It is an American company born out of the brilliance of Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek operating as Confinity in 1998. Later in the same year, it became a wholly-owned eBay subsidiary before it was spurned off to eBay shareholders in 2015.

Transaction Steps on PayPal

With account

1. Start the process of payment
2. Select payment choice, whether personal or the business payment
3. Key in the recipient’s details
4. Before you’re done, ensure to review the payment

Without account

1. On your email or received an invoice, click on 'Pay now'
2. Enter details of your credit or debit card
3. Confirm the payment

PayPal Fees and Exchange Rates

PayPal transactions are categorized as either domestic or international transactions. Any domestic personal transaction attracts no fee on PayPal unless there is an involved currency conversion. The conversion charges range between 2.5% to 4.0% above the exchange rate base depending on the currency in question. There is also an inherent fee charge on PayPal transfers to a bank account or debit and credit cards of 1% of the transferred amount. There are charges levied as well depending on the maximum and minimum card withdrawals on the currency used.

Apart from the normal transaction charges, there are other fees charged by PayPal like a transfer out bank return where a user provides false bank details and there is a need for a re-verification and confirmation of the new details. A credit and debit card link verification fee is also charged but it is eventually refunded to your PayPal account upon successful linking. The records request fee is charged in a case where you requested information as to why your transactions were declined since PayPal may have justification to cancel any questionable transactions.

Advantages of PayPal

Every money transfer company, whether online or otherwise, has inherent advantages attached to their services which make them tick and stand out to their customers. PayPal is not left out on this and some its advantages are as espoused below;

1. It offers free money sending services to friends and family abroad especially as a gift. There are no annual membership fees, processing, and service charges.
2. The service has an easy to use phone application. Upon downloading and undergoing the due process of registration, you are at liberty to start your transactions.
3. It is very safe and secure as every transaction is encrypted. It has strong servers that verify the encryption of your browsers before authorizing any transaction on that platform. The harvested data from the used browser is then stored ensuring that you're safe even if PayPal is hacked.
4. PayPal periodically offer discounts to its customers to foster purchase with specifically defined retailer stores. Additionally, on specific occasions, there are sponsored auctions that offer advantages to PayPal clients.
5. It is a trusted name. There are fear and reservation of clients to share their credit cards and bank details with retailers. This is where PayPal steps in and acts as the go-between in financial transactions with limited to no risks involved.
6. Flexible online payments where you can transact across PayPal accounts, credit cards, and email addresses. You can alternatively shop through the activation of the e-commerce features provided by your profile.
7. PayPal is your honest, trusted, and organized accountant by the way it is providing both in and outbound transactions at the click of a button. Any recent transaction is easily accessible together with made and received payments and detailed history of past engagements.