and advancements in the online payment market, there are some lesser-known and underrated online payment service providers apart from the major players like Apple, Google, and Samsung. Indeed, PayPal is beneficial for consumers and merchants alike. However, modern-day online shoppers are demanding a wide range of convenient and flexible payment options, so simply offering 2-3 of them won’t do anymore!
Here are some top PayPal alternatives that you may consider implementing to boost your customer base and your brand image.
1. Host Merchant Services
Host Merchant Services (HMS) provides flexible merchant services payment solutions for businesses of all kinds. The provider is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank and focuses on delivering quality services to strengthen customer interaction.
The two most important factors that make HMS stand out are –
- It provides a clear interchange-plus pricing structure and explains whether it will work for your particular business. Because some low-volume mobile businesses may not find it very cost-effective.
- HMS is well-known for having a service-first approach, and therefore, has no complaints at the consumer review sites like BBB.
Some of the benefits of using Host Merchant Services include –
- Has a transparent interchange-plus rate
- Excellent customer support
- No monthly minimum fees
- No application or setup fees
- Zero early termination charges
- Good web portal
2. Skrill
Skrill is one of the most popular alternatives for PayPal, and its low transaction costs are clearly a plus point here. Because Skrill charges a transaction fee of 2.9%, while PayPal charges 4.5%. However, private users may be concerned about this digital wallet provider’s inactivity fee, which is charged when a Skrill account is left unused for 12 months.
However, private users may again find Skrill better than PayPal because it comes with zero deposit and withdrawal fees. Besides, sending and receiving funds is absolutely free on Skrill. The tops features of Skrill are –
- Free account
- Email transactions
- Easy credit card transactions
- One place data
- Fast access
3. Stripe
Stripe, an Irish-American financial services provider, enables you to scale your business faster, especially if you are an eCommerce retailer. It offers a transparent pricing structure and can be a good competition to PayPal for its online consumers.
Stripe has a self-hosted checkout process, which means that it occurs on the site of the business owner instead of redirecting the customers to a third-party payments platform. As a result, businesses can save big on their monthly fees.
The automatic bank deposit feature of Stripe is quite noteworthy, allowing merchants to receive payments from their customers directly into their bank accounts. This reduces the chances of fraud activities, account holds and eliminates the need for manual transfers.
The top Stripe features include –
- Dispute handling
- Authorization
- Financial reporting
- Mobile customer interface
- Stripe dashboard
- Invoicing
- Real-time data and reporting
- Streamlined workflows
- Customizable analytics and charts
4. Payoneer
Payoneer, being a well-known electronic payment platform, is a good PayPal alternative due to its easy and fast global and local payment features. Its cross-border solutions help to empower online merchants, businesses, and freelancers.
The major differences between Payoneer and PayPal include their transfer fees, network relationships, and security. Other than that, both were introduced at around the same time, and both operate in over 200 nations.
There are two kinds of accounts in Payoneer – one is free, and the other requires a prepaid card that is made for individuals and costs $29.95 per month. The free account lets you withdraw money directly into your bank account. For local bank transfers, Payoneer charges $1.50 as a transaction fee.
Features of Payoneer are –
- Single payout
- Mass payouts
- Multi-currency support
- Partner network
- Funds withdrawal
- Integrated payments
- Escrow payments
5. Shopify Payments
If you have used Shopify before, you are probably aware of its payments processing system. Shopify Payments enables you to manage your payment processing system directly from Shopify’s main dashboard, and you don’t need to worry about embedding a third-party payment gateway.
Shopify Payments’ setup procedure is quite simple, and its usability value is impressive. It is designed with all the basic tools and solutions that eCommerce merchants look for, such as inventory management, customer service, web design tools, social selling, hosting, shipping facilities, and security services. Some of the features of Shopify Payments that need mention are –
- Simple setup
- Convenient checkouts
- Integrated Back-office
- Built-in security
- No hassles of setting up an external payment processor or merchant account
- PCI compliant and 3D secure checkouts
6. Square
Square is a choice for many online merchants for being one of the best small business credit card processors. It is known for its ease-of-use, flexibility, and transparency and is designed to make transactions simpler and faster.
If you are looking for a PayPal alternative for your small business, you can consider Square as it provides peace of mind to you and your customers. Some of the features of this all-in-one payment solution are –
- Customized checkout processes
- Focus on security
- No long-term contracts
- Offers a free domain and eCommerce store
- No monthly fees
- Add-on services available for growing businesses
7. Venmo
Venmo is a popular option for making peer-to-peer payments and enables you to transfer funds quickly. Users can add multiple debit or credit cards and even bank accounts, allowing them to send and receive money to and from peers. You can have the funds transferred to any of your preferred bank accounts added to your Venmo account.
What’s more, you can even add money to your Venmo account and use it whenever you want for your next transaction or purchase. Besides, you can make your transaction public in this payment solution, which means you can see payments from your friends, family, and other acquaintances. The pricing of Venmo is also quite affordable since most of the services are available for free, and a few require minor fees.
To sum up the features of Venmo, we have –
- Instant money transfers
- Data encryption
- Payment tracking
- Share payments
- Social currency
- Request money from friends
- Sync with phone and Facebook contacts
- Helps to pay people you owe in a social way.
You can compare and contrast the above options and weigh the benefits you would get with each in the long-run. Ensure that you are getting the desired value for the money you are paying, and it’s helping your business grow.
