PayPal is a money transfer company that operates around the whole world. The company’s headquarters are in San Jose, California, United States. The platform is one of the largest money transfer companies globally, operating in more than 200 nations. The company’s services revolve around credit cards and payment systems. We shall see how you can send money on PayPal without fees later.
For your understanding, PayPal operates online, whereby you have to create your account using your smartphone or computer. It has an app that you can download from either Google Play or App Store on your smartphone or tablet. The good thing with online money platforms is that they allow convenient access to money compared to visiting a physical branch.
PayPal allows you to send and receive finances from most parts of the world. It is a peer-to-peer money transfer platform that allows you to send and receive funds instantly. As you will see later, PayPal allows you to use your balance for transactions. If not enough, you can get more money from a bank account or payment card that connects to your account.
How does PayPal operate?
It is essential to know how Paypal operates before opening an account with the platform. You can be sure that PayPal is one of the easiest platforms you can use for your day-to-day transactions. It is costless to open an account with Paypal, which happens in minutes.
First of all, PayPal requires that you open an account online to start enjoying its services. You can utilize your tablet or phone to open an account, as I have mentioned earlier. Once your account is up and about, you can add your bank or credit card to fund your activities. Others can send you money. You can send money through PayPal to friends and family
even if they are not on PayPal, but they have to open an account to claim the funds. You can even split your bills with your friends or plan a vacation and make it easy for you to send funds from across the table or around the world to the right person with confidence.
Paypal also allows you to make payments online when buying goods and services. Some physical stores also allow you to pay for goods and services using PayPal. You can choose PayPal to skip entering your financial details or pay in person with QR codes when checking out.
The service has a PayPal Purchase Protection that helps you shop with confidence. You should never worry about insufficient balance since once you link your credit/debit cards or bank account, you can use them to fund your transactions and checkout easily. In short, PayPal operates as a bank on your hands since you can manage your money right from your palm.
How to open a PayPal account?
As I mentioned earlier, it is free to create a PayPal account. The most common way to sign up for a PayPal account is to use the app. Before opening your account, you must ensure that you have a phone number, bank account, identification document, and email address. The following are the steps you should use to open your account.
- Download the PayPal app on your mobile device
- Enter your mobile phone number to get a confirmation text
- Link a debit or credit card to use as your preferred payment method
- Explore the app’s features or start using your account on your terms
PayPal requires you to provide an identification document to prevent terrorists from opening accounts to fund their evil activities. The federal government has firm guidelines for those who want to open accounts. Also, adding a bank account allows PayPal to verify your account, thus unlocking it for higher limits. An unverified account has low limits whereby you can only send a few dollars to people.
How to use PayPal?
There are various ways you can use your PayPal account once it becomes active. These include the following.
i) Transfer money to your bank account
You also need to understand that PayPal allows you to transfer funds to a bank account when the need arises. You can periodically transfer funds to your bank for savings or other transaction activities when you receive funds from your clients.
I am able to transfer money from PayPal to my bank account as long as I have linked the bank account to my PayPal account. The following are the steps you can use to transfer money from PayPal to your bank.
- Open your PayPal app to log in.
- Navigate to My wallet.
- Tap on Transfer Money.
- Select Transfer to your bank.
- Choose the bank account to deposit the funds withdrawn
- Click Continue.
- Enter the amount to withdraw and click Next.
- Review your transfer and tap Transfer Now.
PayPal may charge you depending on your method of withdrawing money to your bank. If you choose intent, then you will pay some fees. That usually happens if you transfer money from PayPal to a debit card instantly. With PayPal, you can also instantly transfer money to your bank account.
ii) Buy goods and services.
Earlier, I mentioned that you could use your Paypal account to pay for goods and services. That can happen online and at physical branches. Therefore, you do not need to carry cash to shop for your goods and services. It is important to check if a particular place accepts payments through PayPal.
For your understanding, you need to know that PayPal issues a debit card that you can use to access your balance in various places. You can request a card once you open your account. There are various ways you can use your card to buy goods and services.
When checking online, you need to provide the card number, expiry date, and security code. You can swipe or tap at the register to pay when buying goods and services at a physical place.
iii) Withdraw money at an ATM
The service is only available if you have a PayPal debit card. You only need to walk with the card to the nearest ATM point, insert the card into the machine, enter your PIN, and select the amount to withdraw and authorize.
iv) Send money to others
Most people use PayPal to transfer money to others. You only need the recipient’s email ID, phone number, or username to send them money. The following is the procedure you can use to send money to others.
- Open your app to log in or log into your computer.
- Tap on the Send & Request tab.
- Choose from the 3 options.
- Enter the email or mobile number of the recipient.
- Enter the amount of money to send and tap Continue.
- Review and confirm the details on the screen
- Click Send Money Now.
How to send money on PayPal without fees?
To send money on Paypal, you have to open a PayPal account. I suppose you remember the steps to open a PayPal account since I highlighted them earlier. Once your PayPal account is running, you can send money, among other transactions. PayPal fees vary with several factors. First of all, your account type (personal or business) can affect the fees you should pay. Secondly, your country of residence has a big say regarding PayPal charges for transferring money.
Another factor that affects fees is the payment method used, the currency you are using, etc. You can send money without fees when sending it to other PayPal users. In the process, you need to avoid converting your currency. Just send the funds in the current currency since currency conversion fees apply.
Also, if you want to avoid fees, make sure that you use your PayPal balance or bank account to fund your transfer. If you get funding from your credit or debit card, you will part with a 2.9% plus a fixed fee.
Another way to avoid fees is by using the standard money transfer to your bank. The instant transfer usually charges you some fees, which amount to 1% of the amount to transfer and can go up to $10.
Is PayPal secure?
One of the most crucial questions you should ask yourself when opening an account to put your money is the platform’s security. PayPal is among the safest platforms you can use for your financial transactions. There are various security layers that the company has put in place to ensure that users do not lose their money.
First of all, PayPal requires you to create a strong password that no one else can guess. That ensures that only you can access your account. Secondly, the Paypal accounts are end-to-end encrypted. That prevents third parties from accessing data from various accounts. Also, the PayPal app allows you to use biometric details when accessing your account.
Bottom line
Paypal is a money transfer platform that allows you to send and receive money worldwide. You can open an account online using your smartphone, computer, or tablet. Once you open your account, you can send and receive funds, buy goods and services, withdraw to a bank, etc. You can use your bank account or debit card to fund your PayPal transactions. Above all, PayPal is a secure platform to keep your money.
