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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsPaying online via PayPal versus credit card
Does anyone here have any opinions one way or the other whether PayPal is preferable to credit card payment when buying items on line?
Last few times Ive made online payments, PayPal popped up as the first choice. One site (I forget what I was paying for)(flowers I think) was really pushing PayPal.
Is one method more secure than another? Any advantages to PayPal?
empedocles
(15,751 posts)MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)purchased the other one ... but I forget the order it happened ATM. I'm sure it's on Wiki ...
hlthe2b
(102,225 posts)whereas with paypal, the info is on ONE site and you can secure your passwords such that any attempt to hack into paypal would be unsuccessful. I use a password generator to change my paypal password monthly, as I do my online bank account.
So, while I do use a credit card in some circumstances, I have no problem using paypal and often prefer to do so.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)My credit card company actually denied payment and called me within 5 minutes to see if I was making a purchase. (I was). I guess if I had checked PayPal this would not have happened.
This almost cost the vendor a sale because I wasnt desperate to buy the clothes and Im easily frustrated. If online is not easy, I give up. I wasnt even going to bother to get out another card.
hlthe2b
(102,225 posts)paypal has already verified your bank account/credit card and address information)
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)Ill have to update PayPal. Havent used it in years since Im not selling on eBay anymore.
hunter
(38,310 posts)They'll process your credit card payment either way.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)csziggy
(34,136 posts)So they do check for fraudulent activity. Problem was, it was on a payment my husband had approved and by the time he got to the phone the computer making the call had disconnected. The payment was real, he had no objection, and it went through even though he did not complete the authorization. So I am not sure how good their checks on fraudulent activities are.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Rather than give a card number to an online vendor, I just use PayPal, and since I don't keep any cash in my PP account, I just have it paid through my credit card, so I get the points, miles, cashback, etc.
hunter
(38,310 posts)PayPal is not the only credit card processing firm used by smaller businesses on the internet, but it is the most familiar one.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)matt819
(10,749 posts)If you use PayPal, Amazon pay, or Google pay, the merchant (well, really, its payment processor) doesnt see your credit card. PayPal, Amazon pay, or Google pay process the payment using the credit card they have on file and the money eventually comes to my account. So, there is one less merchant out there with your credit card on it its payment providers system.
Of course, weve seen over the years that any system can be hacked. But all payment processors have to abide by the same security standards. I added Amazon pay in Google paid to my website a few months ago. I havent had anybody use Google pay, but I have had orders processed using Amazon pay. At some point, I have to check on the fees to compare them to what my own payment processor imposes.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)like the ones mentioned ever got hacked, they'd be through, people would flee them practically overnight. So, I doubt they outsource their IT work to overseas firms on the cheap.
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)It was very convenient--I didn't have to go find a credit card to order something--but then I checked on a payment. I had authorized a one-time donation but from my Paypal statement it looked like it was recurring, so I questioned it. Turned out it was OK but then I began getting emails from Paypal saying I needed to check the security of my account, that there had been suspicious activity. I was pretty sure the "suspicious activity" was me checking on a payment, but I went ahead. I was not allowed to log in! I answered the security questions and agreed to a phone call, but every time Paypal said it was unable to connect due to a problem on their end. They wanted a credit card number, but I had my account connected to my checking account, and the original credit card had long ago expired.
It was hellish. I didn't know if someone was trying to hack my bank account or what. I called them and after *two days* they straightened it out. I ended my account. I now pay with a credit card.
Paypal worked great--until it didn't.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)If you called them and they wanted an unrelated credit card number, then it is not likely you were dealing with them.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)One reason I like credit cards.
dameatball
(7,396 posts)number. They sometimes ask me to update my account by adding my mobile phone number, which I always ignore.
earthshine
(1,642 posts)You don't want to have to deal with PP if you need to fight with a merchant about getting your money back for a purchase.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)hunter
(38,310 posts)... credit card information themselves.
Especially on the internet.
liberaltrucker
(9,129 posts)So they never see the real one. Also never need to
update when I get a new card upon expiration. Cap
One automatically forwards all the virtual #s to the
new card. I love it.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)FakeNoose
(32,634 posts)... and I haven't searched for it recently. But once upon a time I saw this site and read all the posts where random pissed off people told all the bad things that PayPal was doing. It completely turned me off to the point that I have never given my ID info to PP. Places like Ebay require you to use PP because they OWN it (or they used to, don't know if they still do) and they got kickbacks on every PP charge.
So I quit Ebay (because I refused to use PP and they offered -zero- alternative) probably 10 years ago. I realize this is old info but many, many people were turned off to PP for a long time.
Good luck to you!
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)wasupaloopa
(4,516 posts)balance but also a service fee.
I thought I paid of my balance and closed my pay pal credit but left $1,400.
The added $30 interest and $23 service charge on my last statement.
I wasnt aware of the service charge because I never saw a statement.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)ProudMNDemocrat
(16,783 posts)For their custom orders. Half dlwn, the other half when the project is done. Works nice because they have PP accounts for their purchases elsewhere.
For local Alterations and custom orders, I have the Square reader that deposits the money in my bank account within 48 hours. So far, everything has been safely used.
Freethinker65
(10,009 posts)At the store I work at, we can only offer a merchandise credit for customers that used PayPal, whereas the purchase price for the item bought directly on a credit card is returned to the credit card.
Make sure you check the return policy.
MaryMagdaline
(6,853 posts)Girl powers
(109 posts)Co founder Peter Thiel of PayPal is a Trump supporter. I no longer use my account.GGP