When the only payment method is PayPal

[Honourspren]

Why do companies do this?

I do not have a PayPal account, nor do I want one. But some companies seem to give you no other payment option, do not prewarn you and so you are forced to abort at the last step in the booking/ payment process.

The latest is a holiday club one of my children wants to attend and it really grates on me. I am currently waiting to see whether my ex will use his account to pay and I'll then transfer the money to him. It's annoying.

Just use PayPal, it’s totally safe.

If you don’t want to, don’t, but you can’t complain when you then can’t purchase.

PayPal is a simple and secure method of money transfer for small businesses.

It keeps fees low for small businesses. You can pay on PayPal without an account

Following with interest as the very small company i work for uses PayPal for all payments, however we are assured/believe that you don’t need a PayPal account to buy, you can do it as a guest. However we’ve been told by a couple of customers that it won’t allow them to buy without creating an account whilst many people manage to buy without creating an account. We can’t get to the bottom of it!

I'm currently reading the reviews on Trustpilot. No, I have no intention of giving that company access to my money and card details.

Maybe it just is tough, but I don't understand why companies would exclude all other methods of payment when many are just as secure. They're losing customers.

Why don't you just make your life easier and create a paypal account? You can still use all your normal cards within it, so it really makes no odds. And will save you faffing around asking people and transferring them.

I don't have/want one either.

You can just check out as a guest.

Why are you against PayPal?

Just make a PayPal account. Life doesn't need to be that complicated. There's a super easy solution and PayPal is a very safe way to pay. Just make your life easier and set one up. You're making everything more difficult for literally no logical reason.

Sorry, cross posted with you.

Small companies have to choose the most straightforward method and fee scale that works for them. PayPal has been around for years and I would much rather companies used that than some of the payment platforms that are new or I’ve never heard of.

Cost! It’s all about the cost of the transaction

You don’t need to have an account to pay via PayPal- you can just use your card.
Not sure why you dislike PayPal over any other payment provider - they’re all much of a muchness really.

You don't need an account, you can still check out.

Do you read Trustpilot reviews about Facebook too? eBay? Because PayPal is a big as those. If you don't like it you aren't the customer for them. Find another holiday club for them to go to.

PayPal can be a checkout system easy for small businesses to set up and secure. You don’t need a PayPal account to pay. Set up with Opayo, WorldPay etc is more IT integration work.
Paypal bought over Zettle so there are fewer options.

They’re not really. Or they wouldn’t use it. Many people prefer the protection of using PayPal online,

I'm surprised people are choosing Paypal based on cost. It was really expensive to use as an eBay seller. (3.4% plus 20 p, so about twice what banks etc charge small retailers to accept card payments and far more than the new modern methods like SumUp).

I would have thought there would be far cheaper options outside eBay. Plus if it's something really small and local like a holiday club, most people are happy to pay by bank transfer.

I actively prefer to use PayPal I don't understand what OP's problem is

I’m with you OP I don’t want one either. A few months ago I found a website where I could purchase items for my hobby. Only PayPal and when tried to check out as a guest it just went round in circles. Very frustrating as it meant I lost out on something that has never came back in stock

I did try again more recently and it was fine as it must have been a glitch before

But coincidentally since I checked out as a guest on that site I have been getting loads of PayPal scam eg click on this link to activate your PayPal account. They are definitely phishing emails as you can tell by the address (done enough of that sort of compliance training at work over years to know it).

Dont know if it’s a PayPal thing or just that website but definitely put me off using it again

I'm sure you could do a bank transfer but companies know that they look scammy by putting that option out there as there is no buyer protection.

You don't always need a PayPal account to pay by PayPal...once you click the link there should be a 'pay without an account' option which means you just pay with your debit/credit card.

I don't use ebay for similar reasons, and my Facebook account, which has been around since the early days of the company when data protection was much less of a thing in anyone's consciousness, is inactive bar the occasional messenger use to contact my parents. Plus, the latter doesn't need access to my money.

I've been a credit card fraud victim a few years back and it was not fun having all my accounts frozen, so I am very careful who gets my details and for what reason.

I have now managed to get someone to pay on my behalf. It's still annoying.

PayPal is more secure than paying my card, not less. It protects both parties. If I have a transaction to make with someone I don’t know well I’d only use PayPal- not a bank transfer. It’s more ridiculous that you won’t spend 5 mins signing up to PayPal than the company using it as the only form of payment.

I have now managed to get someone to pay on my behalf. It's still annoying.

This is a really weird attitude. You're not more likely to be the victim of fraud by using PayPal as proven by the fact you claim to be so careful but it has still happened to you. Yes it's shit you were in that position but unfortunately no matter how careful you are sometimes it still happens. However, if you genuinely thought there was more risk by using PayPal you wouldn't then surely want to put people in that position by getting them to do it on your behalf?

I have now managed to get someone to pay on my behalf. It's still annoying

Did you tell the person who paid on your behalf that the reason you don’t have an account is because you feel it’s unsafe? Seems a bit hypocritical if not, to happily let someone else take what you perceive as this massive risk.