PayPal Alternatives For Business: Top 8 Solutions

Originally published at opengeekslab.com on June 19, 2020

Searching for PayPal alternatives for business, business runners come across a wide range of apps similar to PayPal presented on market. Although PayPal occupies a significant online payment industry part, its competitors grow in popularity as well. Thus, making the right choice easily becomes confusing as it requires additional attention towards minor details, which may turn vital in a particular business case.

To ease your task, OpenGeeksLab has compiled a list of best eight alternative PayPal services for you to keep in mind. We provide pros and cons of payment apps like PayPal and highlight the reasons for each PayPal alternative to become the best solution to your business case.

PayPal Alternatives for Business You Should Tap Into

Going for any PayPal alternative, a business owner must understand the peculiarities of his/her own business case and its specific needs to be covered by payment gateway integration. Depending on these circumstances, the applied solutions vary according to their primer purpose (international money transfers, platform-specified payments, brand appeal) and characteristic features.

Most popular PayPal alternatives for business needs include:

1. Apple Pay

Apple Pay is the best PayPal alternative for Apple users. It promises fast and secure payment processing, as its services are compatible with major banking systems like Visa, MasterCard, AmEx. Intuitive interface ensures positive user-experience, while customer’s sensitive data is protected by advanced security solutions. Apple checkout does not require an Internet connection making payments even easier for your customers. Besides, Apple Pay serves as a virtual wallet keeping all your payment details easily accessible within Apple account.

Apple Pay’s limited possibilities appear to be its greatest disadvantage. Third-party businesses experience significant difficulties trying to adopt Apple Pay. Proper Apple checkout integration requires hiring a proficient development team, which may turn too expensive for digital business industry beginners.

However, Apple Pay offers the best terms of use to its customers charging 3% fees only of credit card transactions, with debit card and bank payments being completely free.

Apple Pay is available exclusively on iPhones and Apple Watch devices.

2. Google Pay

Google Pay stands among the best PayPal alternatives preferred by individual consumers and businesses who look for easy and fast payment solution. Google Pay service ensures making quick payments in applications and stores with minor user effort. It functions as a virtual wallet as well, storing your credit/debit card information within Google account making it easily available wherever you are as long as there is Internet connection.

Like other payment systems like PayPal, Google Pay has its own pros and cons to be aware of before implementing its solutions as payment alternative into your business case.

Google Pay offers varied functionality and multiple payment management tools making it advantageous for customers. It allows paying online or in-person within a few minutes, as there is no need to enter credit/debit card details manually — the card data are stored in the user’s Google account. Like in PayPal, one can easily send funds to friends and family or transfer money from Google Pay account directly to own bank account/card. As an alternative to PayPal Mass Pay solution, Google checkout offers customers to split the bill, dividing one payment between several users. Payments conducted via Google checkout claim to be secure with several data protection levels. Google Pay stores not only credit/debit cards but also loyalty cards, gift certificates, tickets.

Another huge benefit is cost-effective pricing. It does not charge any fees for debit card transactions and bank money transfers, while credit card payments are charged at 2,9% of the total payment sum.

However, appearing among top PayPal alternatives, Google payment solution still experiences certain limits in market coverage. Derived from former Android Pay, Google payments application is mainly developed for Android-powered devices, though some iOS smartphones are supported as well.

3. Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay represents one of the best PayPal alternatives for entrepreneurs aiming at creating intuitive payment gateway on their business websites. Due to worldwide brand awareness, Amazon payment solution attracts customers with its trusted reputation and interface familiarity.

Like other apps similar to PayPal, Amazon Pay offers an advantage of fast checkout solution while integrating with Amazon account. Logging into their Amazon account, customers can use card/bank account details at once as they are stored within Amazon accounts. Processing user sensitive data, Amazon ensures profound payment security system that thoroughly checks up every card transaction performed through Amazon checkout to eliminate frauds.

A slight pitfall you may get into while integrating Amazon payment service is basic programming knowledge needed. If you do not possess the required qualification, to avoid possible problems or discrepancies, better partner with a proficient development team that will take care of Amazon checkout integration into your business case.

Talking about prices, Amazon charges 2,9% of the total payment sum plus $0,30 per transaction in the US and 3,9% with additional $0,30 for cross-border transactions.

Amazon Pay is free available on web only, though its adaptive design solutions and high-level responsiveness ensure seamless service running on mobile devices.

4. Stripe

Looking for better alternatives to PayPal, one cannot avoid Stripe payment system. It is an all-round payment gateway alternative that handles full payment processing procedure by itself. Stripe begins with collecting payments and ends up sending payment info to the bank. It takes hold of varied payment types (cryptocurrency transactions and ACH payments included).

Stripe is loved by business beginners for its intuitive API, as to implement it, one needs comparatively less effort and knowledge than while working with other PayPal alternatives. Besides, having enough skill or partnering with proficient developers, you can easily customize Stripe up to your business needs. API flexibility becomes the main reason for big digital business companies like Shopify to adopt Stripe as an alternative to PayPal.

Applying Stripe checkout brings a wide range of benefits including global market coverage (Stripe account allows receiving payment from customers/companies worldwide), clear pricing system (user pays only for features he/she uses at the moment), and relevant fee reports. Stripe also functions as online banking like PayPal redirecting received payments straight to your bank account. Besides, it supports mobile payments, making money transfer procedure even more convenient.

