If you are doing business online, and you are looking for some good alternatives to Paypal to process your online payments, you are not alone. Paypal definitely sits on the list of companies that people love to hate.
NOTE: Every few months I update this post to help ensure that any of the Paypal alternatives mentioned here are actually worth looking into. The most recent update was in May 2022.
While the complaints against the online payment network are typically predictable (the fees are unreasonable and unclear, their customer service is severely lacking, and they have a penchant for closing and limiting user accounts– often without warning), the fact is that currently no one payment processor comes even close Paypal’s reach, fame, and range of services. For better or for worse, nothing is to stop Paypal from dominating online payments and money transfers for years to come.
So where does this leave you if you need to accept online payments, but don’t have a Paypal account because you can’t get one? Or, perhaps you don’t want a Paypal account in the first place because you have already been burnt by them, or maybe you are struggling with other aspects of the online payment network?
The truth is, unless you are using a third party service or platform that only plays nice with Paypal, in many cases there are adequate alternatives to Paypal that you could rely on. Plus, some of these options may give you features that Paypal doesn’t offer, such as seller protection for digital goods, lower fees for chargebacks, and an active customer success team.
Best Alternatives to Paypal for Different Needs and Situations
Since every individual and organization will be dealing with their own unique circumstances, instead of just listing alternative payment platforms, I’m going to break them down into categories based on a series of frequently asked questions:
How Can I Accept Paypal Payments When I Don’t Have a Paypal Account?
If you are looking for a way to accept Paypal payments from your customers without a Paypal account, here is a rundown of your best options. Just make sure you do a bit of research before choosing a payment processor keeping in mind the specific features, costs, etc. that are most important to your business:
2CheckOut– 2CheckOut is an online payment processor that accepts Paypal payments as well as major credit cards. They target a global customer-base and also offer a dynamic shopping cart that will convert your prices into local currencies- a feature that can definitely come in handy if you have an international customer-base. The biggest downside to the service is its order form which is much longer and more complicated than most other Paypal alternatives.
Click2Sell– If you are selling a digital product, such as an ebook, software, or even memberships, then you may want to look at Click2Sell. It’s dubbed as an “online affiliate marketing network portal.” What it does well is combine ecommerce with a strong affiliate network in one platform. Another notable feature is its built-in autoresponder. How can this help you? It means you would be able to send out broadcast emails to your customers to let them know about a new product release or a promotion without having to fork over money for an auto-responder.
Clickbank– Like Click2Sell mentioned above, Clickbank specializes in payment processing for digital products combined with a strong affiliate network. It’s a solid, one-two punch of services combined with a number of useful features, such as repeat billing (good for subscription products), the ability to brand your order form, and create upsell pages.
Fastspring– If you are selling digital goods and services- especially subscriptions- on the global market, and you are looking for an integrated, feature-rich ecommerce solution, then you may want to consider Fastspring. It’s a bit costly, though. With fees of 8.9% per transaction or 5.9% +$0.95. So, it’s not an ideal solution for smaller sellers.
Avangate– Like Fastspring mentioned above, Avangate is a robust global ecommerce solution specifically for digital goods. This platform offers some flexibility in terms of pricing. The cheapest plan is currently 3.99% + $0.84 per transaction if your sales do not exceed $15,000 per month.
How Can I Make Online Money Transfers Without a Paypal Account?
What if you are just looking to transfer money between friends, family, or peers? What if you don’t mind leaving Paypal behind completely in your payment processing? In this case you have several money transfer platforms to choose from:
Dwolla– Now that Dwolla let’s you pay for via its platform without signing up, it’s a very good option for those doing business online. All transactions cost a mere 25 cents, and if you are transferring less than $10 then it’s free. This goes for both P2P transactions as well as those conducted with a merchant.
Wise– Wise (formally known as Transferwise) is directed at cost-conscious customers who need to conduct a large volume of international transfers. They offer attractive exchange rates as well as a TransferWise debit card. For businesses, it can also run payroll or batch payments, and freelance customers can receive payments. It’s free to open an account, and the fee structure is straight forward.
Popmoney– Popmoney is a free personal payments service that works with the banking security systems already in place in many top financial institutions across the country. Popmoney allows you to transfer money electronically from your savings or checking account to anyone in the country who has a bank account and an email address or a mobile phone number.
Google Wallet– Formerly known as Google Checkout, Google Wallet is another good online payment system to consider especially if your Gmail account sits at the center of your work flow. With Google Wallet, you can send and receive money for free from anyone in the U.S. with a Gmail address. If you want to send money through your credit card, then there is a fee of 2.9%.
