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There will be plenty of internet users that don’t remember a life before PayPal; when you consider that it was first launched in 1998. Fast-forward to 2022 and there are plenty of choices when it comes to sending and receiving money online but without a doubt, PayPal is one of the most popular and well-known.
A Shift In eCommerce
Although much like PayPal users there will be plenty of people online that see online shopping and eCommerce as the norm, this wasn’t always the case. Online shopping is something that has grown massively over the years to the successful offering that we’re all used to seeing today. However, when online shopping first started to become an option and people were starting to get used to the World Wide Web as being a way to buy goods, one thing that people were dubious about was sharing their banking details online.
This meant that although websites like eBay and Amazon were starting to increase in popularity, they weren’t as easy to use and didn’t feel as safe to those that were new to this new way of shopping. Back then it was popular to send a cheque to someone that you had brought online and wait for them to receive this and cash the cheque before they posted your item – none of this next-day delivery that we’re all so used to now.
How did Things start to Change?
PayPal may have first launched in 1998 but it took a few years for people to really realize its worth and see how good it could be. Back then people didn’t really know whether internet shopping and electronic payments were something that would really pick up in popularity. It wasn’t until 2002 that it started to pick up in popularity and it was then that investors started to see that perhaps it was a profitable business model. Their IPO was launched in the summer of 2002 – one of the first fintech companies to do this, and this led to other successful fintech launches following in the footsteps of PayPal.
Industries That Have Benefited From PayPal
It is easy to assume that it is just online shopping that has benefited from what PayPal offers and how popular it is, but that is not the case at all.
Online Betting – The casino industry is one that has grown massively over recent years and whilst there are plenty of factors that have contributed to this, ease of payment is definitely up there. When people want to dabble in online betting they want to be able to do it with ease – which is why the number of casinos accepting PayPal is high.
Private Selling – Gone are the days of sending a cheque to purchase an item. PayPal allows private sellers to accept payment and those making the payment to do so without needing to share their personal bank details.
Charity and Not for Profit – Charity and non-profit organisations often use PayPal, as it is a method familiar to many people. These days one-click transaction options via PayPal make it easy for people to donate – and in fact, nearly 80% of people said they would be happy to donate again using PayPal if they were given the option.
As the way we use the internet and shop online changes so does what users need and expect – and so far PayPal has done an excellent job of keeping up with this.
PayPal – Making Payments Easy
Although we’re used to being able to withdraw PayPal funds to our bank account and it arriving straight away, this hasn’t always been the case. In the past, it has taken anything up to 5 working days for PayPal funds to be available via a bank account. Once PayPal realized that this was not something that their customers loved they launched a PayPal debit card. Although it has since been discontinued, since withdrawal times have sped up; at the time it meant that people could spend their PayPal balance immediately – a step towards the fast transaction speeds that we’re all so used to seeing today.
One of the things with eCommerce is that it doesn’t matter which sector you are in – customers now expect almost instant results. They want to top up their casino account and be able to place a bet straight away or send money to a friend and it is instantly available. The past wait times of 3-5 days simply aren’t acceptable.
PayPal has allowed businesses of all shapes and sizes to offer fast, easy payment options to all of their customers – in fact, you can even use PayPal to make a payment without an actual PayPal account these days. You can send money internationally, you can send it directly to a friend and you can purchase products with the peace of mind that the company has received the money instantly and can start to process your order.
Accepting PayPal Payments as a Business Owner
As a business owner, there are several things you can do to make life easy for your customers and encourage sales but without a doubt, the checkout process is one of the most important – if it’s too complicated to make a payment or the process seems to slow then people will lose interest. They may have every intention of coming back to complete the purchase again, but often this won’t happen and as a business, you have lost a sale.
Not only does PayPal make the process easy but it is one that is familiar to your potential customers; which means that it’s a process they feel confident following. One thing that proved difficult for businesses in the past was encouraging brand new customers to share their personal details and make a purchase. PayPal has removed all of this which means that even if they have never heard of your brand, the fact that you offer PayPal as a payment option gives them peace of mind that purchasing from you is risk-free; which is a great way of increasing sales figures.