PayPal

Yes. PayPal handles in-person card payments through PayPal Zettle, using a small card reader and the Zettle app. In-person card payments are charged at 2.29% + 9c, with no monthly fee on the reader plan. That lets you take chip, tap, and contactless payments in a store or at a market alongside PayPal's online checkout.

PayPal's standard online checkout rate is 2.99% + 49c per transaction, with no monthly or setup fee. Some payment methods, such as Pay Later, can run slightly higher. PayPal is recognized by shoppers worldwide and includes buyer and seller protection, which can lift checkout conversion even though the rate is higher than a dedicated card processor.

Yes. Because PayPal owns Venmo, PayPal checkout can accept Venmo as a payment method for eligible US businesses, alongside PayPal balance, cards, and Pay Later. That gives you access to Venmo's large US user base at checkout without adding a separate provider.

The PayPal Zettle card reader is shown as PayPal Zettle reader ~$29 (first reader); extras ~$79, often with a discounted price on your first reader and a standard price on additional units. There is no monthly fee on the reader plan, so after the one-off hardware cost you pay only the per-transaction rate.

No. PayPal is month-to-month with no long-term contract and no early termination fee, for both online checkout and in-person Zettle payments. You can start taking payments without a lock-in commitment and stop whenever you choose, which makes it easy to run alongside another processor.

PayPal offers split payment capabilities via its Marketplaces and Platforms API. The platform collects payment from the buyer, deducts its service fee, and routes the remainder to each seller. Sellers are onboarded as connected PayPal accounts and can receive payouts to their PayPal balance or directly to a bank account via the PayPal Payouts product.

The standard published US rate for domestic card transactions is 2.99% plus $0.49 per charge. Note that PayPal does not publish pricing for its platform and marketplace product: its own platform page states that transaction rates and fees are negotiable across every integration model and quoted by its sales team. The published rate above is what a seller pays on standard commercial card transactions, so treat it as a reference point rather than the rate your platform would be offered.

No. The monthly platform fee is Free with no minimum transaction volume, making PayPal straightforward to get started with at any scale.

PayPal's primary advantage for consumer-facing platforms is brand familiarity. A large share of US online shoppers already have a PayPal account and trust the PayPal checkout experience, which can reduce cart abandonment and increase conversion compared to an unknown payment form. This buyer-side recognition is harder to replicate with a white-label provider.

Yes. PayPal includes Fraud Protection tools and Seller Protection policies that cover eligible transactions against unauthorised disputes and item-not-received claims. For marketplace platforms, Seller Protection extends to connected sellers for qualifying transactions, which reduces chargeback liability flowing back to the platform.

PayPal provides a hosted seller onboarding flow. Sellers create or connect an existing PayPal account, complete identity verification within PayPal's managed interface, and are linked to the platform via a permissions grant. The onboarding is relatively straightforward and familiar to sellers who already have a PayPal account.

No. PayPal's US platform page offers custom pricing only, stating that platform transaction rates and fees are negotiable across any of its integration models and directing platforms to contact sales. What PayPal does publish is its standard commercial rate card, which is what the transaction rate column shows. Stripe is the opposite here: it publishes its Connect platform fees openly, so you can model the cost before talking to anyone.