PayPal: A popular online payment platform in the world

PayPal is a digital payment service that customers can use while shopping online. It is a service that online shoppers and businesses of all sizes can use to make transactions easier and safer. PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders. It expedites online purchases, and it hides sensitive financial information from merchants.  

It allows customers to establish an account on its platform, which is connected to a user’s credit card or checking account. Once identification and proof of funds are confirmed, users can begin sending or receiving payments to and from other PayPal accounts online or through the company’s app. It stores payment info, such as bank account or credit card numbers, so that customers don’t have to type out the numbers every time they buy something. It also hides this financial information from businesses, adding a layer of security to online shopping. Small businesses and large corporations alike can incorporate this payments into their online checkout process. 

How PayPal Works

PayPal has been its own company since 2015. Established in 1998 as Confinity, PayPal had its initial public offering in 2002. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay later that year, valued at $1.5 billion. In 2015, eBay spun off PayPal to eBay’s shareholders. The company ranked 204th on the 2019 Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue. PayPal is considered a very secure method of sending payments online. PayPal is an online payment platform that offers individuals and businesses low-cost services. In addition to online payments, PayPal also offers a variety of related services including debit cards for payments, credit card readers for small merchants, and lines of credit. 

PayPal offers payment services and solutions for both personal consumers and businesses. The company allows personal consumers to shop, make payments, and transfer money with relative ease. To use PayPal, both sellers and buyers must sign up for a PayPal account. This process will include linking a bank account or a credit card. It’s a fairly quick process, and once it’s set up, you’re ready to use PayPal. PayPal uses encryption to keep your financial information secure. It also offers fraud prevention, which seeks to recognize and block fraudulent charges, as well as purchase protection, which reimburses customers whose purchase never arrives in the mail. PayPal is free for buyers—there aren’t any fees associated with purchases. For sellers, the fee to use PayPal will depend on the location of the sale and whether the seller is a nonprofit or not. Other fees vary based on the type of service. For instance, personal consumers aren’t charged for standard transfers done from a linked bank account, but there is a fee of 1% of the transferred balance or a maximum of $10 for instant transfers. 

Money can be transferred for free internationally if both parties have PayPal accounts. It also allows users to send P2P payments. Those transactions are free as long as the funds come from a linked bank account. PayPal account holders can use the company’s website or mobile app to transfer money to others using the recipient’s email address or mobile phone number. Shoppers can choose this option to complete purchases online if the retailer has the service. Transactions are completed within minutes and the company promises that transfers are available for payment or withdrawal to a bank account immediately. It also offers businesses a range of solutions for their day-to-day operations. This includes payment portals for both online and in-person transactions, business management solutions, as well as credit and financing options. 

It is a service, but it’s also a publicly-traded company with shares listed on the Nasdaq exchange. It owns several other digital payment services, including Venmo, Braintree, and Xoom. This can be used in more than 200 countries/regions. Throughout its history, it has acquired other companies that serve different parts of the financial transaction, digital money transfer, and payments markets. Some of these acquisitions brought technology enhancements and additional features that were incorporated into this platform as the companies were absorbed.