PayPal alternatives in Australia for business

There are so many decisions to make when you have a business, from staffing and suppliers to pricing and profit reinvestment. Something you will face along the line is a decision on which financial institutions and service providers you want to use.

In this article we’re going to take a look at what PayPal does for Australian businesses and the alternative providers that are out there. We’ll go into some pros and cons to help you give you an overall idea of which companies might be able to help you achieve your business plans.

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Who is PayPal in Australia

PayPal is a financial services provider who offer solutions to personal and business customers in Australia.²

What business services does PayPal in Australia

Here’s some of the main services offered by PayPal to Australian businesses.¹

• Accept payments online, in person, over the phone or by email
• Send payments and payouts
• Make online purchases
• Seller protection to minimise claims and chargebacks
• PayPal Working Capital business loan

Some alternatives to PayPal for businesses

As you know PayPal isn’t the only provider out there who can help Australian businesses with their financial needs. Here’s the seven we’re going to take a look at today:

• Wise Business
• Airwallex
• Eway
• SecurePay
• Payoneer
• Stripe
• Afterpay

Read more: PayPal rewards (credit) card in Australia.

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Wise Business

Wise was founded by two friends who could see a way to make international money transfers simpler and easier. Today it operates in countries around the globe including Australia.

Wise offers international money transfer services as well as two types of account; the Wise account and Wise Business account. The Business account has no monthly account maintenance fees and no transaction fees on the debit card.

Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of having an account with Wise for your Aussie business.

Pros	Cons
For any currency conversions your money is exchanged at the mid market exchange rate with no hidden fees or markups	Unable to make cash deposits into your account
Employees can be added to the business accounts with varying levels of access and given a business debit card with a pre-set spending limit	Cheques are not available
Integrates with Xero, Quickbooks or FreeAgent	Business loans and overdraft aren’t offered by Wise
Get local account details in 10 currencies; USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, CAD, HUF, RON and SGD

As seen on 23 July 2023

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.

Airwallex

Founded in 2015, Airwallex is an Australian company started by a group of four entrepreneurs. They had opened a cafe and after facing hefty transfer and exchange fees, were looking for a more cost effective way to pay overseas suppliers. ³

Today Airwallex offers a business account, API’s and embedded finance to their Australian customers. The business account comes with a range of features including foreign currency account details, international transfers, payment links and business payment cards.

Pros⁴	Cons⁴
Generate account details for up to 12 currencies including USD, CNY, GBP, EUR, AUD and EUR	Cash deposits are not possible
Integrates with a range of software including Xero, Quickbooks and Shopping plugins for sites like Amazon and eBay	There’s no overdraft available
Able to generate payment links for customers to use³	Fees for the employee cards can add up quickly at $14 per cardholder per month

As seen on 23 July 2023

Eway

Eway has been providing ecommerce services to business customers since 1998.⁵ It has assisted over 90,000 clients and currently has more than 300 employees supporting businesses across five countries.

Eway offers businesses ways to accept online payments for their goods and services. It can be done entirely through the Eway payment platform or using their gateway service, with enterprise solutions being available. The payment platform comes with everything you need to accept online payments, including a payment gateway and your own merchant account.

Pros⁶	Cons⁶
Pay-as-you-go pricing means you’re only paying for what you use	The flat rate fee of 1.5% + 25c per transaction may not be suitable for your business
Payments are deposited into the merchant account within 1-3 business days	Multi currency transactions require an Eway account to be set up for each currency so that the merchant bank can link it to the matching currency terminal
Integrates with over 250 different softwares and shopping carts	Only supports online payments so another provider is needed if the business also has a physical store

As seen on 23 July 2023

SecurePay

SecurePay is the online payment solution offered by Australia Post.⁷ This might sound a little strange, but SecurePay actually won the NORA Solution Partner Award for the Best Payments Gateway 2022 so it’s worth a look.