Venmo– Easily send money to your friends or family instantly by mobile phone, email, or Facebook. Using Venmo is completely free as long as you are relying on either a bank account, accepted debit card, or your Venmo balance to fund your payments.
What are the Best Alternatives to Paypal for Online Money Transfer and Payment Networks?
Quickbooks Payments-Intuit’s Quickbooks Payments is actually a combination of its QuickBooks Merchant Service, GoPayment, and Intuit PaymentNetwork solutions. This new universal platform has all the payments, invoicing and money-transfer features you need and more. You can accept credit cards, debit cards, and ACH bank transfers, and can accept payments in variety of situations, such as online, by phone, or out in the field with a mobile reader. There are also several notable features: the money posts in 1 to 2 business days; you have the option of adding a payment button on your website an you can send payment requests to a customer’s email.
WePay– WePay allows you to send bills to customers and get payments by credit card or e-check. The service charges a flat 3.5% fee per transaction, with a 50-cent minimum fee. Like Intuit above, it takes only 1 to 2 business days for money to be sent to a confirmed bank account. You could also opt for a paper check to be sent to you by mail.
Propay– With ProPay, small businesses and sellers to accept credit card and debit card payments from all over the world. There is a simple fee structure, low annual fee, no gateway charges, no contracts, and no minimum monthly purchases. The funds are withdrawn with a ProPay Prepaid MasterCard or can be transferred directly to a US checking account.
Payline– With Payline you have a few different options for payment processing, such as mobile payments as well as online and in-store purchases. You can find out about their pricing structure over here.
Braintree– Though Braintree is actually a part of Paypal, it offers merchants in particular much more features and flexibility as well as better customer support. You can accept payments from PayPal, Venmo, credit and debit cards, and popular digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay in one system. Braintree also offers collection of recurring billing and the ability to store credit cards.
What Are the Best Paypal Alternatives for International Money Transfers and Online Payments?
Skrill– Skrill has more than 37 million users in over 200 countries involving more than 40 currencies. The fees are competitive and bank transfers are done in real time- two big pluses. Once you receive payment, you can apply for a MasterCard debit card and withdraw the cash from an ATM, receive the funds via check, or deposit them directly to your bank account.
Payoneer– Payoneer offers prepaid MasterCard debit cards for payroll and travel. Web based companies can apply to become a Payoneer partner which will allow them to pay their employees or organizational members with a MasterCard accepted all over the world.
Paysera– Quickly send and receive money from all over the world, exchange currency, and collect payments online and by SMS. Fees will vary with this platform depending on the type of transactions you need to process, but most of the charges are competitive for the online payments space.
Other Credit/Debit Card Processing Platforms to Use As a Paypal Alternative
Amazon Pay – Amazon Pay can be used as a payment processing option for any of your online customers who have an Amazon Payments account. The service can be a bit pricey, however, if your sales volume is less than $1,000 per month on average. Otherwise, each transaction will cost between 1.90%- 2.50% + $0.30. You can also use your account to make personal transfers of funds between other account holders.
Square – With Square, anyone with an iPhone, iPad or Android device can accept credit card payments using the free app and free card reader. The service levies a 2.75 % fee for swiped transactions and a 3.5 percent fee and $0.15 surcharge for any transactions that are entered manually. The funds are deposited directly into your linked bank account, and you can send your customer a receipt by email or print it out if you’re using an iPad hooked to a wireless printer.
Stripe– This platform was built with developers in mind. So if you’re not a developer, it may be a bit hard to figure out. Stripe doesn’t have its own shopping cart, but it integrates with third party platforms, such as Shopify. With Stripe, the payment forms are self-hosted, which means that the checkout process takes place on your own site, and that’s definitely a plus.
Selz– If you are looking for a simple online payments solution, then one of the easiest alternatives to Paypal is Selz. There is a flat transaction fee of 5% +$0.25, and users can sell from their blogs and even their social media pages.
WorldPay– WorldPay is a global payment processor serving various business types and forms, including mail order and online retailers. World Pay accepts a variety of online payment options, such as Apple Pay, mobile wallets, credit, debit, and gift cards, or direct debit. Fees start as low as 0.99% + $0.20.
Some Additional Payment Processors and Payment Gateways to Consider:
Authorize.Net– Authorize.net is a popular payment gateway that allows you to accept credit cards and electronic checks from websites and online auction sites.
PayLane– Based in Poland. PayLane Provides credit card processing and other popular payment methods.
Nochex– Based in the U.K. Nochecx is an online payment processor world. With a personal account, you can pay for online purchases as well as send and receive money from family, peers, or businesses.
