When to use PayPal
Use PayPal when shopping online with unfamiliar merchants to keep your card or bank details private, or when paying securely for goods and services from another country.
Common situations where this kind of payment wallet is useful include:
- Online shopping: Paying through the wallet's checkout option means raw credit card or bank details are not shared directly with an unknown retailer.
- Buyer protection: Eligible purchases paid through the wallet can be covered if the item does not arrive or does not match its description.
- Cross-border business payments: Businesses can pay international freelance contractors or overseas vendors using linked business accounts.
- Splitting a purchase: Short-term instalment options such as Pay in 4 are offered at eligible retail checkouts.
The same wallet is a weaker fit in a few situations:
- Sole merchant processing: Relying on the wallet as a business's only payment processor carries a risk of sudden account freezes or held funds.
- Large currency conversions: Foreign exchange markups of around 3% to 4% make the wallet a costly way to convert large sums between currencies.
- Personal transfers in India: Regulatory limits mean individuals in India cannot use the wallet to send money to friends or family.
Before deciding, consider whether you are paying as a consumer or as a business, and whether the payment is local or international, since the fit changes with each.