Please leave a comment or contact PayPal directly if you have any questions after reading this and the other PayPal-related articles on this blog. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I am unable to provide advice via email, so all emails related to PayPal will go unanswered. Read: PayPal Personal Account vs Business Account – A Complete Guide
Most people find it difficult to choose a PayPal account structure, so in this article, I’ll attempt to demystify the entire process of signing up with PayPal and selecting an account form.
Before we begin, a fast reminder:
If you want to transfer money as cheaply as possible, Wise is typically less expensive than PayPal.
Wise does not benefit from the exchange rate and instead charges a small portion of the total transfer fee.
Check out my comparison of PayPal and Wise Borderless, as well as my complete Wise Borderless analysis. Depending on your requirements, N26 and Revolut may also be viable choices.
Now, let’s get back to PayPal accounts.
You begin with a Personal account and can then upgrade to a Premier or Business account.
PayPal has two account types: PayPal for personal use (Personal and Premier) and PayPal for business use (Business). Signing up is easy, and each account form has different features and capabilities. Continue reading to determine which one is best for you.
If you shop online, a personal account is best. You can do the following:
- Use your credit card, debit card, or bank account to shop on eBay and merchant websites.
- Money may be sent and received from friends and relatives.
- Accept debit card, credit card, and bank account payments for a small fee while selling on eBay or your own website.
Make the best decision for your online company
- Accept debit card, credit card, and bank account transfers for a low fee for a Business account.
- Use your company or business name to conduct business.
- Manage Users, which allows you to grant different levels of access to each of your employees.
- Consult the Business Setup guide for more details.
If you decide to proceed with the update, you will see the following confirmation screen:
If you’re going to use PayPal for business, there’s no need to have a Premier account. The fees are comparable to or the same as for Business, but certain features are not available.
- To open a Business account, you do not need to have a properly recorded “business.” A DBA (doing business as) is an option.
- You may have several Business accounts (just remember to connect each one to a separate bank account/credit card).
- There are no recurring payments associated with any of the accounts.
- All additional services cost $35 a month. You must be certified in order to obtain them. You could be accepted for one but not for the other.
- Among the additional services are: – Website Payment Pro (allows you to link PayPal to a shopping cart and charge credit cards without taking your customer to PayPal).
- Payments that are made on a regular basis
- Terminal virtual (may be handy if you run live events or work with offline clients).
- If you have several businesses and want a separate PayPal account for each one, you can now create a “child” account that is connected to your main one. The advantage is that the money will be automatically and without fees withdrawn from it on a regular basis and transferred to your parent account. A child account does not need to be linked to a bank account. To create a child account, first create a new PayPal account, then call PayPal and ask them to connect the new account to your primary PayPal account.
The succinct comparison:
- Individuals who buy and pay online are advised to use this service.
- Premier: Recommended for casual sellers or non-businesses who want to be paid online and make transactions online.
- Business: This is a good option for merchants that work under a company/group name. It also includes features including granting up to 200 workers limited access to your account and a customer service email alias for customer problems to be routed for quicker follow-ups.
Since my company is based in Malta, I’ll explain the PayPal fees in this case. Other European countries may have comparable rates, but check the PayPal website for your country for more precise information.
Click on this connection to see the standard PayPal rates for receiving and sending money.
Receiving payments for goods and services at the regular rate is 3.4 percent + 0.35 EUR.
If you earn more than 2,500.00 EUR per month, you might be eligible for PayPal’s Merchant Rate, which reduces your fees as your sales volume increases. Based on the previous month’s sales amount, the payments may be as low as 1.9 percent + 0.35 EUR. Receiving money at the merchant rate for the selling of a good or service.
Please keep in mind that the prices in the table above are only for domestic transactions. If you have customers in another country, you will be charged a cross-border payment fee.
To see the higher cross-border transaction fees, go here. If you have been approved for the Merchant Rate, you can continue to benefit from lower rate bands when making cross-border payments.
The accounts listed thus far have no monthly fees, but PayPal also provides the PayPal Pro solution, which costs $30 a month.
The Pro solution is designed for frequent PayPal users and helps you to take advantage of lower prices and other services. More information about Pro can be found by following this connection. If you need full payment gateway features, go with Pro, as this system will allow you to build a completely personalised checkout process that will allow consumers to complete the transaction from your site rather than being moved to PayPal as is the normal procedure.
IN A NUTSHELL, HERE’S PRO:
- $30.00 USD a month
- There are no setup or termination costs.
- Transaction fees range from 1.9 percent to 3.4 percent plus 0.35 EUR.
Selecting a Checkout Service
If you use PayPal to receive payments for goods and services you offer online, you must also choose a checkout service. All e-commerce solutions, like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Easy Digital Downloads, will enable you to choose from a variety of e-commerce checkout business solutions provided by PayPal.
Should you set up separate PayPal accounts for each of your e-commerce stores?
The following options are available:
- Standard PayPal Website Payments
- PayPal Express Checkout is a service provided by PayPal.
- PayPal Payments Pro is an extension to PayPal Payments.
Read my separate post about the benefits and drawbacks of each, and then make an informed decision.
Managing Several Currencies
You have the option of selecting which currencies to accept and how to accept them. When a customer sends you a payment in a currency that you own, the funds are automatically deposited into your account in that currency. When a customer sends you a payment in a currency you don’t have, you have the following options:
- To accept the payment, create a new currency balance.
- Convert the payment into a currency that you accept.
- The payment has been blocked.
You should designate a primary currency as the one you use the most often for sending and receiving payments. It is also the currency in which your withdrawal limits are calculated.
PayPal has poor exchange rates when converting a payment into your primary currency. More details on PayPal currency conversions can be found in my guide. Until accepting payments, you can still preview exchange rates for currencies you don’t own.
You will also want to change the currency of your PayPal withdrawal before withdrawing funds to your credit card. My website: Finance Guide