Paypal set the standard for safe, secure and convenient online payment systems way back in 1998, back when the internet was still in infancy relative to today. Known for it’s fast mobile payments on the go and offering users the ability to transfer money in seconds, Paypal is a secure and convenient payment system. Due to the many websites using Paypal to offer secure payment methods, you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t heard about it. But at the same time, due to high transaction fees, currency conversion fees, and restrictions that many consider arbitrary – consumers and business leaders both have begun to seek alternatives to Paypal to send online payments through.

But what are these services, and are they any better? In this article, Real Business will outline the best options for 2025, including how they alleviate the pain points of Paypal customers, how they stack up against the good points of the service, and more.

PayPal Alternatives: A Breakdown of the Top Options in 2024

PayPal has become one of the most widely used online payment platforms, especially here in the UK. But it has also faced criticism over things like random account freezes and questionable privacy policies.

So what are the best alternatives for accepting and making payments online?

In this post, we’ll take you through the top contenders to replace PayPal for your online shop or purchases. We’ll cover fees, data security, ease of use – everything you need to know to make the switch. There’s a host of solid options beyond just the big names like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

What Are The Best PayPal Alternatives?

The following will be a rundown of each online payment platform.

Google Pay

Google Pay, previously known as Android Pay, was launched in 2018. As of 2024, it has over 150 million users worldwide.

Google Pay has two main functions. The first is as an online payment system mainly used on android devices, tablets and even watches. The second is as a digital wallet service, meaning you can store money on the device just like a bank account.

The pros of Google Pay are as follows:

• Integration – Android devices are seamlessly integrated. Furthermore, Google Pay is useful for it’s integration with other Google services, such as Gmail, Google Maps etc.
• Modern – Both contactless payments and online transactions are supported.
• No fees – For the user, there are no fees involved.

The cons of Google Pay are as follows:

• Limited availability – Outside of android devices, there are few platforms to find Google Pay on. There is some availability on PC.
• Dependency – Without NFC technology, they can’t make in-store payments so easily.

Business owners favour Google Pay for its lack of additional fees, and that it freezes accounts much less.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay was introduced in 2014, and similar to Google Pay with android, it’s bound to many apple products. It functions as a digital wallet and as an online and offline payment processor is capable of making online and mobile payment with ease. The fact that it has 500 million users worldwide as of 2024 proves the widespread adoption of Apple products, and Apple Pay will only continue to grow as contactless payment minimums continue to lower or be abolished.

The pros of Apple Pay are as follows:

• Security – Apple Pay is as secure as it is convenient, with biometric authentication ensuring only you can access the service.
• Widely accepted – Many retailers and online platforms accept payments via Apple Pay.
• No monthly fees – No monthly or annual fees, nor setup fees.

The cons of Apple Pay are as follows:

• Exclusivity – Apple Pay is exclusive to Apple devices.
• Transaction fees – Transaction fees apply to merchant accounts.

The enhanced security features of Apple Pay reduce chargeback risks for business owners. Furthermore, there’s no additional fees for businesses unlike with other alternatives to Paypal.

Wise Business Account

Wise Business Account, formerly known as TransferWise, is an online payment platform founded in 2011 that specialises in international payments – offering low-cost international transfers with real exchange rates. It serves over 10 million customers worldwide, with the vast majority of users being business accounts.

The pros of this alternative to PayPal is as follows:

• Tranparency – Transaction fees exist, but they are all low-cost and very transparent, with no hidden costs.
• Multiple currencies – The platform boasts the ability to hold multiple currencies.

The cons of this service are:

• No cash deposit – There are no options for depositing cash in this platform.
• Limited – The accounting software is limited in terms of integration.

Wise Business Account provides local bank account details in multiple countries, making it much easier to make international payments. It has favourable exchange rates and lower transaction fees for international payments only.

Skrill

Skrill is an international e-wallet option that offers a range of online payment and money transfer services. Created in 2001, Skrill has over 40 million users. You can connect your local bank accounts to Skrill, allowing for seamless transfers of funds for various online transactions.

The pros of having a Skrill account include:

• Multiple currencies – Skrill supports multiple currencies and international payments.
• Prepaid – Your Skrill account will include a prepaid Mastercard linked to the wallet.

The cons of a Skrill account are:

• Some high fees – Some fees can be high, such as for currency conversion.
• Reviews – The fact is that Skrill has had some periodic ups and downs, as is reflected in their reviews.

Skrill features a loyalty program (Knect), which rewards users for transactions over time. For those inclined toward cryptocurrency, there is a trading feature in the wallet, making it flexible for some people.