Wirecard– Based in Germany. The platform offers online, off-line, and mobile payment processing.
If none of these options work for you, you could always ask someone with a Paypal account to accept payments for you, and maybe offer this person a small “processing fee.” Whatever you choose, just know that there are alternatives to Paypal out there. They may not be ideal, but they may save you a lot of aggravation and money.
Hi Susan,
I think many of us have that same love/hate relationship with PayPal, a service that, while it may not be the greatest, is often used because of its wide level of acceptance. That said, it’s nice to review some of the other options. I’m wondering if you have a favorite and, if so, why. I’d love if you’d share your thoughts in the comment section of the BizSugar community where all of our members could benefit.
Hi Heather,
The real answer is that it really depends on what you are looking for… I’ve personally had good experiences with Click2sell and Clickbank. These are really good platforms for selling digital products.
For freelancers and contractors looking to get paid without needing a Paypal account and without inconveniencing clients, I would look into Dwolla. I haven’t personally used this platform, but it definitely has the most promising setup. The only real problem is that it’s only for people in the U.S.
For anyone working outside of the US, I would start with Skrill and Payoneer. Based on the research I’ve done, they seem to have the best network and global reach.
I am fan of PayPal and I have been an user for a long time. I admire what the founders and PayPal partners (e.g. Elon Musk and Peter Thiel) have created during the years. With that said, I am glad to see competition on the marketplace. I have heard good things about Payoneer.
Hi Martin,
I’m also a Paypal user for a long time. But, while I do find value in the service, there is definitely a lot of room for improvement. With little real competition, though, there’s little motivation to change. I’ve also heard a lot about Payoneer- especially for those outside of the US.
Susan: I agree with you and that is why I am thankful for your work with compiling the list. Talking about Payoneer, I got a letter from them today. The context is that we should be grateful for PayPal taking up the fight with the conservative banks regarding the high fees on financial transactions. That is how it all got started…
My first thought after reading your comment: Wow, what a smart marketing move for Payoneer! By openly giving kudos to their competition, they are building up their own credibility.
Consider this study: Several years ago, there was a study conducted by Dr. Elliot Aronson. Participants were presented with a concocted newspaper article relating an interview with a fictitious mobster, Joe “the Shoulder” Napolitano. In one group, Joe argues for stricter courts and more severe sentences for serious crimes. The other group read about an interview where Napolitano advocated for more lenient courts and penalties that were far less harsh.
Those who read the criminal’s appeal for less prison time found it totally unconvincing. But, when he argued for stricter courts and tougher sentences, Joe “the Shoulder” was extremely effective.
By saying positive things about Paypal, Payoneer did two things:
1. It built up its credibility as a payment processor based on the priniciple above
2. It comes out looking like the “good guy” since people are used to seeing competing politicians, stars, athletes, etc bashing each other. It’s a refreshing change that could make people more likely to do business with them.
I for one strongly believe it’s time for an alternative to PayPal to come to the fore. Over the years since the founding of PayPal in 1998 by Elon Musk and company, it has developed into the primary form of online payment with little to no real competition. It’s a fat cat, only getting fatter.
I’m one of those who had my Paypal account ‘limited’ (I.e. frozen and useless) a few years ago. After over a year of appealing and trying to find out the reason, I gave up. They never gave me a legitimate reason why they disabled me, though I did get one Paypal employee to admit that it probably was a mistake. All questions and appeals are unanswered. In short, I have been banned for life, for reasons unknown. I am not alone. I have heard from people who have had the same experience. It’s simple abuse of power. Paypal sucks. Enough said.
There are not that many options that are as “global” as Paypal. As my business is not based in US, I was struggling to find a viable alternative after my account got blocked. I found out that the options that are somewhat closer to Paypal could be Payza, Paysera or Skrill. However all of them had their own limitations. What I want to say is – Paypal has it’s own issues, but for now there is no payment system that could fully replace it.
Hi Ronny,
I agree with you, and the problem is that unless some platform comes along which offers a unique or “disruptive” approach to online payments/money transfers, there probably won’t be a real alternative to Paypal in the near future- especially for those outside of the US.
Have you tried opening up a new Paypal account with a different email address and bank account?
Wow! I knew there were a handful of alternatives, but I didn’t realize there were this many. I learned about some new ones here ~ thank you for the thoughtful research! (and the well organized list by type)
Hi Susan,
I appreciate the time and effort you have put into this string and the thoughts of the other contributors.
I have not had a problem with PayPal as such, I have just hit a brickwall with respect to their MassPay facility and need an alternative.
