The Best PayPal Alternatives for Seamless Online Payments
PayPal is one of the most well-known applications for sending money, paying online, and setting up merchant accounts. While ubiquitous, competition in the online payment space has led to several viable alternatives to PayPal emerging, offering both merchants and personal users more features and often better terms. For businesses, alternatives to PayPal that support payment processing may work better depending on their focus, such as Amazon Payments. Additionally, for personal money transfers, there are compelling alternatives that offer features like cryptocurrency support and even no-fee money sending. Because who likes spending money just to send money you already have to someone else, right? While PayPal's widespread availability on both the web and as a dedicated app has made it a go-to service, exploring other options can unlock new benefits.
Top PayPal Alternatives
Looking to move beyond PayPal? Here's a curated list of top alternatives that cater to a wide range of needs, from individual money transfers to robust merchant solutions.
Stripe
Stripe is an excellent PayPal alternative for businesses needing to create custom payment flows, from e-commerce to recurring billing. As a Commercial, Web-based platform, Stripe offers powerful features like a comprehensive API and IFTTT integration, making it ideal for developers and businesses looking for flexible and scalable payment solutions.
TransferWise
TransferWise (now Wise) is a fantastic PayPal alternative for sending money abroad quickly and at the lowest possible cost, making it perfect for expats, students, and businesses with international transactions. This Commercial service, available on Web, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, stands out with features like foreign account deposits, support for multiple currencies, and always using the real exchange rate.
Open Collective
Open Collective offers a unique PayPal alternative for groups and communities seeking transparent recurring funding. This Commercial, Open Source, and Web-based platform allows organizations to accept money without needing a bank account, providing features like subscriptions, crowdfunding, donations, and full financial transparency.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash provides a compelling Free and Open Source PayPal alternative for those interested in cryptocurrency transactions. Available on Mac, Windows, Linux, Web, Android, and iPhone, it offers fast, private, and low-fee transactions, embodying features like anonymity, blockchain technology, decentralization, and smart contracts.
Google Pay
Google Pay is a convenient Free PayPal alternative for mobile payments, allowing users to pay online, in stores, and more with their smartphone. Available on Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, iPad, Android Wear, and Apple Messages, it boasts features such as mobile payment, encrypted connection, NFC payment, and critically, no fees for transactions.
Uphold
Uphold offers a versatile Free PayPal alternative for holding, converting, and transacting with various forms of money or commodities, including cryptocurrencies. Available on Web, Android, and iPhone, its key features include Bitcoin support, a Bitcoin-wallet, exchange capabilities, and the ability to send requests for payment instantly, securely, and often for free.
Amazon Payments
Amazon Payments is a strong Freemium PayPal alternative for online businesses, leveraging the familiar Amazon.com checkout experience. This Web-based platform focuses on providing seamless payment processing for consumers, businesses, and developers, making it a reliable choice for e-commerce.
DASH
DASH presents a Free and Open Source PayPal alternative for users prioritizing privacy in their transactions through its Darksend system. Available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, DASH offers private, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions, alongside features like anonymity, decentralization, and a decentralized funding system.
Payoneer
Payoneer is a robust Commercial PayPal alternative primarily focused on empowering businesses and freelancers to pay and get paid globally with ease. This Web-based platform offers comprehensive payment processing features, including credit card processing, automatic payments, e-commerce integration, mobile payment, online banking, and even PayPal integration for expanded flexibility.
Monese
Monese is a Freemium mobile banking PayPal alternative, offering multi-currency accounts that are locally smart and globally connected. Available on Web, Android, and iPhone, it provides features like 128-bit encryption, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cryptocurrency support, multiple currencies, and online banking, allowing users to open fully functional accounts instantly from their phone.
With a diverse range of options available, from specialized payment processors for businesses to private cryptocurrency solutions and international money transfer services, there’s a perfect PayPal alternative out there for almost every need. Explore these options to find the best fit based on your specific requirements for features, fees, and platform availability.