We bring you a complete PayPal guide with 19 functions and tricks to master the online payment system. PayPal is a service that has become popular for acting as an intermediary between your bank account and the online store where you buy so as not to give them your account details, but it is a service that offers much more.
In this guide, you will find all the main functions of this platform, from the methods to send money to other users to the cancellation of payments or refunds against scams. It also has other lesser-known options, such as a fundraising system and another to divide accounts among your friends.
And as we always say at Xataka Basics, if you think that we have missed a function that is important or interesting, or if you know of a slightly more elaborate trick, we invite you to share it with everyone in the comments section. Thus, all our readers will benefit from the knowledge of our community of xatakeros.
Pay online with PayPal
Let’s start with the most obvious function, that of being able to pay using your PayPal account. In accounts that accept PayPal as payment, you will be able to use the account you have created to pay without having to enter your card details on the website where you are going to make the payment. A good way to keep your card details safe is by paying online with PayPal.
This is especially useful when you are going to pay on a website that you do not trust at all. As we will see later, PayPal has guarantees and security if the purchase ends up being a fraud. In addition, when you go to pay with PayPal you will be able to choose which payment method to use if you have more than one card or linked account number.
Check all your movements
PayPal has a tab called Activity, in which you can see the information about all your movements. Here, both payments in online establishments and money transfers and requests will be grouped, and if you click on one of the movements, an information page will open with all its details.
This section has several search filters, including a search engine in which to type the terms to search for, or a date selector to filter the results. You also have some advanced filters to show results by the type of transaction, by its status, or even by the currency in which it was made.
Review automatic payments
Ask for a refund if you have been scammed
The main advantage of using PayPal as a payment system is that it has mechanisms to request a refund if you have been scammed. You just have to enter your PayPal account and right-click on a payment you have made. Once inside the payment information tab, click on the Report a problem option to start the procedure.
You will be able to request that your money be returned in several cases. For example, if the purchased item has not arrived, or if what has arrived does not match the description on the website. You can also request a refund if someone has made a payment on your behalf using your account, or if there have been billing issues such as duplicate charges.
Request a refund of return payments
Imagine that you buy something, but then you use your right of withdrawal to return it to the online store where you bought it. But wow, this online store wants you to pay return costs, that you pay for the return shipping of the product. Well, if you have paid with PayPal, you can request a refund of the return payments so that it is free to return the product.
To use this function, you have to activate the service on the paypal.es/refunds website. Then, you have to have bought the product using PayPal to pay, and you have to return it within the period stipulated by the conditions of the trade or seller. You must have sent the item back to the seller through the Post Office, courier service, or any other usual shipping option or service, and then request a refund of these expenses within 30 days. The button to start the request is on the PayPal payment tab.
Send or request money from your contacts
Another advantage of PayPal is that you can send or request money from your contacts who also have an account. It is a very simple process since on the home page you have the option to send or request money. Then, you will only have to write the name or email of the contact to continue with the process.
The contact email will have to be the one you used to register with PayPal. Once the contact has been chosen, you can establish the amount of money you want to send or request and attach a personalized message so that person can read it. You will also have to specify that it is about sending money to a friend or family member.
It is also used to send money abroad
And if you want to send money to a friend or family member living abroad, PayPal is a fairly cheap way to do it as long as they have their account. For each country, there is a different rate, but normally they are much lower rates than those of banks when you are going to send money abroad, and it competes with other alternatives such as Western Union.
The process of sending money abroad or requesting it from a contact who lives abroad is the same, write the email of this contact’s account in the form to send or receive money. PayPal will automatically recognize the country to which the account belongs and will inform you about the currency exchange and the commissions that the operation has. There is also another alternative to sending the money directly to a bank, but it is more expensive.
PayPalMe to send or receive money with a link
As we have told you in the previous steps, to send money or request that another person send you money, you need to use email as a method to identify yourself as a contact. However, there is another alternative that does not require giving personal data, a PayPal by-product called PayPal.Me.
All you need to use is PayPal.I am to have an account created with PayPal with a linked bank account. So, with this system, you can create a unique and personal link, which you can share with other people so that they can send you money or request that you send them money.
Manage your public profile
Your PayPal profile is much more than being able to add a PayPalMe address, you will be able to edit it whenever you want both from the web by managing PayPalMe data and from the public profile section of the app. Here, you will be able to change the profile image you want to use, your location information, or a short description of 200 characters maximum to talk about yourself.
But the most important thing about these settings is that you will also be able to configure how other users can find you in PayPal. You will be able to activate or deactivate the option of being found through the email with which you have registered, or with the telephone number that you have linked to your account.
