Getting Paid Through PayPal: The Pros and Cons

If you've ever bought or sold anything online you likely have stumbled across the PayPal icon. The company provides a wide variety of secure money transactions, including small business payments and invoices, large scale business services that include online retail sales and low cost money exchange services for individuals. Nearly anyone that needs to exchange money securely online may use PayPal services. I use it as a means to receive payment for my freelance writing services. Here's what I've learned, good and bad, about using PayPal to get paid for my work.

Pros to Getting Your Money Through PayPal

When you do business with clients online the inevitable internal question, "How do I get paid on time and securely?" jumps to the top of the business To-Do list.

PayPal basics:

PayPal account setup is quick and easy. No cost is associated with creating an account. Setup will take you less than 5 minutes and you'll login with your email address and chosen password Everytime.
If you opt to set up a basic or personal account there is no upfront cost for the account. Any fees associated with PayPal services are imposed at he time payment is made.
PayPal money services offer you secure online transactions and peace of mind. Second-guessing the safety of your online financial transactions costs you time and ends in worry. A big pro to PayPal is its reputation for security.

Cons to Getting Paid Through PayPal

Cons exist to almost everything in life, but most are due to lack of education, the right information in the first place. A disadvantage could be as easily turned into an advantage if you only knew in advance. Here are a couple of pretty significant disadvantages to getting paid using PayPal's online services. Get informed right now, so you're not blind-sided in the future:

Getting your cash from PayPal into your bank account could take as much as two weeks; that's 10 business days! Before I actually used PayPal, I assumed getting money into my hands would be almost instant-request my payment and it would be deposited into my bank account the following day. I learned the truth only by using the service.

Here's how my PayPal account transfers really work:

My clients must authorize a transfer of money to PayPal, a process that could take between 3 and 5 business days. Over the course of that time money moves from my clients' accounts to my PayPal account, where it sits and waits for me to do something with it.
Once money is available in my PayPal account I can opt to withdraw any portion of the amount available, which becomes a transfer to my checking or savings account depending upon how I set up my PayPal account when I initially signed up. This subsequent transaction-moving money from PayPal to my bank account may take another 3 to 5 business days.

Now you are an informed consumer. Getting your hard-earned cash through PayPal is not an instant transaction. Be prepared for this real-time delay. In some cases I could have received a check via the US Postal Service and still had enough lead-time to get it deposited into my account before PayPal.

Advice: if you have loan sharks waiting in the wings don't bet on having your cash in hand in time to save your knee caps if you're relying on PayPal to get money in your pocket.

PayPal services may not be free. PayPal imposes transaction fees. Is the fee significant? It depends. PayPal Transaction Fees details cost for different services. I'm assessed a fee when a client authorizes a payment to my PayPal account, but no fee is imposed when I request transfer of those funds to my account.

Now you know that a small percentage of what you earn will be skimmed off the top, a small price to pay for secure online money exchange. If you transfer money internationally, expect higher fees associated with exchange rates.

Tip: Why not figure the cost of PayPal fees into your business costs and make sure you ask adequate payment from clients that covers the expense of online exchanges?

PayPal is used almost anywhere online business services are available and throughout the world, so the company has the corner on the market. Use the service as a fully informed business owner and it can be a secure and useful tool.