With SecurePay businesses can choose between their online payment solution, gateway service or help accepting regular subscription and billing payments.⁷ Their online payment solution comes with a payment gateway and a merchant account which is supported by NAB.⁸

Pros⁸	Cons⁸
Manage customer details, future payments and generate reports through the dashboard	Uses dynamic currency conversion for international customers with no ability for the business to accept foreign currency
Compatible with a range of digital payment methods including Visa, Mastercard, Poli, American Express and PayPal	Fees for international cards are higher than Australian cards at 2.90% + 30c per transaction
Able to customise the card payment user interface and integrate with compatible third party apps	Only supports online payments so may be unsuitable if the business also has a physical shop

As seen on 23 July 2023

Payoneer

Payoneer is an ecommerce partner that services millions of business customers across the globe, from freelancers to large corporations. Two of their main products are the Payoneer account and Payoneer Checkour⁹

With a Payoneer account Australian businesses can send and receive payments both domestically and internationally. Currencies can be stored and managed within the account and it’s possible to access working capital if eligible.

Pros¹⁰	Cons¹⁰
Local account details are available for certain currencies making it easier to pay overseas suppliers and receive funds in those countries	Cash deposits aren’t possible
Hundred of thousands of dollars of working capital could be available to the business without needing a credit check	Sales tax payment options currently aren’t available to Australian customers
A business debit card is available although there are a few fees involved including an annual card fee¹¹	Best suited to receiving payments to people who also have Payoneer accounts due to the fee structure¹¹

As seen on 23 July 2023

Stripe

With customers ranging from startups to huge international companies, Stripe is one of the bigger payment processing platforms available.¹²

Using Stripe, Australian businesses can manage payments, subscriptions, invoicing and billing. It has features for online businesses, such as a pre-built payments page, as well as the option to take payments in person using a terminal.

Pros¹³	Cons¹³
In-person and internet payment options streamline things for businesses with a physical and online presence	Payments from international clients are automatically converted to your local currency
Able to generate payment links and create customisable invoices for customers	Funds need to be deposited into a separate bank account for you to access them - something like the Wise business account could help here
Accept payments from customers in 135+ currencies and using multiple payment methods including cards, iDEAL and Alipay	Can’t withdraw, deposit or process cash

As seen on 23 July 2023

Afterpay

Founded in Sydney, Afterpay has been offering services to Australian customers since 2014.¹⁴ Since then ‘their buy now, pay later’ system has taken off and they’ve spread to the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.

Australian retailers can choose to partner with Afterpay and allow their customers to use it to buy goods and services online and instore. Afterpay sends you the finds within a few days and the customer pays them in four installments.¹⁵

Pros¹⁵	Cons¹⁵
Potential increase in customer base and order value	Not available to ineligible international customers
Be promoted by Afterpay during their merchant exclusive events	Need to track settlement reports to ensure funds are received
Integrates with a number of ecommerce platforms and has a tech support team on staff to help with any issues	Requires a separate business bank account for the funds to be received into as there’s no merchant account

As seen on 23 July 2023

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The Wise Business Account is a good alternative for local and international finance.

With this Business account, you can make international payments to 80 countries in over 50 currencies using the transparent mid-market rate plus a small transaction fee.

You’ll also get access to local Australian AUD account details, and account details for over 9 other major currencies.

The Wise business debit card can be used at ATMs, in-store, or online shopping via the Mastercard network. Additional cards can be made available for other team members as you choose, with one fixed card-creation fee per card and no monthly fees.

Find out how the Wise business account can save you money.

Register for a Wise business account
in minutes 🚀

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.

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Sources:

1. PayPal - Business
2. PayPal - Home
3. Airwallex - Who We Are
4. Airwallex - Pricing and fees
5. Eway - About
6. Eway - Online payments
7. SecurePay - Home
8. SecurePay - Online payments
9. Payoneer - About
10. Payoneer - Payoneer account
11. Payoneer - Fees
12. Stripe - Home
13. Stripe - Payments
14. Afterpay - Our story
15. Afterpay - For retailers

Sources checked on: 23 July 2023