PayPal Review for Merchants: Pros & Cons, Customer Feedback, Features

Please note that the information about the companies in this article was sourced from their respective websites as of July 2025. This information may be subject to change.

Tired of losing profit to PayPal fees, slow payouts, and clunky checkout flows? You’re not alone. Many merchants are starting to question whether PayPal is really worth the cost.

In this PayPal review, we break down how the payment platform works for businesses, what it offers, what it doesn’t, and what it really costs. We’ll also introduce Noda, a pay-by-bank alternative powered by open banking that’s faster, cheaper and more efficient. 

PayPal’s Pros and Cons

To save time for those merchants in a rush, we start with the bottom line. Here are the key pros and cons of PayPal for merchants, according to our research and analysis:

PayPal Overview

What Is PayPal?

PayPal is a global payments company based in California. It lets customers pay and get paid online or in person, and helps businesses accept payments. Available in over 200 countries and 140 currencies, PayPal is known for fast, secure payments, fraud protection, and tools to help businesses grow.

PayPal’s Ownership

PayPal was founded in 1998 and became PayPal after merging with Elon Musk’s X.com. It went public in 2002 and now trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol PYPL.

Today, it’s a publicly owned company with no single owner: most shares are held by large investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock. It’s managed by an independent leadership team and board of directors.

PayPal’s Valuation, Revenue & Profit

As of the second quarter of 2025, the company reported $8.3 billion in PayPal revenue and handled $443.5 billion in total payment volume, both up from the previous year. For all of 2024, PayPal brought in $31.7 billion in revenue and processed $1.6 trillion in payments.

PayPal Payments: Global Coverage

PayPal Business is available in over 200 countries and regions, including language support, making it one of the most globally accessible payment platforms. To get started, your business must be registered in a supported country and have a verified business bank account there.

Most regions, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and more, are covered. While some countries may face restrictions due to local laws, PayPal generally supports merchants around the world with tools to accept payments, withdraw funds, and manage their business.

PayPal’s merchant support, however, is narrower. PayPal Expanded Checkout, for example, only allows merchants to accept payments from 36 countries.

PayPal’s Coverage of Currencies

PayPal lets merchants accept, hold, and withdraw payments in 25 major currencies (22 for Expanded Checkout) Both individuals and businesses can manage balances in these currencies directly through their PayPal accounts. Here’s the full list:

• Australian Dollar (AUD)
• Brazilian Real (BRL)
• Canadian Dollar (CAD)
• Czech Koruna (CZK)
• Danish Krone (DKK)
• Euro (EUR)
• Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
• Hungarian Forint (HUF)
• Israeli New Shekel (ILS)
• Japanese Yen (JPY)
• Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
• Mexican Peso (MXN)
• New Taiwan Dollar (TWD)
• New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
• Norwegian Krone (NOK)
• Philippine Peso (PHP)
• Polish Zloty (PLN)
• Russian Ruble (RUB)
• Singapore Dollar (SGD)
• Swedish Krona (SEK)
• Swiss Franc (CHF)
• Thai Baht (THB)
• Turkish Lira (TRY)
• UK Pound Sterling (GBP)
• US Dollar (USD)

Note: PayPal lets merchants accept payments in over 140 currencies. If a payment comes in a currency not on the list above, it will be converted by PayPal with at least 3% fee.

PayPal’s Business Clients

PayPal works with all kinds of businesses, from small startups to global brands, across a wide mix of industries.

Its clients include online shops, marketplaces, and retailers selling everything from clothes to electronics. It’s also used by companies in insurance and financial services, like Avantia, which sells home insurance online. Tech platforms, fitness brands, food and drink businesses, florists, fashion labels, and even car services are part of the mix.

PayPal’s Payment Gateway & Features

PayPal’s Payment Methods

With Expanded Checkout, merchants have access to integrate the following payment methods:

PayPal’s Settlement & Withdrawals

When a customer pays you through PayPal, the money is settled straight into your PayPal account, usually within minutes. For most established merchants, the funds are available right away or within one business day.

However, if you're new to selling with PayPal or fall into a higher-risk category, they might hold your payments for up to 21 days. You can often get the funds sooner by providing tracking info or marking the order as complete.

Withdrawing Funds

You can transfer money from your PayPal account to your bank whenever you like, there’s no limit on how often you can withdraw.

• Standard transfers take 1–3 business days and are free.
• Instant transfers land in your bank within minutes, but a fee may apply in some countries.
• You can also set up automatic transfers to move funds daily, weekly, or monthly.

PayPal Security & Compliance

PayPal uses strong security measures to keep payments safe for both merchants and customers. All transactions are protected with advanced encryption, using HTTPS, TLS 1.2, and 128-bit encryption, to keep your data secure during transfers. Their mobile apps also include built-in protections to make sure they only connect to verified PayPal servers.

PayPal is fully PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, which is the highest standard for handling card payments.

