How does PayPal work? Easily explained

How does PayPal work? Many consumers who want to pay with PayPal online face this question. It works very simply: When shopping online, PayPal processes the purchase for you like an intermediary, so that you do not have to pass on any bank details to the online shop.

How does PayPal work? Pay securely online

Many people wonder: How does PayPal work? Almost all large shops now use the PayPal payment service. When paying, the merchant receives the invoice amount from PayPal immediately, and a few days later, PayPal debits the amount from your bank account. In order to use PayPal, you have to do the following:

• Register with PayPal. In addition to your name and email address, you must also enter a bank account.
• However, the specified account still has to be approved: after a few days, your account statement will show a credit of a few cents together with a PayPal payment code. By entering this code, your bank account is activated for PayPal use.
• This works in a similar way if you deposit a credit card instead of a bank account: This time, however, PayPal will deduct a few euros from you (and of course back later).
• When your PayPal account is ready to go shopping can begin. You can use this payment method with every online retailer who has the blue Paypal logo on their website.
• At the end of the order process you will be forwarded to PayPal and have to enter your access data. Then briefly confirm the payment and complete the order.
• By the way: If you send an item back to the retailer, the purchase price will usually be refunded in the same way - i.e. credited to PayPal. You can either keep this credit for your next purchase at PayPal or transfer it back to your bank account free of charge.
• Read how to top up your PayPal balance in this tip.

Paypal: costs at a glance

• PayPal takes a commission from retailers, which many retailers previously passed on to customers. However, PayPal changed its terms and conditions in January 2018. Since then, this is no longer permitted. Paying with PayPal in euros is therefore free of charge.
• For retailers, the fees for sales and receiving money are 1.9% + 35 cents (within the EU).
• The seller pays 10% + 10 cents for micro payments (maximum amount 5 euros) and 1.5% + 35 cents applies for donations.

How secure is PayPal?

Paypal should make shopping on the Internet safer. Paypal has therefore come up with something not only in the area of ​​data protection, but also in terms of customer satisfaction:

• Buyer protection: If a product you have bought does not correspond to the given description at all or does not arrive at all, but the dealer is unreasonable, PayPal Buyer Protection takes effect: You will receive the purchase price including postage fees from PayPal.
• Data security: With PayPal, you no longer have to enter account details on the Internet - your bank details only know PayPal and process payments via your own accounts.
• After each transaction you will receive a confirmation email with the details. So you never lose track of payments and can track every PayPal debit from your bank account.
• As with online banking, the PayPal pages are also encrypted, and the same applies here: never pass on login data or react to corresponding emails.

Use PayPal mobile

Ordering something quickly on the go is no longer a problem thanks to smartphones and tablets. You can also pay with the mobile versions of PayPal:

• If you order a product on the go, the mobile Paypal page also appears, where you have to log in with your normal login details. With a touch, the payment is confirmed here and the amount transferred from PayPal after a few seconds.
• Paypal is of course also available as an app for Android and iOS. Here you can log in with your access data and use all functions of the website.

On the next page we show how you can cancel a PayPal payment.