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.

The thing with PayPal is it’s easy and quick to set up and use. I use it all the time to send money friends as well as to pay for things. All you need is someone’s email address. It’s more secure than using your card directly. It’s also more traceable than other payments like cash. You have it there in black and white that you paid.

I've actually had a really bad experience of PayPal and would never use them again.
When I was on maternity leave and literally trying to make ends meet I decided to sell some clothes second hand on eBay (before Vinted days). All the money went into my PayPal account. They use to hold the money to make sure everything went ok with the transaction/ no disputes etc. There wasn't any issues everyone gave me positive reviews on eBay.
For some still unknown reason PayPal said they were investigating my account and were holding my money. They refused to give me a reason/explanation. They then decided from this to complete close my account again without reason/explanation and said they would not give me my money (around £100) for about 8 weeks in case there were any claims against me.
I was so upset and genuinely have no idea why it happened. I was so angry desperately needing money and this company felt they could keep my money and refuse to even tell me what the issue was.

Anyway the point of that story yes I don't use companies that only allow PayPal payment

Paypal fees are higher than my merchant account.

Unfortunately a lot of people like and trust Paypal so I have to offer it. I do my best to push them towards my credit card processor. The difference is over 1% so on a £1000 transfer it soon adds up