PayPal has been experiencing difficulties lately, which has some users looking for alternatives. Here are five PayPal alternatives that users actually enjoy.
Mobile payment providers like PayPal, Google Wallet, Stripe, and Apple Pay are likely here to stay, especially since these apps now offer the opportunity to create a digital ID for use with TSA’s system as well as let you store your state-issued identification on your phone. That is to say, they’re important for more than just mobile payments and simple banking. PayPal is one of the more popular options, holding 45% of the global payments market. PayPal boasts 434 million users and merchants use the service, with 26.3 billion transactions completed in 2024 alone.
Unfortunately, PayPal is also known for its high service fees and poor support, with over 35,000 reviews on Trustpilot amounting to a less than two-star rating. Not to mention, PayPal is known to have outages from time to time. The good news is it’s not the only app that exists, so it may not be the best for you. Sometimes, just knowing there are alternatives is enough. But are there any worth using according to real people?
Alternatives include Square, Venmo, Cash App, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, Apple Pay, Skrill, Payoneer, Stripe, Amazon Pay, and a few others — like Shopify Payments. There’s not nearly enough time to evaluate all of these services, but there’s clearly a lot of competition. To find out which one is best for you, it’s good to focus on user satisfaction.1. Apple Pay
Exclusively available on Apple devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch, Apple Pay is the ecosystem’s standard tap-to-pay digital wallet and money management platform. According to Apple, payment through the service is accepted at 85% of retailers in the U.S. and works pretty much anywhere contactless payments are supported. Like PayPal, that means you can pay with your phone at registers, vendors, and vending machines. You can also use it to pay on websites and on apps, as well as send Apple cash. Some popular vendors that support Apple Pay include Starbucks, Groupon, Fandango, Uber, Etsy, and Postmates, but the list goes on. There’s no shortage of places to use your digital Apple wallet, which is a huge benefit.
Like most digital wallets, you add cards or cash through the app, all of which is connected to your Apple ID. You’ll notice that most Apple Pay features are centered around paying for transactions or services, either at a store or online. It’s less about sending money to others, but you can do that with Apple Cash.
