Paypal is a household name. Those old enough to remember eBay’s early days and know that PayPal transformed the buying and selling experience. After the traditional bank and card operators, PayPal stands tall in brand recognition.
But is it any good for businesses?
It has strengths: Customers trust it, and it supports online and in-person payments and invoicing. It also has some kind of dispute resolution service.
However, many weaknesses make PayPal deeply flawed.
- High Transaction Fees PayPal charges 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic transaction are similar to other payment providers. However, PayPal has additional fees for specific actions, such as chargebacks, refunds, and premium features like recurring billing. These costs can add up quickly and erode profit margins. Currency conversion fees are significantly higher than competitors. Many fees are hidden, which makes PayPal feel like they are not on your slide but very much looking after themselves. High fees for international transactions and currency conversions reinforce this view.
- Account Holds and Freezes One of the most common complaints about PayPal is its tendency to freeze accounts or hold funds without warning. This can be catastrophic for small businesses, especially during critical sales periods or tight cash flow.
- Limited Customisation PayPal does not offer extensive APIs or developer tools. This limits its usefulness for businesses that need a tailored payment solution.
- Outdated User Experience Many users find PayPal’s interface clunky and unintuitive, which can frustrate both business owners and their customers. A few years ago, PayPal changed its website layout but not the Help documentation, making its user interface even more of a nightmare.
- Customer Support Complaints PayPal’s customer service is often criticised for being slow and unhelpful. Small businesses facing urgent payment issues may find this particularly problematic.
In summary, this blog is based on Uptivity’s own experience, which is validated by other people’s online experiences. Some online experiences didn’t match Uptivity’s own but were not included. Uptivity is agnostic about which payment service customers choose, other than wanting their customers to make the best choices. Ultimately, Uptivity succeeds only when customers do.
