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PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

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Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#91

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was at first irritated that my credit cards weren't accepted anywhere. But as the debit (maestro) card transactions are often free [1], paying 3%+ to a card service does seem exorbitant. For online payments, the Dutch use the IDEAL system, which is even easier than online credit cards. This also prevents vendor lock-in, like Amazon. And, the banking apps make it super easy to send m…

I like that, too. The only thing that bothers me is that Maestro cards can't be used for online payments, so if I buy something from other countries (where shops don't support iDeal) I still need to use credit card, and support for credit cards in NL is pretty bad.

Btw these high transaction fees are the reason why loyalty programs are so good in US while so bad in EU. EU caps credit card fees at around 1.5%, while in US it's much higher, so basically banks give people part of the fee in form of loyalty points

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#92
post #7

PayPal is awful for small transactions, I regularily get donations for my projects that are literally 0 USD, because all of it is eaten away by PayPal fees, and even for a 5 USD donation you end up losing around 15% of the transaction amount. Do you know of any other service that is suitable for microtransactions, besides cryptocurrencies?

What about Venmo? Or Cash App? Venmo has been ubiquitous for years—everyone seems to have it. I’ve used it for everything from buying plants at the farmer’s market to paying rent and medical expenses. Edit: Of course the default broadcasting of your payments to a social feed is bonkers and needs to be turned off.

They don't appear to be viable for people outside the US.

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#93

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was at first irritated that my credit cards weren't accepted anywhere. But as the debit (maestro) card transactions are often free [1], paying 3%+ to a card service does seem exorbitant. For online payments, the Dutch use the IDEAL system, which is even easier than online credit cards. This also prevents vendor lock-in, like Amazon. And, the banking apps make it super easy to send m…

Even better, many PayPal payments are from PayPal funds, Checking acct debits or EU/AU/NZ cardholders with capped charges, so PayPal pays 0% or under 1% to visa/MC for those transactions, but charges the same 3%+ to vendors. Plus additional charges for cross-border payments (even if there’s no forex) and terrible rates for forex which they probably self-settle anyway.

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#94
post #70

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was at first irritated that my credit cards weren't accepted anywhere. But as the debit (maestro) card transactions are often free [1], paying 3%+ to a card service does seem exorbitant. For online payments, the Dutch use the IDEAL system, which is even easier than online credit cards. This also prevents vendor lock-in, like Amazon. And, the banking apps make it super easy to send m…

Yeah, in Poland it’s similar. Since ~2001 we’ve had wire transfers that take up to a few hours to arrive (or instant) and cost 0-0.25$ to send, regardless of the amount. It made PayPal or Venmo kind of pointless over here.

One of the key features of these apps is that you only need the phone in order to make transfers, that allows you to avoid asking for the account number to anyone.

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#95

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was at first irritated that my credit cards weren't accepted anywhere. But as the debit (maestro) card transactions are often free [1], paying 3%+ to a card service does seem exorbitant. For online payments, the Dutch use the IDEAL system, which is even easier than online credit cards. This also prevents vendor lock-in, like Amazon. And, the banking apps make it super easy to send m…

The problem with iDeal is that there is 0 consumer protection. If you pay for an order using a credit card and it’s a scam, you do a chargeback. If you pay for an order using iDeal and it’s a scam, the money is gone the moment you pay. There is no way to get the money back.

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#96

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was at first irritated that my credit cards weren't accepted anywhere. But as the debit (maestro) card transactions are often free [1], paying 3%+ to a card service does seem exorbitant. For online payments, the Dutch use the IDEAL system, which is even easier than online credit cards. This also prevents vendor lock-in, like Amazon. And, the banking apps make it super easy to send m…

Dutch banks, unlike their American sisters, are not archaic. iDeal was a direct response to e-commerce and a preemptive strike against Visacard.

The Dutch banks all work together to prevent a US fintech takeover which they saw coming.

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#97
post #36

Has anyone ran a recent A/B test for Stripe direct CC-based checkout + paypal vs Stripe only in the context of B2C subscriptions? Last time I've checked circa 2014-2015, there was consumer trust in Paypal (for cancellation/etc), and so having that option added ~+10% conversion rate (or so), but would appreciate more recent data, thank you!

German userbase, B2C, I offer PayPal, Stripe and SEPA wire transfer:

  70-75% PayPal
  15-20% Stripe
  7-9% SEPA wire transfer

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#98
post #70

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was at first irritated that my credit cards weren't accepted anywhere. But as the debit (maestro) card transactions are often free [1], paying 3%+ to a card service does seem exorbitant. For online payments, the Dutch use the IDEAL system, which is even easier than online credit cards. This also prevents vendor lock-in, like Amazon. And, the banking apps make it super easy to send m…

Yeah, in Poland it’s similar. Since ~2001 we’ve had wire transfers that take up to a few hours to arrive (or instant) and cost 0-0.25$ to send, regardless of the amount. It made PayPal or Venmo kind of pointless over here.

People use PayPal, Venmo, Revolut, etc mostly for convenience. You just need a phone number or email to send a payment, compared to a bank/wire transfer where you first need to obtain the account number you’re sending to.

All of these services (including PayPal) charge no fees for personal payments. Just to merchants for commercial transactions, which often come with buyer protection, free credit/payment plans for the buyer, etc.

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#99

When I moved to the Netherlands, I was at first irritated that my credit cards weren't accepted anywhere. But as the debit (maestro) card transactions are often free [1], paying 3%+ to a card service does seem exorbitant. For online payments, the Dutch use the IDEAL system, which is even easier than online credit cards. This also prevents vendor lock-in, like Amazon. And, the banking apps make it super easy to send m…

The problem with iDeal is that there is 0 consumer protection. If you pay for an order using a credit card and it’s a scam, you do a chargeback. If you pay for an order using iDeal and it’s a scam, the money is gone the moment you pay. There is no way to get the money back.

I love how Americans are totally fine with paying a tax on every transaction they make in order to protect random people from occurrences of financial fraud, yet are vehemently opposed to exactly the same system for healthcare.

I mean, rationally you would expect the opposite: people typically don't do $10k+ transactions using credit cards, so a worst case consequence of fraud you're not protected from is quite small.

But for medical emergencies, the worst case cost is orders of magnitude larger, so a system that protects everyone (financially) is much more beneficial.

Re: PayPal raises fees for most domestic transaction types to 3.49% + $0.49

#100
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, in Poland it’s similar. Since ~2001 we’ve had wire transfers that take up to a few hours to arrive (or instant) and cost 0-0.25$ to send, regardless of the amount. It made PayPal or Venmo kind of pointless over here.

One of the key features of these apps is that you only need the phone in order to make transfers, that allows you to avoid asking for the account number to anyone.

On the other hand, account numbers are not a significant 'secret' or something like that. They are just as 'safe' to share as phone numbers.
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