4 ms·

This is the product PayPal advertises in every single purchase customers make online. I don't understand why any serious business uses PayPal for payments when

This is the product PayPal advertises in every single purchase customers make online. I don't understand why any serious business uses PayPal for payments when the company is injecting an extra step (or two) into the purchase workflow. How many sales do merchants lose because of the interruption?

Osiris 11y ago
I sell a software production online. The purchase page has a simple credit card payment form, and off the side is a small "PayPal" button an an alternative payment method. Despite the fact that the PayPal button is tiny compared to the credit card form, a full 2/3 of customers use PayPal to complete the purchase. That's why people use PayPal, because a large percentage of customers prefer it over credit card payments. Also, I prefer PayPal disputes because they don't charge a chargeback fee like credit cards.
- sombremesa 11y ago
  For me, it's not that I prefer PayPal, it's that I don't want to give my credit card details to a business if I'm not sure they can keep it reasonably secure. And the fewer places I have my card the better. You might get the same results with Amazon Payments, unless you have an international audience.
  - jliptzin 11y ago
    You can use a virtual credit card number for such instances
    - fastball 11y ago
      What's a virtual credit card?
      - Domenic_S 11y ago
        Some banks will issue one-time use numbers for your cards, limited to a certain transaction amount and then they're gone. A pretty cool idea, but until they have an app that generates these numbers at the push of a button nobody really uses them. Too much of a hassle.
    - webjprgm 11y ago
      But that's a hassle. First you have to figure out how to use the webpage / app to get the virtual credit card number. Once you know, you still have to log into a separate service and click a few buttons. With PayPal or Amazon Payments you just click your password manager's button to log you in right in the checkout process on the same webpage.
  - pnathan 11y ago
    > For me, it's not that I prefer PayPal, it's that I don't want to give my credit card details to a business if I'm not sure they can keep it reasonably secure. This is exactly why I use PayPal. I would far rather use a more reputable interface system, but I am NOT keen on handing my CC info out to every shop online.
thirdsun 11y ago
Well, here in Germany, maybe europe in general, you can't assume that your customers own a credit card. I like Stripe a lot, but using it as the only payment option wouldn't work for us. Credit cards have become more common here recently but for a long time it was either Paypal connected to the customers bank account or plain old bank wire transfer. Sure, there are some niche services like Sofortüberweisung, but they never gained the status of Paypal.
- madez 11y ago
  I, as a customer, actually prefer Sofortüberweisung compared to PayPal. I also don't have a credit card and I don't want to have one.
  - silvestre 11y ago
    Then your giving all your online banking login data to SOFORT AG and/or Klarna AB. To me that's even worse. I like giropay since then I'm only dealing with my own bank.
    - madez 11y ago
      Yes, you are right, SOFORTÜBERWEISUNG is not perfect. If I had the choice, I'd pay with a Lastschrift.

Osiris 11y ago

I sell a software production online. The purchase page has a simple credit card payment form, and off the side is a small "PayPal" button an an alternative payment method. Despite the fact that the PayPal button is tiny compared to the credit card form, a full 2/3 of customers use PayPal to complete the purchase. That's why people use PayPal, because a large percentage of customers prefer it over credit card payments. Also, I prefer PayPal disputes because they don't charge a chargeback fee like credit cards.

sombremesa 11y ago
For me, it's not that I prefer PayPal, it's that I don't want to give my credit card details to a business if I'm not sure they can keep it reasonably secure. And the fewer places I have my card the better. You might get the same results with Amazon Payments, unless you have an international audience.
- jliptzin 11y ago
  You can use a virtual credit card number for such instances
  - fastball 11y ago
    What's a virtual credit card?
    - Domenic_S 11y ago
      Some banks will issue one-time use numbers for your cards, limited to a certain transaction amount and then they're gone. A pretty cool idea, but until they have an app that generates these numbers at the push of a button nobody really uses them. Too much of a hassle.
  - webjprgm 11y ago
    But that's a hassle. First you have to figure out how to use the webpage / app to get the virtual credit card number. Once you know, you still have to log into a separate service and click a few buttons. With PayPal or Amazon Payments you just click your password manager's button to log you in right in the checkout process on the same webpage.
- pnathan 11y ago
  > For me, it's not that I prefer PayPal, it's that I don't want to give my credit card details to a business if I'm not sure they can keep it reasonably secure. This is exactly why I use PayPal. I would far rather use a more reputable interface system, but I am NOT keen on handing my CC info out to every shop online.

thirdsun 11y ago

Well, here in Germany, maybe europe in general, you can't assume that your customers own a credit card. I like Stripe a lot, but using it as the only payment option wouldn't work for us. Credit cards have become more common here recently but for a long time it was either Paypal connected to the customers bank account or plain old bank wire transfer. Sure, there are some niche services like Sofortüberweisung, but they never gained the status of Paypal.

madez 11y ago
I, as a customer, actually prefer Sofortüberweisung compared to PayPal. I also don't have a credit card and I don't want to have one.
- silvestre 11y ago
  Then your giving all your online banking login data to SOFORT AG and/or Klarna AB. To me that's even worse. I like giropay since then I'm only dealing with my own bank.
  - madez 11y ago
    Yes, you are right, SOFORTÜBERWEISUNG is not perfect. If I had the choice, I'd pay with a Lastschrift.