PayPal is one of the best-known online payment solutions. We show you the advantages and disadvantages of the payment option and which 14 PayPal alternatives merchants should know.
Apr 27, 2024
PayPal: Advantages & disadvantages
14 PayPal alternatives at a glance
Mollie vs. PayPal in comparison
Despite its popularity, not all customers like to pay via PayPal
That's why shoppers need reliable PayPal alternatives
Mix of global and local payment options best suited
Mollie impresses with excellent ratings as a PSP
Mollie is an excellent PayPal alternative, especially for SMEs
Those who offer PayPal as a payment option benefit from a high level of acceptance among customers. However, merchants should also be aware of the potential disadvantages of PayPal.
Easy to use: PayPal is easy for shoppers to set up and use. It only requires an e-mail address and a linked bank account or credit card.
Fast transactions: PayPal enables fast online payments and transfers between users. A transaction takes a few minutes instead of several days, making PayPal a convenient payment option.
Buyer protection: PayPal offers buyer protection that strengthens trust. If customers do not receive an item they have paid for, PayPal offers a full refund.
Account suspensions: One of the most frustrating experiences for PayPal users, and therefore a major disadvantage of PayPal, is account suspensions or restrictions, which can lead to temporary or even permanent loss of access to money. It is therefore advisable for merchants to offer PayPal alternatives. On the one hand, buyers with possibly blocked PayPal accounts can still make purchases via such PayPal alternatives and, on the other hand, payments in the online store will still work even if there are problems with their own PayPal business account.
Phishing emails: PayPal itself warns of phishing emails in which fraudsters attempt to take over PayPal accounts from customers and merchants with the help of fake, but sometimes deceptively genuine-looking emails. Buyers who therefore do not use the payment service need PayPal alternatives in order to be able to complete the checkout in a similarly simple, fast and secure manner.
Risk of data loss: There have been security breaches at PayPal in the past in which user data was compromised. In addition, PayPal is allowed to pass on user data to unknown third parties, for example for credit checks, in accordance with its own extensive terms and conditions. Although the latter does not represent a loss of data for consumers, it does represent a certain loss of control over their own data. This can be a reason for buyers to prefer PayPal alternatives.
PayPal offers many advantages. The vast majority of transactions run smoothly. Nevertheless, it is important that customers can also pay using other payment methods, particularly due to the disadvantages of PayPal. That's why we're showing 10 PayPal alternatives that can also be easily offered as payment options via Mollie - and another five that are suitable as PSP alternatives to PayPal.
Giropay: Giropay is one of the most popular online payment methods in Germany, is supported by many banks and is therefore ideal as a PayPal alternative. Consumers can pay securely online from their bank accounts and benefit from wide availability in Germany.
Klarna: Klarna is a comprehensive payment solution that is widely used in Germany. It offers various payment options, including purchase on account and installment purchase. Klarna also offers its own buyer protection.
Credit card: Credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express are a common payment method - worldwide and also in Germany. They enable online payments on an international level and offer shoppers a convenient way to make purchases. Accepted by most online merchants, credit cards are a versatile option and a successful PayPal alternative.
Billie: Billie is the leading online payment solution for B2B businesses in Germany. It enables companies to conveniently pay invoices or accept payments from business customers. Billie offers flexible payment terms and a user-friendly platform for business transactions, making it the ideal PayPal alternative for B2B businesses in Germany.
Cartes Bancaires: Cartes Bancaires for webshops is one of the most widely used payment methods in France, allowing transactions to be carried out in just a few minutes. Cartes Bancaires is therefore a first-class PayPal alternative, especially for French customers.
Bancontact: Bancontact for webshops is the most widely used payment method in Belgium. It is accepted by more than 80 percent of Belgian online stores and service providers. Bancontact is an excellent alternative to PayPal in Belgium, as transactions are usually completed within ten minutes.
iDEAL: In the Netherlands, the most commonly used payment method is iDEAL as a payment method for online stores. It enables secure transactions from Dutch bank accounts and is offered by many Dutch online merchants - overall a very suitable PayPal alternative in the Netherlands.
Belfius Pay Button: Belfius Pay Button for online stores is a payment method from the Belgian Belfius Bank. Around one million Belfius customers can use it to pay online from their bank accounts. This option is a particularly practical PayPal alternative for Belgian customers.
Przelewy24: Przelewy24 is the most frequently used payment method in Poland. Polish customers can use it to make online payments securely and conveniently from their bank accounts. Merchants with customers in Poland can therefore offer Przelewy24 as a PayPal alternative.
Stripe: Stripe is an international PSP that can be easily integrated into common store systems and is therefore suitable as a PayPal alternative for merchants. However, some local payment methods and PayPal are not supported.
Payone: The payment provider Payone is aimed in particular at small and medium-sized companies. However, merchants enter into a minimum term of 36 months with this PayPal alternative.
Mollie: Mollie focuses on the needs of SMBs. Mollie's simple, plug-and-play solutions are specially tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized companies. Mollie is characterized by local, German-speaking support.
Payoneer: This PSP focuses on international payments and merchants who offer their products via platforms such as Amazon or eBay.
Adyen: Adyen is available as a PayPal alternative for large, globally active companies. However, the integration and implementation is somewhat more complex.
Below we compare the key features of PayPal and Mollie.
PayPal itself offers more than 20 payment methods that customers can use to pay in the online store. The most common is credit card. PayPal also classifies other so-called alternative payment methods. The focus is on global coverage, meaning that European, Asian, Australian and South American payment options are available in addition to global payment methods.
Mollie offers over 20 different payment methods via a single contract and is therefore suitable as a payment provider as an alternative to PayPal. Supported payment methods include globally used methods such as Apple Pay and credit card payments, as well as a wide range of locally used payment methods. PayPal is also one of the payment options supported by Mollie. Each payment method can be activated and deactivated in the Mollie dashboard using a slider.
As an alternative to PayPal, Mollie offers a highly customizable checkout that can be easily integrated into the store page. This allows customers to pay in the familiar store environment instead of being redirected externally. This not only looks really good, but also reduces abandonment immensely.
PayPal requires greater manual implementation effort if there is no PayPal integration for the respective store system. The PayPal checkout can also be adapted to your own store design.
Mollie is a great PayPal alternative and is always there for you. The support teams across Europe are available to help you solve problems and assist with payment processing. In addition, every merchant has a Mollie Customer Success Manager at their side as a personal point of contact - whether SME or world-renowned company. Our customers reward this commitment with excellent ratings on Trustpilot.
PayPal offers telephone customer service, but has a mixed rating on Trustpilot (as of Jan 2024).
Over 130,000 online stores rely on Mollie as their payment provider. The ease of use in combination with the wide range of global and local payment options and first-class customer support is particularly attractive for small and medium-sized companies.
If you operate worldwide and are looking for a payment provider with global payment options, you may have found the right option with PayPal.
Alternatives to PayPal include numerous payment methods such as SOFORT or payment by credit card. If you use PayPal as a PSP for other payment methods, Mollie is an excellently rated PayPal alternative.
The disadvantages of PayPal can include account blocking, loss of money, the large number of phishing emails and a potential risk of data loss.
There is no general answer as to which payment method is safest for customers. In principle, all payment methods available via Mollie are secure. We ensure this through effective encrypted data transmission, intelligent fraud detection and configurable risk controls, among other things.
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