Payoneer

Payoneer was launched in 2005, and is a global payment service aimed at businesses and freelancers that do business internationally. It hit a milestone of 5 million users in 2024, and this growth is entirely thanks to it’s reliable and cost-effective international transactions ability.

Payoneer accounts have access to the following pros:

• Multi-currency business accounts – Payoneer offers multi-currency payment options for freelancers and businesses, eliminating the need for businesses to have multiple bank accounts across different countries.
• Seamless integration – Your payoneer account facilitates Amazon pay transactions, Shopify payments and payments from other platforms.
• Low international transaction fees – Payoneer charges lower fees compared to Paypal, with mid-market exchange rates being as low as 0.5% to 2%.

This B2B platform does have some reported cons, however:

• High fees for certain transactions – Receiving credit card payments incurs a 3% processing fee, and clients without a Payoneer account must pay via credit card or ACH.
• No buyer/seller protection – Unlike PayPal, there’s very limited dispute resolution or protections for transactions.
• Inconsistent withdrawal speeds – It’s been reported that sometimes bank withdrawals can take between 1 and 5 business days, and high-value transactions seem to lean on the longer end of things.

Click To Pay

Click To Pay is an online payment processor introduced in 2019, developed collaboratively by four major card networks – Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover. It simplifies the online shopping experience by cutting out the need to manually input card details, which was found to be the main cause of cart abandonment.

Click to pay has multiple pros:

• Streamlined checkout – The wide support of major UK e-commerce platforms, such as NatWest, Cashflows and key British banks.
• Security – Security options include biometric authentication and device verification. Further – it tokenises sensitive card details to protect information.
• Fast and reliable alternative to PayPal – Instant checkout solutions.

Click To Pay Cons:

• Limited adoption – Click to Pay is adopted much less in the UK as opposed to the USA, mainly because Mastercard is the only prominent card here.
• Card only – Click to pay supports card payments only, excluding direct bank payments or alt financing options.

Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay was founded in 2007, and is a digital payment processor that allows for users to facilitate payments using their Amazon account. Leveraging already stored payment methods and shipping details, manual data entry is cut down to a minimum. As of 2024, Amazon Pay has around 50 million active users around the world.

Some of the pros of Amazon Pay include:

• Convenient – All you need is your login details, and you cut out both the need to manually input card details AND shipping details.
• Enhanced security – Amazon’s fraud detection technology is baked in, including strong compliance with SCA requirements. All transactions are secured with a multi-layer encryption and fraud monitoring system.

Amazon pay cons consist of:

• Amazon ecosystem-bound – Amazon Pay is confined to Amazon stores, as well as merchants they have strong ties to.
• Transaction fees for merchants – Amazon Pay charges 2.7% + 30p per domestic transition, higher than many UK payment gateways, with cross-border payments incurring an additional 0.4%-0.9% surcharge.

Stripe

Founded in 2010, Stripe is one of the leading payment processors, powering merchants like Lyft, Shopify, Salesforce, and more. It’s a developer-centric platform supporting custom ecommerce integrations. Stripe processes millions of transactions daily, and is used by over 3.1 million businesses worldwide.

If you’re interested in using Stripe, expect the following pros:

• Customisable payment formats – Strike provides businesses with full API access, allowing developers access to many custom payment solutions.
• Top-tier security – Stripe Radar is a machine learning-powered fraud prevention system that works in real time, has full compliance with SCA, and supports chargeback protection.
• Global expansion and multi-currency support – Supports 135+ currencies, making it easy for UK businesses to facilitate international transfers.
• Lower fees for high volume – Through it’s tiered pricing structure, you can expect high-volume merchants to benefit from lower fees. Businesses processing over £50,000 monthly can access negotiated rates, making Stripe more cost-effective for large-scale e-commerce platforms.

Stripe Cons

• Learning curve – The developer knowledge required is steep, with API integration and advanced customisations not being easy to learn on the fly.
• Chargeback liability – Stripe Radar protects against fraud, but merchants bear the cost of chargebacks.
• Slow access to funds – Payout times can range from 3-7 business days.

Conclusion

Hopefully this breakdown gives you some alternatives to consider if PayPal just isn’t cutting it anymore, either for your own purchases or business selling online. These digital payment platforms, such as Skrill and Payoneer, offer robust services for seamless online money transfers.

Our top takeaway is that specialised payments apps can absolutely compete these days. Even the likes of tech titans Apple, Amazon and Google all want a slice of this payments pie, giving you a full range of options to choose from for your business payment processor needs.

FAQ – What are the fees for each alternative to paypal?

The following table will serve as a quick rundown of the best alternatives to Paypal in terms of transaction fees: