How to get the most out of PayPal for your business

Today’s small businesses require flexibility and agility from their payment solutions. Whether they are selling online, offline or a fusion of the two, PayPal should be a serious consideration for entrepreneurs looking to simplify their payment processing in whichever line of work you’re in.

According to PayPal itself, some 325 million merchants and individuals have active accounts with them, spanning over 100 fiat currencies worldwide. That’s because its payment solutions make business sense. Below, we’ll explore why PayPal has become one of the world’s most credible payment solutions for businesses, transacting payments worth over $150 billion annually, and how to leverage their platform for your small business.

Introducing PayPal’s new Zettle solution

For traditional high-street businesses and independent retailers, PayPal’s Zettle could be a highly useful payment solution for you. Formerly known as PayPal Here, Zettle terminals have been made available in the UK since earlier this autumn, helping to supercharge business turnover. With more consumers switching towards debit and credit card payments instead of cold, hard cash, Zettle Readers can be a godsend to small business owners. In fact, PayPal anticipates almost half (47%) of all payments in the UK will be made via touchless point-of-sale (POS) like Zettle by the end of 2022.

Simply synchronise your Zettle Reader with your PayPal business account and start taking payments. The machine is capable of transacting payments in under ten seconds using chip and pin and less than five seconds for contactless payments. It’s the kind of convenience your business needs, particularly with the festive season fast approaching, to keep till queues to a minimum.

If you are wondering whether Zettle offers the same level of protection for transactions as online payment solutions, you’ll be pleased to know the Zettle Reader encrypts all transactions at source. In addition, the card reader features in-built functionality to prevent unsavoury individuals from tampering with the handset.

Alongside the Zettle Reader device, business owners must download the Zettle POS app and pair the app with their device via Bluetooth. Once paired, every single penny that is spent through the Reader will be logged and visible in your PayPal business account. The Reader is also built to offer impressive battery life, with ample power to last a busy weekday or weekend.

PayPal Checkout and Working Capital: A credible option for brands big and small

For small businesses selling goods and services exclusively online, PayPal Checkout is a sensible solution. Using one basic integration, this app can accept all kinds of debit and credit cards, as well as payments from PayPal accounts in over 100 fiat currencies worldwide. PayPal believes that when online consumers have the choice to pay with PayPal the checkout conversion rate of an online retailer increases.

PayPal Checkout can be embedded into individual product pages, shopping carts and payment pages with only moderate amounts of hard coding necessary. Advanced functionality allows online brands to customise the look and feel of their PayPal Checkout fields to keep things on-brand. In addition, this solution can allow consumers to apply for and pay using PayPal Credit if eligible. From the perspective of small business owners, PayPal Working Capital and Business Loans are also a favourable option to provide much-needed cash advances to help entrepreneurs scale up their operations. Businesses must have had an active PayPal account for a minimum of 90 days and have processed at least £15,000 worth of funds through their account.

It’s fair to say that PayPal has proven itself equally suitable for big business as well as smaller retailers. There are multiple sectors that have doubled down on e-wallet payment solutions like PayPal, as well as the likes of Skrill and Neteller. Each of which is designed to offer consumers the utmost control and flexibility over their personal finances.

In the travel sector, major brands like Booking.com and Expedia allow customers to pay for reservations of accommodation, flights and package holidays using PayPal accounts. The digital entertainment industry has equally embraced e-wallets like PayPal for their payment agility and bargain-basement processing fees. On-demand streaming service Hayu allows customers to pay their monthly subscriptions via PayPal. Meanwhile, the best PayPal casino sites have made a major impression on the iGaming industry, given that PayPal withdrawal times are usually processed no longer than 48 hours, compared with the three-to-five working days of debit card withdrawals.

Throughout the e-commerce sector, PayPal has also become a household name for online shoppers. Whether it’s paying for groceries and takeaways or clothes and hi-tech goods, PayPal has become a dependable payment provider, bringing a layer of trust and integrity to payments big and small.