PayPal is currently the largest, most popular payment service. However, not everything about its platform and services is the best.
If you are looking for a payment service to use, or are already using PayPal, you might be wondering if PayPal is worth it? I looked into PayPal’s bad features, and here is what I learned!
Why Is PayPal So Bad In 2024?
PayPal has several bad features through its platform in 2024. Some bad features are its customer service, frequency of scams, fees, protection policy, not every country has access to PayPal, and several more. However, PayPal has grown to become the largest, most used online payment service, regardless of its bad features.
If you are interested in learning more about the negative aspects of PayPal, then keep reading for 10 reasons why PayPal is so bad!
1. Customer Service Can Be Hard to Reach
When you have an issue such as fraudulent activity, payments not processing, or something else, you are supposed to contact PayPal customer service, but that usually isn’t very easy.
Currently, you can contact PayPal through the following means:
- Social Media
- The “Message Center”
- “Contact Us”
- The “Resolution Center”
- The “PayPal Community”
- Over the phone, or
The best way to get a hold of PayPal to solve your issue is to use the “Message Center,” “Contact Us,” the “Resolution Center,” over the phone, or through email.
However, using the “Contact Us” page is confusing, and requires that you to log in at the end and then doesn’t take you back to the right page.
When using the “Resolution Center” or the “Message Center,” you have to wait for PayPal’s response, which can sometimes take several days.
Furthermore, when you click PayPal’s email or call link, it always takes you to another page and not the company’s email or phone number.
When phoning PayPal, you have to make sure you enter the “one-time code” correctly, and you still might have a wait time.
Additionally, you can email PayPal’s Executive Execution’s Team: executiveoffice@paypal.com.
Executive Executions deal with all complaints or questions, so this is the best way to contact PayPal with any issues.
2. Scammers Use PayPal Often
Scammers tend to use PayPal a lot because it’s easier to scam you through fake emails, advance fees, overpayments, Friends and Family, and more.
Scammers’ favorite way to use PayPal is to convince you to use the friends and family method to pay them.
This is because friends and family payments aren’t protected by PayPal’s Purchase Protection, and you can’t get your money back.
Here is more about common scams on PayPal, and how to avoid them.
3. PayPal’s Purchase Protection Doesn’t Cover All Transactions
PayPal’s Purchase Protect Program applies to items or services bought through PayPal Goods and Services, not to Friends and Family payments.
For example, say you send money to a friend or family member using PayPal friends and family, and you realize you sent the wrong amount.
In this situation, you can cancel the payment if it’s still pending, or the friend or family member can reimburse you.
However, you can not request a refund, create a dispute, etc.
If you purchase an item through Goods and Services, but don’t receive it, or it’s in the wrong condition, Purchase Protection will fully reimburse you- all you have to do is report it to PayPal.
4. Your Account Can Be Suspended, Have a Hold, or Carry Limits
When you sign up for PayPal, you accept the User Agreement, which includes the right for PayPal to suspend or deactivate your account if you violate its policies.
PayPal also has the right to place a hold on your funds, or place limits on your account.
PayPal may place a hold on your fund for up to 21 days, unless you give the company information to release the hold sooner.
PayPal may also Place limits on your account until the company can decide if your account activity is fraudulent.
These are for both buyer and seller safety. However, if there is a dispute made to PayPal about your services, and PayPal decides in favor of the buyer, you can’t undo or change the decision.
Furthermore, some business users are worried PayPal may freeze their account and money for months, which can hurt a business.
Additionally, If your business sells high-risk products, PayPal may not be the best option for you.
5. PayPal Doesn’t Help Build Credit (Business Loans)
Unfortunately, even though PayPal has several credit services, like PayPal Credit, PayPal Key, and PayPal Business Loan, the company won’t help build your credit.
Even if you make every payment on time, or early, your credit won’t change.
Part of the point of a credit card or a loan is to help your credit score, along with giving you easy access to money, but unfortunately, PayPal will not help you build on it.
However, there are other places with credit cards and loans that will also build your credit score.
With PayPal, though, you aren’t always subject to credit checks, so if you are someone who can’t get a card or loan because of your credit score, it might be helpful.
6. Not All Customers Will Use PayPal
Unfortunately, there are a select few customers out there that won’t use PayPal. There aren’t many people left that don’t use PayPal, but they do exist.
If PayPal is your only payment option, then those select few customers won’t use your services, which will result in a loss of business.
7. PayPal Has More Expensive Fees Than Other Platforms
Unfortunately, PayPal’s fees are higher than many other online payment platforms. An example is a comparison between Visa and PayPal.
One of Visa’s fees is the wholesale rate, which is from 1.80% to 2.40%, plus $0.10 per transaction. PayPal’s comparison to that is 2.9%, plus $0.30 per transaction.
PayPal’s percentage is 0.5% over Visa’s highest percentage, and PayPal is $0.20 over Visa for every transaction.
8. Disputes and Claims Take a While to Solve
When you have an issue through PayPal, such as not receiving your refund, you can make a dispute or claim.
Unfortunately, disputes take up to 20 days to solve, and if you can’t solve the issue and have to escalate to a claim, that can take up to 30 days to solve.
This slows your refund, and you won’t get that money until it’s over.
However, PayPal is working hard to help you in these circumstances, even if it does take a while.
9. Instant Transfers Require Fees, But Standard Transfers Take Several Days
When transferring money through PayPal with a standard transfer, it takes 3-5 business days.
That isn’t a terrible amount of time, but usually, when transferring money, you need that money as soon as possible.
Furthermore, PayPal does have an instant transfer option that will be in your account no longer than 30 minutes. However, instant transfers require a fee.
Therefore, you can either wait a couple of days for your money, which you may need now, or pay an expensive fee.
10. Not All Countries Can Use PayPal
Nowadays, many people buy products from stores all around the world. Additionally, sometimes people communicate with friends or family members around the world and have to send them money.
Using PayPal for this would be very simple and easy, but unfortunately, PayPal is not accepted in every country or region in the world.
Additionally, some of the countries PayPal operates in don’t have PayPal’s full functions. Even though PayPal is accepted in that country, you can’t complete certain functions.
However, PayPal is accepted in most countries and regions around the world, and there are some countries, such as North Korea, that we will never be able to communicate with.
Here is a list of countries and regions PayPal operates in.
To know more, you can also read our posts on why is PayPal so expensive, why is PayPal so slow, and how long do Paypal refunds take.
Conclusion
PayPal has several bad features on its platforms, such as high fees, lack of customer service, slow processing periods, and more, but it also has some good qualities.
Furthermore, PayPal has managed to grow to be a very popular, multinational e-commerce company. So, choosing to use PayPal as your payment service isn’t a bad option, even with its bad features.
