Note: PayPal has announced that as of September 30, 2023, the PayPal Here service will be discontinued in favor of PayPal Zettle. Read the full statement below.
PayPal Here Overview
PayPal formerly offered the “PayPal Here” mobile payment app and line of card readers. The service was yet another carbon copy of other mobile credit card processing services like Intuit’s GoPayment, Square, and North American Bancard’s Pay Anywhere.
However, PayPal made the following announcement in 2023:
“After September 30, 2023, PayPal Here services (including both the card reader devices and the PayPal Here App) will no longer be available. This means you will not be able to accept payments through PayPal Here with the card reader device or via the PayPal Here App from that date. You can upgrade to our latest point-of-sale solution, PayPal Zettle, to continue accepting payments, manage inventory, and track sales. To learn more, click here. If you are an existing PayPal Here customer and have any questions, please contact our help center.”
Article Summary
Before we dive in, here’s a short summary of what we’ll cover:
- PayPal Here’s former payment processing services.
- The service has been discontinued in favor of PayPal Zettle.
Related Articles
PayPal Here Payment Processing
PayPal Here’s chief innovation is that it is integrated into a regular PayPal account and, therefore, clients have access to a wide range of other features not found with most competitors. Funds from PayPal Here transactions that fall within normal risk tolerances will be available immediately to the client within his/her PayPal account. Clients have the choice of transferring the money into an attached checking account or using an attached debit card to make purchases and ATM withdrawals.
PayPal Debit Card Features
PayPal advertises that by accessing the funds through purchases with its “PayPal Business Debit MasterCard,” clients will get same-day access to funds and receive a 1% cashback bonus -bringing their effective processing rate down to as low as 1.7%. PayPal Here only offers automatic fund transfers to the attached checking accounts.
Location & Ownership
Daniel Schulman is the CEO of PayPal, which is headquartered at 2211 North First Street, San Jose, California 95131.
Leadership
Customer Reviews & Sentiment
Fund-Hold Issues
We have located more than 100 negative PayPal Here reviews, some of which accuse the service of being a scam or ripoff. By far the most common issue encountered by merchants appears to be funds held by PayPal, which is a problem that PayPal Here has in common with its parent company. Merchants should know the steps to take when dealing with fund holds and are cautioned to understand PayPal’s fraud prevention policies in order to avoid having accounts frozen or funds withheld in the first place. If you have your own PayPal Here review to make, please do so in the comments below.
PayPal Here Lawsuits
In 2017, PayPal was sued in the matter of Zepeda v. PayPal Inc., a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company had improperly handled disputed transactions, placed holds, reserves, or limitations on customers’ accounts without notice, and closed client accounts without notice. The company agreed to pay a sum of over $4 million to plaintiffs who were part of the class action.
2021 saw a flurry of legal activity concerning PayPal. It began in February 2021, when the company announced that it was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
According to Bloomberg, “The SEC is investigating whether the swipe fees paid to the banks that issue PayPal’s debit cards are consistent with Federal Reserve guidelines, the San Jose, California-based company said Thursday in a quarterly regulatory filing. The agency is also investigating how PayPal reports marketing fees earned from its branded-card program. […] Separately, PayPal said it received a civil investigative demand from the CFPB in connection to the marketing and use of PayPal Credit in connection with merchants that provide educational services. The regulator asked PayPal to produce documents, written reports and answers to written questions. The company said it is cooperating.”
Following the announcement of this investigation, PayPal Inc. stock dropped significantly. This led to a bevy of class-action suits being announced against the company, including one here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. With such heavy legal action underway against one of the world’s largest and most well-known payment processors, these cases are sure to set standards for the industry going forward.
PayPal Here Customer Support Options
One of the biggest frustrations cleints have with PayPal’s competitor Square is the lack of live customer support and communication regarding reserves and fund holds. PayPal Here has both live phone and online support; however, it is difficult to determine how the company handles communication regarding holds and reserves, and how the customer support fares with the service. PayPal itself has a very high volume of online complaints, but it is also a huge company that services many clients, some of whom might be uninformed and easily frustrated. The comments located here and elsewhere that specifically discuss PayPal Here do not describe inaccessible customer support, so PayPal Here will receive a “B” in this category until further information is available.
