PayPal Mass Payment Alternative: The Best Choice for Your Business?

PayPal is widely used for business payments worldwide, as it’s quick and easy compared to the headache of authorizing bank transfers. But is it the best option for bulk payments?

There are PayPal tools available for bulk transfers, including Mass Payments and Payouts API. However, they may not be the cheapest or offer the features you need.

The good news is that there are great alternatives available, such as Wise Batch Payments. Let’s take a look at how mass payment tools work, and how to choose the right one for you.

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Things to consider when making a mass payment

Cost

When you’re sending 500+ payments at the click of a button, it’s important to consider the total cost before hitting ‘send’.

Each transaction will have a small fee, but with a large list of payments to get through, this can quickly add up. You need to be 100% confident that you’re getting the very best price for your payments.

Here’s a handy at-a-glance comparison of costs for Wise and PayPal payments, using a $2,000 payment to recipients in Europe as our example.

	Wise	PayPal
Price per $2000 payment to EUR	$12.99	$4.99¹
Provider’s exchange rate mark-up	0%	$64²
Total cost per payment	$12.27	$68.99
Total cost per batch of 500 payments	$6,495	$34,495

Speed

Using a bulk payments tool will save you on admin time, but how soon will your recipients get their money? Timing is crucial when it comes to certain payments, such as late invoices, urgent purchases and payroll. If a payment takes too long, you could end up spending your day fielding calls and emails from disgruntled recipients.

Depending on the currency, payments can arrive instantly to the final destination. Some currencies generally takes 1 - 2 working days.

If you choose to send through the PayPal Mass Payments tool and all of your recipients have PayPal accounts, they’ll receive their money in a matter of minutes. Some payments are made instantly. However, if you’re using another payment method, it can take as long as 3-5 days for your whole batch of payments to be sent.

Convenience

The reason you’ll consider using a mass payment tool in the first place is to make everyday admin easier. But some tools are simpler and more convenient to use than others.

To run a batch payment, you’ll need to upload a file containing all your payment information. Wise has the edge on PayPal here, as there’s a choice of handy templates you can download and then simply fill in. You can pick the one that suits your needs. You can also automate invoice payments using the Wise API. The team can help you get set up.

It’s easy to connect your Wise Business account to accounting software such as Xero and QuickBooks, while PayPal can also be integrated with similar applications. Having payments automatically sync with your accounting software makes it so much easier to manage your finances, and there’s no manual data entry required.

Wise also lets you send money with only an email address. The recipient will receive an email with instructions on how to get paid, or if they’re already a Wise user, their bank details will be filled in automatically during the batch payments process.

PayPal has the same feature but the recipient would have to set up a PayPal account to receive the transfer.

Security and Reliability

If you’re sending a batch of payments, the total sum is likely to be quite large. This makes it extra important for your payments to be fully secure. Reliability is also a factor, as you need your employees, contractors and suppliers to be paid on time.

Wise, registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the U.S and regulated around the world, has extensive security measures in place to protect your payments. This includes business verification, 2-step login and dedicated anti-fraud teams.

PayPal also has sophisticated risk and compliance controls to help protect you from fraud, including 24/7 monitoring of transactions and secure encryption technology.

Both providers are known for their reliability and credibility, being at the very top of the money transfer market.

How do Wise batch payments work?

Setting up a batch payment with Wise is simple. Set up a Wise Business account, download a batch payments template and fill it in. Upload, review the details (including fair, transparent fees) and hit send. Then you can track the payments in real-time from your account.

Additional benefits

● USD global - pay overseas contractors in USD

● Borderless account - hold, send and receive funds in one multi-currency account

● Linkable to accounting software such as Xero – find out more here

● Automated batch payments through open API to save you time and streamline the process.

How does PayPal Mass Payment work?

To use PayPal’s Mass Payment or Payouts tool, you’ll need to have a PayPal Business account. This is relatively easy to set up, but you’ll need some basic information about your business to hand. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for your account to be approved. Read our guide to find out more.

You’ll need to create, fill in and upload a file that includes the recipient’s PayPal email address, amounts and currencies. You can review the details, including the charges, then hit ‘send’ and let PayPal do the rest.

Additional Services

• PayPal Business account to send and receive domestic and international payments
• Linkable to accounting software such as Xero and QuickBooks
• Automated batch payments through Payouts API.

Automate your batch payment with Wise open API

Want to save even more time on payment-related admin? Automating your batch payments with Wise open API is the efficient way to run payroll, pay regular suppliers and much more.

Wise is not a bank, but a Money Services Business (MSB) provider and a smart alternative to banks. You can even connect other business tools to Wise, to make it work the way your company needs it to. The API allows you to craft a solution to improve the way you manage your finances.

There’s no extra costs or premium subscriptions for using the Wise open API, and there’s also the guiding hand of 24/7 customer support assistants to help you get set up. It’s suitable for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and it could transform your payment processes.

It’s up to you to choose the mass payments tool that best suits your needs, but it’s important to carefully compare everything from costs to convenience. This is a tool you’ll be using a lot, to send hundreds or even thousands of payments every year. It’s crucial to pick the right one. How much will it cost you and how much time will it really save? These are the big questions you should be asking.

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Sources used:

1. PayPal website:Fees
2. PayPal:Terms and conditions

Prices checked last time on 17-September 2021.