PayPal is one of the most popular third-party platforms available to freelancers, shoppers, individuals, and even businesses for different transaction purposes.
PayPal stands tall as it allows users to send or receive money from people in other countries it supports. More so, many people consider this payment provider more efficient and trustworthy.
With all the accolades to PayPal’s name, it also has some downsides that you’re probably unaware of. A popular con of using PayPal is that it is unavailable to residents in some countries.
We’ll discuss some notable advantages of PayPal and some of its disadvantages as well. Also, if you’re using this service, you need to learn about the PayPal dispute process.
PayPal Pros
Ease of access
Unlike many platforms out there, PayPal is quite easy to use. It is easy to create and set up a PayPal account. Furthermore, you don’t need an expert to manage your PayPal account. All you need to create a PayPal account are your basic information and a valid email account.
Also, you don’t have to bother about online transactions and the complexities that come with them. PayPal makes it easy since you can link your bank accounts and credit/debit cards to your PayPal account.
Your cards are protected.
Folks are wary about payment networks that require sensitive details about their credit cards. Many shy away from providing their card details while setting up their PayPal account for purchases.
PayPal operates a secure system where the details you provide are secure. You can link many cards to your PayPal account without worrying about compromise.
Furthermore, PayPal only requests your card details once. It will only ask for such details a second time if a transaction was unsuccessful or is considered risky.
PayPal offers special discounts.
People who use PayPal to shop stand a chance to enjoy special discounts when they buy from specific retailers. We have retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Nike, Walmart, and HP.
The processes of accessing the discount are quite simple.
All you need to do is visit the PayPal shopping web and copy the unique promo code. You’re to paste the code you copied in the appropriate field on your selected retailer’s website.
To find these special discount offers, visit shopping.PayPal.com.
Paypal Cons
Quite expensive for international transactions
If you’re making any international payments via PayPal, you’ll have to budget more than the original amount.
This is because PayPal charges 1.5% of any money you transfer between any two countries. In addition to this, transactions that involve conversion from one currency to another incur an average of 3 to 4 percent.
The chargeback fees are high.
Just in case you’re at a loss, a chargeback is what happens when a customer isn’t satisfied with a purchase. When this happens, the customer files a complaint with PayPal.
Typically, PayPal charges businesses whose customers make these complaints a $20 penalty for each transaction resulting in chargebacks. This it does without considering the business’ shipping, transaction, and documentation fees.
PayPal delays offline transactions.
PayPal allows its users to access a POS service with many features. The setback, however, is that the platform does not support instant offline payments. The only thing is that you can swipe your payments, but they must be processed when the internet is restored.
So, if you’re operating in a location with a poor internet connection, you’ll have difficulties making quick transactions with PayPal. This is applicable to others that support offline payment but process it with an internet connection.
PayPal doesn’t support every country.
One problem with PayPal is that it doesn’t support every company. You can’t use the service if you’re in countries such as Libya, Montenegro, Cuba, Antarctica, North Korea, Haiti, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Pakistan, etc..
Conclusion
PayPal offers quite a wide range of benefits. It comes with lots of advantages far outweighing that of competitor payment networks. Some notable benefit you stand to enjoy while using PayPal is that it operates on a secure system.
As you should expect, it also has some downsides, including high chargeback penalties and transaction fees.
Also, you might suffer transaction failures if there’s an interruption in the network during such transactions. Moreover, you must first ensure that PayPal functions in your region before creating an account.