We are launching a new mobile messaging app that, apart from the usual WhatsApp/Line/WeChat functionality, also crowdsources digital content from everywhere on the planet and, using the spotify business model, we share the revenues with the creative developers.
We planned to use PayPal MassPay to pay our content providers but, as we are predominantly paid into our bank accounts by Apple and Google play (in-app purchases and subscriptions) we have more money going out to our content providers through PayPal MassPay than we have coming in through the PayPal gateway.
To PayPal, this means that we are probably up to no good and so they will not allow the MassPay to be set up. (Anti-money laundering hysteria, I guess).
We need to be able to pay thousands of individuals monthly and the source of our funds will be from our bank account which will be regularly credited by Apple and Google etc.
Any suggestions as to which payment service would be best for this requirement?
Your opinion would be greatly valued.
Thanks and regards
Steven
Hi Steven,
If your customers are based in the U.S. then you may want to look into Dwolla’s MassPay option.
If your customer base is international (which it sounds like it may be), then you could look into hyperWallet https://www.hyperwallet.com/consumer/services/send-online-email-mass-business-payments.html. This service seems pretty reasonable, but I haven’t had any personal experience using it.
If you do end up trying hyperwallet, then let us know what your experience is.
My paypal site was also frozen for mysterious reasons. When I tried reaching them via e-mail and telephone it was clear that the people I was talking to couldn’t speak or understand English very well. For example, I wrote to them asking them why they didn’t accept the documentation I sent them proving I my identity. (I’d sent them all the info they requested.) I received an e-mail response thanking me for inquiring about my nonprofit organization! It was bizarre and the e-mail made no sense. When I did reach someone who understood English, I asked her whether the documents I was sending would suffice and she said they would. However, when I sent them I received the bizarre e-mails about my “nonprofit” and my “inquiry.” In fact, I didn’t have an “inquiry,” I was trying to unfreeze my account.
Anyhow, I’m looking into these other alternatives. Stripe looks good. However, it appears that if you don’t know code, you’d need to pay a company such as Shopify, right?
It’s too bad about Paypal, but I think whenever a company gets a monopoly there are going to be problems. There should always be some healthy competition.
Hi, I looked through the alternatives. But they are not alternatives at all for those of us who live outside US and those who get payment from those who are also outside US. Good alternatives for “getting paid” or “sending money” globally are Transferwise and Currencyfair. They rid you of from those hefty SWIFT and currency conversion fees and you only pay for the service, usually between 0.5-1% depending on the currencies exchanged.
What is really wrong with Paypal is their hidden fees; they give you lower exchange rates, thus giving you less than the amount you have been sent, excluding the receiving fees. Also their rates for receiving money is 2.99% which means you will pay about 300 dollars for receiving 10000 dollars, that is if you live within US. The real fee can be even higher in an international scenario.
Thanks , Great post. I sell digital products on my website and I wanted to add a few payment gateways. It is very complex to choose a payment gateway for your website . Since there are various players in the market and have different payment structures
I think, I am gonna stick to FastSpring.
I don’t want something with incomplete transactions.
Hey Susan Brown !!!
Great article!!! it been god to read your article. The description in your content is valuable.Its been prediction the market for mobile payment transactions will reach over $235 billion in the next year. Which is why some major players, like Facebook and Apple, are testing the waters with their own mobile payment services. PayPal will need to step up their game, particularly with longstanding complaints such as poor customer service and frequently freezing accounts.But why wait on hypothetical situations? Regardless if Apple or Facebook follows through with their mobile payment apps, there are still several other options available now. Believe it or not, there’s more competition than you are probably aware of, and many of them are superior to Paypal.
Thanks a lot for mentioning PayLane, Susan. Really appreciate 🙂
Hi, Susan. That is such a nice comparison. Really handy, when you are looking for an alternative to Paypal. I was just wondering, are you familiar with Cardinity? You mentioned so many providers so have you considered Cardinity as the alternative? I noticed that this provider is offering one of the lowest rates of 1,7% + 0,25 EUR per transaction, no fees and has integration to many online shops (https://cardinity.com/integration). Did you excluded it for some reason? What is your opinion about it?
I am familiar with Cardinity, and it is also a very good and cost-effective alternative to payment options mentioned above. Merchants in the EU can certainly give it a try. I would also like to hear some other opinions about Cardinity.
P.S. Have you seen this good comparison with Stripe https://cardinity.com/stripe-alternative ?
Another option is Filesonweb (https://filesonweb.com). The site allows to sell digital goods and subscriptions.
Great article. With PayPal blocked in Turkey this articles gives me some real options as a small business owner. Thank you so much for compiling this list.
What is your assessment of Zelle? I’ve heard there are no fees for simple transactions.