Client Satisfaction Ratings
| BBB Reports | 31,345 |
|---|
Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.
No Independent PayPal Here Profile
Since PayPal Here is an app created by PayPal, there is no Better Business Bureau report specifically for PayPal Here. The BBB report for PayPal, however, shows accreditation and an “A” rating despite having 31,345 complaints filed in the last 36 months. PayPal has resolved 12,199 complaints to the merchants’ satisfaction, while 19,146 complaints either were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the client.
What Merchants Say
PayPal has also received 1,619 informal reviews, almost all negative. However, many of these reviews are from customers, as opposed to clients. One recent review from a merchant related to issues using a merchant account for personal money transfers:
PayPal limited my account after one of my customers sent me money as family and friends,they held the money and told me to upload a photo ID and Bank statement for a review before they can release the money,when I registered the PayPal account,I used a photo ID to register it,I chatted PayPal’s support and told them that I don’t have a bank account connected to the PayPal account but a bank card,they didn’t respond to my messages,so I went ahead and upload the photo ID I used to register the PayPal account and the statement of the bank card I’m using on the PayPal account since ********************** couldn’t allow me link a bank account but a bank card, PayPal permanently limited my account immediately I uploaded the things they asked me to upload for a review, please I want you people to help me and resolve the issue so that I can have my account back, thanks.
Readers should review their options for merchant accounts with a history of great customer service to avoid situations like this.
A “C” Performance
The BBB justifies its rating by citing the length of time PayPal has been in business, the complaint volume versus PayPal’s size, the company’s response to complaints, the rate of resolution of those complaints, and the fact that the BBB has sufficient background information on PayPal. Based on PayPal’s complaint count, resolution ratio, and size, we are adjusting this section’s rating to a “C” for the purposes of this review.
Card Processing Rates & Fees
PayPal Here Pricing
PayPal Here, considered to be one of the best mobile processing options, offers a selection of four different card readers and an app that is compatible with most iPhone and Android devices. The swipe fee for processing a VISA or MasterCard transaction by sliding a card through the attached reader is a flat percentage of 2.7%, and the keyed rate is 3.5% + $0.15 per transaction. PayPal Here has no setup fees, monthly fees, processing minimums, or cancellation fees.
Updated Pricing Structure
PayPal Here formerly had some caveats in its pricing that apparently expired on April 15, 2012. For instance, PayPal Here charged 3.5% for swiped American Express cards but was rebating clients the difference to bring the final fee down to 2.7%. It appears that the rate for all cards, including American Express, is now lowered to 2.7%. Additionally, clients who already use PayPal’s Virtual Terminal may see an increase in their pricing as all Virtual Terminal Transactions are subject to a rate of 3.5% + $0.15, which also applies to keyed-in PayPal Here transactions. Clients who already use PayPal Pro products may also see a decrease in their pricing as all PayPal Payments Pro transactions are charged the 2.7% that applies to Swiped PayPal Here transactions. It’s a little confusing, but these rare cases may occasionally cause merchants to notice pricing discrepancies.
PayPal Here Readers
PayPal Here charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per invoice payment through the app and an additional 1.5% above its usual fees for international payments. PayPal Here offers a headphone jack card swiper free when you sign up for the service (MSRP of $14.99), though sales through this hardware are subject to the company’s automatic reserve policies. The reserve policy for this reader means that keyed-in transactions and sales over $500 in a 7-day period are subject to an automatic 30-day reserve where funds are held in your PayPal account to cover the high risk associated with these types of transactions. Clients who wish to avoid holds of their funds under this policy may benefit from exploring high-risk merchant accounts better suited to process these transactions. Alternatively, PayPal Here’s most popular piece of hardware is an EMV-compatible Bluetooth chip and swipe reader which is also free when signed up (MSRP of $24.99). The company’s most comprehensive piece of hardware is an EMV/NFC-compatible Bluetooth swiper for $79.99.
Bottom Line
Due in no small part to its already 361 million registered users, PayPal has become a major player in the credit card processing arena with PayPal Here. The app seemed to be holding its own in the face of numerous competitors and rapid changes and has shown itself to be a solid mobile processing service for U.S. and UK-based merchants alike. However, the service is now mothballed in favor of the newer PayPal Zettle.
PayPal Here Rating
