Finance & accounting E-commerce & Selling Shopping & Marketplaces

PayPal

Shoppers and businesses reach for PayPal when they want a widely recognized way to pay, get paid, or add checkout without sharing card details directly.

Runs on Web Android iOS

Available on Web App Store Play Store

Built for Startups Small Business Enterprise Everyday Users Shoppers

Overview

What is PayPal?

Where PayPal fits

PayPal acts as a wallet between buyers, sellers, cards, and bank accounts. Consumers can pay without giving each merchant their card details, send money, hold a balance in supported markets, and request funds. Businesses use hosted checkout, payment links, invoices, subscriptions, and APIs. It is especially practical when the other party already has an account or a shop needs a payment method customers recognize.

Costs and trade-offs

Opening an account usually has no monthly charge. Revenue comes mainly from transaction fees, currency conversion, instant transfers, and seller services; rates vary by country, payment type, and whether a transaction crosses borders.

Personal use: many domestic purchases and eligible friend payments are free.
Selling: merchant processing is deducted per transaction.
Protection: eligible purchases and sales have dispute processes, but evidence requirements and deadlines matter.

Capabilities

Key features

Purchase protection

Coverage for eligible transactions, subject to claims rules

Business invoicing

Create branded invoices and track payment status

Merchant checkout

Accept cards, PayPal, and supported local payment methods

Recurring billing

Automate subscriptions and repeat charges through merchant tools

International payments

Send and receive supported currencies across many markets

Keep exploring

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