6 best PayPal alternatives for online payments In 2023

PayPal is a globally recognized digital platform launched in 1998 that has changed the definition of online commerce. With it’s great expansion in the modern world, PayPal allows integration with major e-commerce platforms like Shopify and introduced advanced feature that can be used by users to make purchases online.

Additionally, Paypal announced its steps into the cryptocurrency market that offers users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and may more.

But PayPal have some flaws such as payment protection on digital products or services, high transaction fees, freezing account that makes users move to other service provider. So, let’s figure out which platform will be the best PayPal alternation for Online Payment.

1. Square

Planning to start a coffee shop or retail store can be fun but when it comes to managing the payment process, you must make a decision properly. For such issues, using Square can be a great and secure payment processing portal.

Square is a Point-Of-Sale (POS) system started in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, an American Internet Entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of Twitter which allow business or individual to accept Credit Card, Gift Cards Check and Cash payments.

It will also help you in printing the receipts and send it to customer’s email online. This benefits both the business and the customer to secure the receipts if there is any issue with the product.

Nowadays, you will find Square payment portal in every physical store such as coffee shops, retail store or online store such as WooCommerce, Wix, WordPress and many more.

In case you are planning to sell digital products, you may also love this article, “How To Make Money On Etsy? Beginner’s Guide.”

Note: If you are using your Credit or Debit Card physically, make sure to check the POS for any Credit Card Skimmer.

Price: Point-Of-Sale (POS) transactions are charged 2.65 percent and the fees may differ based on the type of transaction with an additional $0.30 fee.

2. Braintree

Braintree is an online globally accepted payment platform started by Bryan Johnson in 2007 which is later acquired by PayPal in 2013 for $800 million. The software is centred on e-commerce and subscription based users.

It is a great choice for large business (like Uber, Github) and are used by companies like Casper, Dropbox and many more. Additionally, Braintree offer more fraud protection and multiple security features as compared with other payment platforms.

However, due to its programmatic nature, you will need some coding knowledge to integrate it with your website. Also, you can integrate it with PayPal and other major payment platform like Apple Pay and many more.

Pricing: The Standard pricing is 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction whereas they do offer custom pricing plans on request. An additional 1% fee is charged for non-US currencies.

3. Shopify Payments

Shopify is Canada based e-commerce company started in 2006 by Tobias Lütke and Scott Lake. The e-commerce brand launched their own payment platform named “Shopify Payments” in 2013 which is full-integrated Credit Card.

Additionally, Shopify payment offer their service in more than 20 countries including Canada, US, UK, Italy, Australia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore and may more. If you are business based in any of these countries, you can use Shopify Payment to accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Diners Club Debit and Credit Card.

Pricing: The Basic Shopify Account starts with $39 per month whereas Credit Card transactions are charged at 2.9 percent with an additional $0.30.

4. Skrill

Skrill shares a lot of similarities like Paypal but with some advance features which makes it a great alternative of PayPal. The interface is simple to use and understand and offer you to send money to your bank within few seconds.

Skrill is a digital wallet founded as Moneybookers in 2001 by Daniel Klein and Benjamin Kullmann which allows you to send and receive money internationally. By March 2007, it was the top three e-payment solutions provider in Europe and later it was purchased by Investcrop.

You can send or receiver money in 38 different currencies and the minimum transaction value $60 while the maximum is $10,000. To make faster transactions, you have to create an account and add your Credit/Debit card details. After successful integration of your card, you can make the payment just by using your Email Address and Password.

Pricing: Skills processing fees is 1.45 percent plus $0.50 to send and receive funds whereas withdrawing money to your bank account is free.

5. Google Pay

Google Pay is a fast, secure and simple way to send and receive money founded by Sujith Narayanan (Co-Founder), Sumit Gwalani (Co-Founder) in 2011. It allows small scale and large scale business to do business transaction through the barcode assigned to them when they successfully create their account.

It secure your your card details through tokenization process which makes it difficult for scammers to steal your Credit or Debit Card details making you feel comfortable. Additionally, It also offers multiple discount, recommendations and gift vouchers or cards to their customers.

If you are new to Debit or Credit Tokenization, Tokenization is a process of removing sensitive data from a company’s internal network database by putting randomly generated unique placeholders(digits).

Pricing: Google Pay does not charge fees for Debit cards and bank transfers. But Credit cards are charged at 2.9 percent of the transaction amount.

6. TransferWise

Wise is a UK based foreign exchange financial company founded by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann in 2011 that allows individual and companies from more than 70 countries to send and receive money.

The transaction process is secure, fast and simple if you have successfully added your required documents. During you first transaction, the processing time is much longer as compared to your second or third transactions.

Personally, I am using wise from last one year and quite satisfied with their customer service and faster transaction time.

Pricing: You can open your wise account for free but the transaction fee for sending and receiving money starts from 0.43% .

Final Words

Paypal is a great platform for money transfer but there are a lot of options that you can go through and check which one suits your needs. Additionally, other companies offer lower transaction fees, better features and great service.

If you are a business owner who take multiple transactions per day then going with Square, TransferWise and Braintree will be beneficial. However, if you are a small business owner, freelancer, the best alternative will be Google Pay, Stripe and TransferWise.