When working virtually you need to be able to offer your clients convenient payment methods. Most people know and trust PayPal because it’s one of the oldest online payment providers and the most widely used for millions of people around the world.
There are, however, several alternatives available. Read below to find the best alternatives for PayPal for virtual assistants.
Unless you live in the U.S and Canada you can stop reading right here as it’s only available in these countries (Stripe is coming to the UK soon. Stripe is comparable to PayPal across the board. They both take a 2.9% plus $0.30 processing fee for each transaction. If you need to refund money to a client PayPal takes a transaction fee for the refund and with Stripe, there is no refund transaction fee. Stripe’s users claim that Stripe’s customer service is far better than PayPal and because Stripe financially backed by former PayPal founders you can bet they will continue to up their game and strive to offer the best service that continues to compete with PayPal. In short, Stripe has the same pricing as PayPal but you can process credit cards right from your site unlike PayPal which sends you to their site for processing. Last but not least unlike PayPal, Stripe holds your money for 48 hours before it will become available. Consider this when making a decision.
Payoneer is an Internet-based financial services business that allows users to transfer money and receive payments through re-loadable prepaid MasterCard debit cards. Payoneer works as an alternative for wire transfer services and online payments that provides users with refillable debit cards. The cards are issued through Mastercard and can be used at ATMs or at the point-of-purchase. You can withdraw money from your debit card directly to your local bank account. This is a great option for virtual assistants who live in countries where PayPal is unavailable. There is an annual fee of $29.95 and transaction fees of $3.15. While expensive if this is your only option, it’s better than none at all.
Paymate is an option for Australians and New Zealanders. Paymate works by crediting funds directly into recipients bank accounts. Paymate enables sellers in Australia to accept payments in AUD, USD, GBP, EUR and NZD while sellers in New Zealand can accept payments in NZD. With Paymate, you get your money in your account within 1 business day.
Payza is offered in over 200 countries worldwide and accepts 22 currencies. You can invoice your clients directly with Payza. You get paid directly into your Payza e-wallet account. You can withdraw your money to your bank account either by bank wire, bank transfer or with Payza’s prepaid card that you can use anywhere in the United States where Visa is accepted. To receive funds into your Payza personal or business account you will be charged a fee of 2.50% +$0.25. Starter accounts pay no receiving fees on up to $400 USD or equivalent/month or $2,000 USD.
To use Venmo you need to download their smartphone app. Users transfer money for free from one account to another and sending money is as easy as it gets. Venmo is only available in the United States and if you’re funding your account with a credit card there is a 3% fee.
Like Venmo, Square requires you to download their smartphone app. Creating an account is easy. Once your account is open Square will send you their Square reader (credit card swiper) and then you need to download the Square Register. These two work together so that you can swipe credit cards using your smartphone and the money is applied to your bank account minus a 2.75% processing fee. While this option is incredibly useful for many things, I think that as virtual assistants we won’t benefit from the ability to swipe credit cards. This is a great option to offer our clients, instead.
Banks set their own exchange rate to make money off you. TransferWise gives you the real exchange rate, also known as the mid-market rate. The exchange rate is guaranteed as long as TransferWise receives your money within 96 hours.
Over 98% of customers say that QuickBooks helps them run their business more easily. You can connect your bank account to automatically import and categorize transactions. Sync with popular apps and snap photos of receipts. Powerful invoicing with custom reminders, tracking, and direct deposit puts less time between you and your money. Plus, QuickBooks customers find on average $3,534 in tax savings per year.
2Checkout can help you tackle the complexities of digital commerce, globally.
The platform’s modular design was created to meet these dynamic needs:
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Global Payments
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Digital Commerce
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Subscription Billing
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Global Tax & Financial Services
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Risk Management & Compliance
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Partner Sales
What online payment processor are you using and why? Also if you’d like to see a PayPal alternative added to this list leave it in the comments below.
0 thoughts on “PayPal Alternatives for Virtual Assistants”
Hi Reese,
I use paypal primarily and I do have the square app and reader on my phone. I’ve only used the square app once to produce a receipt for a local client that I accepted cash from. So far I really prefer and love using paypal for invoicing. As my business grows, I plan to move to a merchant processor like 1 shopping cart.
Hey Geniece! Yeah, Square seems like a SUPER useful option for those that need to sell in person. PayPal has been great for me so I have no complaints except that I’d love to reduce the processing fees.
Hello Reese,
Thanks for the additional apps because it’s always good to Jane a variety of payment options I must admit I always get something great out of your blogs and it encourages me to blog on my website
Good luck with that beautiful smiling face
Gale, thank you for your sweet comment! Good luck with your blogging efforts! The more your blog the easier it gets.
How do you go about billing the service charges or do you just pay them yourself?
What about email money transfers? Would that be a good option as well? The only issue is that both sides get a service charge, so would you add that to their invoice should they want to use that option?
I’m trying to figure out the best payment system for my new business. I’ve been told that paypal is too easy to hack so I’m hesitant to use paypal.
Thank you for your suggestions.
Michelle, you could work the service charges into your hourly rate. Any method of payment is relevant as long as it works for you and your client(s). Most people want to have an easy and safe method to pay online but there are plenty who still do things old school (bank transfer, wire transfer). It’s strange that you heard PayPal is easy to hack as it has a pretty stable security encryption. Some of the newer online payment methods are not as encrypted as PayPal. Do you research and you’ll find the best provider for you and your clients. 🙂
These are all new to me. Thanks a ton for sharing these other options we can also use aside from Paypal.
Hey Rambo! Thanks so much for reading and for leaving your comment. So glad that you found the post useful!
I’ve been considering Dwolla as an alternative to Paypal but most of my clients are really worried about security and they feel most comfortable with Paypal.
One thing I would add to this list is Amazon Web Payments. I believe there no fees for money transfer. However, this is a new service and is currently available in the US only.
Perhaps I should also mention Ko-Kard but this only applies to people with VAs in the Philippines. It works like Payoneer.
Great post, Reese!
Nica, yeah, I’ve read that alternatives to PayPal have less security but they will work on that, no doubt! There are so many VAs in the Philippines so I am glad you mentioned Ko-Kard! Thanks, Nica!
Great post! Another to add to the list is Intuit Payment Network: https://ipn.intuit.com/login/home – it works much the same as Dwolla, the transaction fee is $.50/per.
Thanks for the tip and your comment, Judy!
Great post Reese – LOVE the new website by the way.I remember seeing this post a while ago, but I decided to refer back to it because I’m looking for an all in one scheduling app and payment processor. I’ll definitely look into Stripe as they now offer payment processing for Australia – yay!
Thank, Janet! You were one of the people I had in mind when I was writing that post. I knew the info would be useful you you my friend. xo
thanks for this amazing list.
I use Quickbooks Self Employed which I got free by using Turbo Tax. It allows free ACH transfers which are best!
Before read this I don’t know the PayPal alternative.thanks your instruction.