Behind the scenes, PayPal runs 24/7 fraud monitoring. It uses AI and machine learning to spot suspicious activity in real time, checking transactions against data from over 430 million accounts. Every payment gets a risk score based on that global network, helping o prevent fraud.

PayPal Pricing

PayPal’s merchant pricing is relatively high compared to other providers. This is consistently reported in customer reviews, and is evident on their pricing page.

Noda’s pay-by-bank solution is the modern alternative. Built on open banking payments, it removes unnecessary intermediaries (like card networks and wallet providers) and moves money directly between your customer’s bank and yours, fast, secure, and without the extra costs. Our fees start as low as 0.1%.

PayPal Fees Breakdown

Here are PayPal’s standard domestic fees for UK merchants, based on the payment method used.

Guest checkout refers to payments where the customer doesn’t sign in or have a PayPal account—they simply enter their card details, and the payment is processed through PayPal.

QR transactions are made by scanning a PayPal QR code, often used in physical settings.

Alternative payment methods include digital wallets like AliPay and Apple Pay.

Card payments made through PayPal are grouped under “all other commercial transactions”.

Fixed Fee

Keep in mind that the £0.30 fixed fee varies depending on the currency. For example, in euros, it’s €0.35. QR code payments also have different fixed fees depending on whether the transaction is above or below £10.

PayPal Fees for International Transactions

PayPal adds extra fees for international transactions. These are charged on top of the regular fees and depend on the region where the payment comes from.

In addition to transaction fees, PayPal applies a currency conversion fee of 3% above the market exchange rate. This makes international payments through PayPal quite expensive overall.

Read: How to Cut Card Processing Fees

Payout Fees

PayPal also charges fees for sending payouts, something especially important for marketplaces, platforms, and gig-economy businesses. Below are the payout fees you’ll need to factor in.

Like with the fixed fee, the cap fee is different for each currency.

Additional PayPal Merchant Fees

PayPal doesn’t just charge for transactions, extra services like advanced fraud protection and chargeback coverage come with additional fees. You’ll also pay separate charges for handling disputes and chargebacks.

Read: How to Reduce Chargebacks

PayPal’s Payment Gateway Fees

PayPal lets businesses accept card payments directly on their website using its Expanded Checkout service. In addition to transaction fees, there are monthly charges depending on which features or products you use.

• Website Payment Pro plan is £20 per month
• Virtual terminal comes at £20 per month 
• Recurring payments cost £20 per month.

Read more: PayPal Fees Full Breakdown for Merchants

Tired of PayPal’s High Fees?

PayPal’s Customer Reviews

PayPal scores well with businesses on platforms like G2 (4.4/5) and Capterra (4.7/5), praised for its easy setup, global reach, and trusted brand.

But the picture is very different on Trustpilot, where it holds a low 1.3/5 rating from over 35,000 users, mostly due to poor customer service, unexpected account freezes, and problems accessing funds.

In short: businesses like PayPal’s features and global reputation, but many users report high fees, especially for international transfers, frustrating service and unpredictable account issues, especially when things go wrong.

PayPal’s Support for Customers

PayPal offers several support options, including phone, live chat, an AI assistant, and social media. In the UK, phone lines are open 24/7; in the US, support runs 8AM–8PM CST. Live chat is available daily, and the AI assistant runs 24/7 through the Message Center. You can also reach out via @AskPayPal on Twitter or Facebook.

However, user feedback paints a frustrating picture. Many report long wait times, over an hour on the phone and days for chat replies. Common issues include unhelpful, generic responses, difficulty resolving account holds, and poor communication with outsourced support teams. The AI chatbot often fails to solve problems.

PayPal Alternative: Choose Noda

PayPal may be the familiar choice, but for many merchants, it’s far from the smartest one. Between high fees, delayed payouts, and a complex checkout flow, PayPal often adds friction exactly where you need flow: at the point of payment.

Why Merchants Switch to Noda

• No hidden dees

PayPal stacks on transaction fees, cross-border surcharges, fixed fees, and even currency conversion markups. Noda cuts out the middlemen, meaning no card processing fees, no wallet charges, and no surprise deductions from your hard-earned revenue. Our fees start as low as 0.1%

• Broad bank coverage

Noda supports 2,000+ banks in 28 countries with broad coverage of all regions. Check whether the banks and countries you need are supported here.

• Wide payment options

Noda also offers cards and popular digital wallets – Apple and Google Pay – beyond open banking, improving the payment experience for your clients and reducing cart abandonment. 

• Easy integration

Whether you're running an e-commerce store or building from scratch, Noda fits your tech stack – with marketplace plugins for WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop, no-code checkout pages, payment links and QR codes, or full API support.

• Instant payouts

With PayPal, funds can be delayed by hours, or even days, especially if your account is flagged for review. Noda settles funds instantly, improving your cash flow and helping you move faster.

• Seamless UX

Customers without PayPal accounts are forced into clunky guest checkouts. With Noda, there are no logins, no account creation, just a quick Face ID or fingerprint confirmation in their banking app.