Similar to other services like PayPal, Stripe may hold up your money after payment is done. As in PayPal’s case, these delays are provoked by security issues, as service needs time to clarify details of every transaction. Another disadvantage is that though Stripe appears among good alternatives to PayPal allowing to receive payments from customers around the globe, there exist certain limitations for business runners. Entrepreneurs can create Stripe accounts for business only in North American, Australian, or European locations.

Stripe represents one of the best payment services like PayPal with a cost-effective pricing plan. Its regular fee constitutes 2,9% of the transaction value plus additional $0,30. However, international money transfers require additional fee at the rate of 1%.

Stripe payments are free available on web, Android-, and iOS-powered devices.

5. TransferWise

TransferWise gained popularity as the best PayPal alternative for international transactions, dealing with frequent international money transfers, individual customers. Freelancers and business runners worldwide prefer TransferWise to PayPal, as it offers more competitive pricing per money transfers.

TransferWise has gained popularity because of its peculiar way of transaction making. Sending payments to another country via TransferWise, the addresser actually sends money to local TransferWise account, while the correspondent sum is sent to addressee from TransferWise account in another country. This approach allows sparing a significant amount of money while currency conversion, stick to relevant currency conversion rate, and boost general transaction speed.

TransferWise’s main benefit lies in low prices and fast payment processing. It ensures wide market coverage offering payment possibilities for more than 40 currencies worldwide. Applying TransferWise for your business, one can simplify payment procedure for foreign customers settling up invoices in currency preferred by the client.

Despite the service’s popularity, it has certain limits. TransferWise Borderless service allows receiving funds in selected currencies (EUR, USD, AUD, GBP), and you can use TransferWise only for bank transfers. Besides, due to the system’s relative simplicity, several useful features like recurring billing are still not available.

TransferWise offers a great advantage of international transaction fees being considerably lower than in similar apps like PayPal. TransferWise charges only 0,6% of total payment sum plus additional $1.

TransferWise is free available on web, Android, and iOS platforms.

6. Intuit

Intuit stands among good alternatives to PayPal suiting freelancers or small businesses looking for a pro accounting tool. It offers diverse payment managing solutions from the payment system itself to accounting services.

The main advantage of applying Intuit solutions is its compatibility with QuickBooks and TurboTax that ensures seamless user experience for your customers. Similar to PayPal, Intuit allows sending invoices, receive ACH bank transfers, and synchronize payments with timesheets or payroll.

Intuit may turn disadvantageous to individual customers, as it stands mainly as a payment service for business accounting needs. Besides, prices are higher if you do not integrate with QuickBooks.

Intuit provides several pricing plans which vary depending on business requirements. The regular plan presupposes free bank transfers and 2,9% fees with additional $0,25 per credit/debit card transaction.

Intuit is free available on web as a general service, while Android– and iOS-powered devices are supported by QuickBooks Payments & Accounting application.

7. Payoneer

If you look for similar apps like PayPal for your small or mid-sized business, Payoneer is the best solution. With easy-to-implement, intuitive interface, Payoneer pays particular attention to such niches as freelance, e-commerce, and digital advertising. It also works as online banking like PayPal offering clients a digital account and personal debit card.

Payoneer’s main advantages lie in its simplicity and practical applicability. Like with PayPal, with Payoneer service, you can make both online and offline payments in physical stores. Besides, it allows withdrawing cash from the card via your bank account or from ATMs at any location worldwide.

Payoneer does not require specific programming knowledge to be applied and allows performing/getting money transfers around the globe in a short time period. Thus, Payoneer payments become highly advantageous to freelancers or small business entrepreneurs who cannot yet afford hiring qualified developers to integrate more complex API into their product.

Despite its positive sides, Payoneer has several disadvantages displeasing customers. High fees on transactions between different payment systems and on funds withdrawing are definitely the greatest drawback, as other payment services like PayPal offer more competitive terms. Payoneer is not compatible with payment gateways, which creates certain inconvenience for bigger businesses.

Payoneer pricing is calculated annually via monthly bills and depends on your invoices. Payoneer offers great advantage while transferring money within the system, as transactions between two Payoneer accounts are free. Sending money to bank account or receiving a transaction from a client without Payoneer account, one must pay 3% fees if the customer uses credit card and 1% in case of eCheck payment.

Payoneer is free available on iOS, Android, and web versions.

8. Skrill

Skrill is a representative of PayPal alternatives for business performing cryptocurrency transactions or online games. Skrill issues to customers a prepaid debit card which can be applied either online or offline (ATM support included).

Skrill is loved by individual users and business runners because of its simplicity accompanied by strong security system. You can use Skrill debit card at any place worldwide and be sure about your transactions are secure. It has additional advantages for online games dealing with money operations.

However, customers are not fully satisfied with the services provided. Skrill app similar to PayPal may temporarily block your account as ‘suspicious’ one, as it deals with cryptocurrency and applies multiple security checks. Besides, you cannot perform too big payments, as 1% fee is limited to $10 per one transaction.

Skrill payments cost 1,45% of the total sum plus $0,50 per transaction, though transferring money to bank account is free of charge.

Skrill is free available on web, iOS, and Android devices.

Which PayPal Alternative Offers the Best Solutions to Your Business?

Over recent years, online payment sphere has grown and expanded, offering even more online payment platforms like PayPal to suit any particular business case. Whether you aim at providing unique user experience or look for another payment service, you have a lot of alternatives to choose from.

Finding an alternative does not mean PayPal’s complete elimination — it continues to hold firmly its position on online business market — though trying new options opens promising future perspectives filled with comprehensive industry experiences. Drop us a line! We will be happy to develop the best solution suiting your business case.