The best alternatives to PayPal at a glance

Braintree refers to itself as “all-in-one payments partner” and helps business of all sizes accept and process payments, which help maximize business opportunities and increase revenue growth.

No matter where in the world a company’s buyers are located, the solution offers all the tools needed to help the business reach them and therefore grow internationally. Since it’s a PayPal service, you’re not straying too far from the market giant.

The service replaces the traditional model of sourcing a payment gateway and merchant account from different providers. Braintree is suitable for small businesses that are just starting out, to large fully-fledged companies. Some well-known companies include Airbnb, GitHub, Pinterest, and Uber. Braintree Direct, Braintree Marketplace, Braintree Auth, and Braintree Extend are the different solutions that cater to each business model.

Click to Pay, formerly known as Masterpass, was initially only available as an alternative to PayPal for Mastercard customers but is now available to all credit card holders.

Similarly to PayPal, you have to create a personal account and enter payment and personal data there. Whenever you want to pay online, you can easily and quickly click “Remember me”. This saves you having to repeatedly enter your address and payment information for each individual online shop. A one-time code is sent to your email, which is necessary to complete the payment. Click to Pay uses a multi-level security system, which is also used for payments with credit cards. It can be used in desktop and mobile browsers as well as in native Android and iOS apps.

Amazon Pay is the online retail giant’s very own payment service. Amazon Payments profits immensely from its parent company’s notoriety and reputation, which is why many other popular online shops opt for this payment option. This PayPal alternative is not as widespread as the industry leader.

Amazon Pay allows users to process purchases in participating shops with their Amazon account, which only requires an email address and a password to complete a purchase. Here, the provider uses the payment information that’s already been registered with Amazon. All that’s needed is an active Amazon account. The advantage here is that there’s no need to hand over sensitive payment information to third parties. Amazon acts as the intermediary between customer and retailer. The customer shouldn’t expect any additional costs for setting up and using the account. The retailer, on the other hand, should expect to pay 1.9 % of the total purchase price plus an additional 35 cents for each transaction: the same fees as PayPal. Billing is carried out via credit card.

The PayPal alternative is a mobile payment service. Apple Pay is only available for a limited target group that has access to newer Apple products. The payment service acts first and foremost as an NFC-based wallet for the iPhone, allowing Apple Pay to carry out so-called contactless payments at the checkout register. It is also possible to make in-app purchases e.g. from Airbnb, Starbucks, and Kickstarter.

Recently, some online stores have started to support this method of payment. Apple Pay was only available in the United States for a long time; however, it has since expanded its services to France, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Due to its immense market power, it’s highly likely that this PayPal alternative will also spread to other countries in coming years.

When it comes to mobile payments, it’s essential not to forget the second most important player. With Google Pay (formerly known as Android Pay), Google brought its own payment service onto the market. As the successor of Google Wallet, Google Pay is the Internet giant’s second attempt to get a foothold in the payment services industry.

Google Pay is used for in-app payments as well as for transactions at brick-and-mortar retailers. Third-party providers are also able to integrate the function into their online shops. Payment takes place via an app with one click. The idea is similar to that of Apple Pay: credit card information is stored and securely managed, and no payment information is sent to the merchant.

This next option takes a look at PayPal alternatives from the merchant’s perspective. Founded in 2005 by Israeli entrepreneur, Yuval Tal, this money transfer and payment company Payoneer is especially well suited to small and medium sized business as well as freelancers. As a registered Member Service Provider (MSP) of Mastercard, Payoneer is available in over 200 countries and has round-the-clock support in more than 35 languages. Users can opt to either have funds transferred to a bank account or into a reloadable prepaid debit card, which can then be used to carry out transactions. Low currency conversion fees also make this an attractive option for cross-border wire transfers, which is why it’s a very popular solution for Airbnb hosts as well as freelancers with international clients.

The UK-based payment system Skrill, formerly known as Moneybookers, works on a prepaid basis. Via credit or debit card, users pay into a customer account. The prepaid credit can then be used for later purchases or online orders. Paying via the customer account doesn’t require any bank or credit card information to be transferred to the merchants. The prepaid idea is also valuable for allowing users to set budgets for themselves. But this model is also associated with its own unique risks: Customers have to pay before they’re able to use the service, meaning their accrued credit could be lost (e.g. in instances of bankruptcy).

Similar to PayPal, Stripe, a San Francisco company, also offers online payment processing. It's worth taking a look at Stripe, especially for entrepreneurs, because in general the transaction fees charged by Stripe are lower than those charged by PayPal. Customers who choose to pay with Stripe do not need a separate account, just a valid credit or debit card.

A comparison Stripe vs. PayPal shows that payment with Stripe supports a comparatively large number of currencies and is integrated directly into web stores, so customers do not have to additionally register with the payment service provider. This saves time during checkout.

Square is also a financial services provider from San Francisco. With square small businesses and larger ones can accept and process nearly any type of online payment from clients and customers securely. You can also create loyalty programs for customers and manage payments, business accounts and cash flow easily. The service is already enjoying great success with over 30 million users.

Unlike PayPal, square also supports trading with bitcoin.