What is PayPal Goods and Services & How to Use it?

As the largest payment processor in the world, PayPal has long provided a feature to send and request money from friends or family members. Similarly, on the top of sending money to friends and family, PayPal also offers a service which is tailored to selling goods and services.

Before we start, let’s clear up what goods and services are.

• Goods are physical items or products bought from another person—e.g. a bike, computer parts, exercise equipment, etc.

• Services refer to a service provided by someone—like if someone writes a case study, optimizes a website, or does your taxes for you.

In this article, we’ll cover these use cases and will also show how Wise can be useful for you as an international seller of items or services.

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How does PayPal Goods and Services work?

As a buyer

When you’re shopping on a website and click the ‘Buy Now’ button or go through a checkout system, then PayPal will automatically process the payment as Goods and Services.

However, before the payment is complete, you can choose to pay the fee or pass it on to the person you’re purchasing from. To pass it on, change the payment to a Goods and Services payment, which will be covered by PayPal Purchase Protection.

As a seller

Sellers can use their personal PayPal accounts to accept money for the sale of goods and services. Upon receiving the money, you can hold the funds in a linked Cash Account or you have the option to transfer the money to a bank account, debit or credit card.

If you use your personal PayPal account to sell goods and services frequently, it might be a good idea to get a PayPal business account instead. It is possible to convert your personal account into a business account if you want to test things out and make a decision later.

How to use PayPal Goods and Services?

There are two ways of using PayPal's Goods and Services feature, depending on whether you'd like to use PayPal as a buyer or a seller. In this section, we'll show you a step-by-step breakdown of both use cases.

Pay for Goods and Services: Step-by-step

Paying for goods and services with PayPal is a simple process. Here's how to do it:

1. Open the PayPal site and login to your personal account.

2. Click the ‘Send and request’ tab at the top of the page.

3. Click on the button labeled ‘Pay for Goods and Services’.

4. Input the recipient’s email address in the box and click ‘Next’.

5. Input the amount of money you want to send to the recipient and add any additional notes in the text box below.

6. Confirm the transaction and follow any additional prompts until you see a notification that the funds were transferred.

Request money with Goods and Services: Step-by-step

If you’re the one providing the goods or services, here’s how you can request the funds:

1. Go to the PayPal site and log in to your account.

2. Click the tab at the top labeled ‘Send and Request’.

3. Under ‘Request payments’, click the button that says ‘Request from anyone’.

4. On the next page, type in the email address of the person you’re requesting funds from and click ‘Next’.

5. Input the amount you wish to receive and add any notes in the text area at the bottom of the box.

6. Click ‘Request payment’ and you should see a confirmation.

PayPal Goods and Services fees as an international seller

PayPal considers any sale of ‘Goods and Services’ to be a commercial transaction and charges a fee of 2.99% and a currency conversion spread based on the currency.¹ If you’re going to receive money as an international seller then the fees can start to add up quickly—there might be an alternative for you to save on fees

For example, let’s look at a comparison between PayPal and Wise when receiving 1000 GBP from the UK for your goods or services in the US:

Fees as of 08/15/2023. The pay-in is funded via the customer’s bank account.

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Avoid hefty recipient fees with Wise Business

As an international seller, fees can really add up with some services. If you often need to receive international payments, and prefer to save on hefty recipient and exchange fees, we recommend that you give a try to Wise Business. With Wise Business, you can:

• Receive international payments without hefty recipient or conversion fees

• Link your Wise account to various online platforms and storefronts in whatever currencies you want to sell in.

• Get an IBAN, routing number, sort code and more—within your one account.

PayPal Goods and Services fees as a domestic seller

When using PayPal Goods and Services as a domestic seller, PayPal also considers these payments as commercial transactions and charges fees accordingly. Based on where you process the payment, there are fees for online or in-store payments:

• Online payments: 2.59% + fixed fee based on currency¹

• In-Store Payments: 2.7% + fixed fee based on currency¹

Summary

PayPal Goods and Services is good for buyers and sellers who need to exchange money safely online.

When you use PayPal Goods and Services, the transaction is automatically protected by PayPal Purchase Protection, which can give peace of mind to both parties. There are some fees involved in the transaction, which can really add up if you’re receiving money from overseas.

If you’re looking to receive funds for goods and services internationally, Wise Business can be a great alternative.

Join Wise Business today

All sources checked on 8 August 2023