You can send money with a greeting card
When you enter the official website or the PayPal mobile application, on the main page you will only see the normal options to send or request money. However, there is a More menu that has other options that often go unnoticed. One of them is to send money to a contact… but with a little more style.
The option is called Send Gift, and when you enter you just have to choose a contact you want to send money to. By doing so, you will be able to choose between several digital cards with different designs and motifs and write a message on them as a congratulation. Sending money can be a bit cold when you want to give it as a gift, so these cards are a good alternative.
Add money to your PayPal balance
Paying using the money on your bank card can be dangerous if you don’t control yourself. As an alternative, PayPal allows you to have a balance of money in your account, a specific amount that you spend from the account you have linked, and then you can use that money to make your online payments. To add balance, click on Transfer money in the PayPal Balance section, and you will see the option Add money to your balance.
This can be helpful to say, okay, I’m not going to spend more than this amount of money. Also, when another user sends you money, it is automatically added to your PayPal balance in your account and is not sent directly to your bank account.
Transfer your money from PayPal to your bank account
You are also going to do the reverse of what we have told you in the previous step, and you can transfer the money from your PayPal account to your bank. In this way, if someone has sent you money using this method so that it comes out for free doing it within the same country, then you can transfer that money to one of the accounts that you have linked to PayPal.
To add balance, click on Transfer money in the PayPal Balance section, and once inside, click on the Transfer to bank account option. Next, you will have to choose one of your bank accounts linked to the PayPal account to send the money, and when you do, you will only have to establish the amount. The money will arrive in two or three days.
Cancel a payment with PayPal
To avoid mistaken purchases and the like, PayPal allows you to cancel payments in some cases. You can do it when they are payments that have not been claimed, which is when the payment still appears as pending because the person who is going to receive it has not yet done so. This state can last very little, so you have to be quick.
There are two other cases in which you can void a payment you made by hand. You can only do this in two cases, which are when you have sent money to an email address not associated with a PayPal account, or when you have sent it to a recipient with an email address that has not been confirmed, either PayPal only credits accounts that have this confirmed information to ensure they are the same person.
Use your fingerprint or your face to log in
In the PayPal mobile app settings, you have a Login & Security section. With it, you can use your mobile’s biometric identification system to log into the app. This way you gain security by using your face or your fingerprint to log in when you open the app, but you also gain convenience because you don’t have to type passwords and the process is faster.
Check the permissions you give to the websites
Like many services, PayPal allows you to link to some pages, so that they have permission to access certain information about your account. As you will have seen in the previous screenshot, within the Login and security options, you also have the option to review the Permissions you have given.
If you click on this option you will see a list of all the services to which you have permitted to access your PayPal data, and you will have the option to eliminate this link with the services that no longer interest you or have ceased to interest you. And as you can see in the screenshot of this point, you can also see the details of what permissions each service that you have linked to your PayPal account has, so that you can make the most informed decision possible.
Create a common fund
If you’re thinking about doing a fundraiser, whether it’s asking for donations for something, or making a gift or joint trip with your friends, PayPal has a tool to create fundraisers within the More menu. With it, you will create a page where you can describe the project, and accept payments from other users. You will have a link that you will be able to share, both in messaging applications and in social networks or wherever you want.
All you have to do is enter the common fund’s section of PayPal, and there you will be guided step by step in the creation of one of these funds. These background pages are completely free to create and are encrypted to ensure your security. The creator of the funds will be able to see who donates the money.
Split a payment among several people
Although the use of Bizum to make payments with which to split an account has already established itself in Spain, among the alternatives to Bizum that exist is PayPal, which has an option called Split an account within the slightly more hidden options in the More menu. Try to make it as easy as possible to divide an account, so that you don’t even need to calculate how much each one has to pay.
When you start the process, the steps are simple. You have to write the amount of money in the account and invite the participants. PayPal will automatically divide that amount by the number of participants, and everyone will be able to make the payment. The bad thing is that everyone will need to have a PayPal account, and the good thing is that if you have paid at the establishment, you can deduct your part of the payment so as not to pay twice.
Pay with your mobile using the QR code
And if you want to make a direct payment from one person to another when you are physically together, PayPal has a direct payment system using a QR code in its mobile application. The option is called Scan/Pay, and it allows you to either scan a QR code to send a payment to that person or display a QR code on your mobile screen so that another person can scan it and send you a payment.
You will be able to edit the QR code to add a specific amount to the payment, or to add a tipping option. In addition, you can download the image of the code to spread it through social networks or messaging applications. You can also create a different code just for tips.
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Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.
