What is PayPal?
PayPal provides merchant payment acceptance for online and in-person sales. Its US business page is titled Accept Online and In-Person Payments, and the developer documentation describes a standard checkout integration. Merchants can also collect payments through shareable payment links.
The fees page lists an Expanded Checkout option where customers can pay with cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and more, and shows card processing rates with a fixed fee per transaction. Capabilities, eligible payment methods and fees depend on market and account setup, so check them for the merchant's country and use case.
PayPal is a hosted service. Before launch, test payment, cancellation and refund paths in the intended market, and confirm settlement and dispute handling with the actual merchant account.
Key capabilities
- Online checkout Integrate a documented PayPal checkout flow into a website.
- Payment links Collect a payment through a shareable merchant link where supported.
- Merchant operations Review transaction, refund and dispute processes against business needs.
Where PayPal fits
- Standard checkout Customers select the PayPal button on your site and pay with any funding source linked to their PayPal account.
- Orders API and SDK Server-side integration through the Orders v2 API and client-side integration through the PayPal JavaScript SDK v6.
- Refunds Server-side endpoints to refund a payment and handle returns and cancellations.
- Authorize then capture Authorization holds funds on the buyer's payment method without transferring money; capture moves them later.
- Delayed capture and voids Charge after service delivery, or cancel a hold before charging.
- Recurring payments Save and reuse stored payment methods.
- Payment links Merchants can collect payments through shareable payment links.
- Developer tooling A JavaScript SDK, React SDK, REST API, server SDKs, webhook events, and iOS and Android SDKs.
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Alternatives to PayPal
AdyenAdyen is an Amsterdam-founded payments platform for enterprises, covering online and in-person acceptance, payouts and card issuing.
AirwallexAirwallex offers business multi-currency accounts, international transfers, corporate cards, payment acceptance and invoicing, plus platform APIs.
Checkout.comCheckout.com provides payment APIs and hosted components for building merchant checkout flows.