In this article, we ask the key questions; what is Paypal's refund policy, and how does it impact businesses and freelancers?

Paypal is making it harder, costlier and riskier to do business in 2021  

The latest policy change from PayPal is not a good one. Despite the fact that PayPal is finally facing competition for its position as leader in the merchant service provider market, the company continues to push users away due to bad policies and anti-consumer practices.

The latest policy change we speak of is in regards to their fees. To put it simply; PayPal is no longer refunding fees on refunds. For example, if a customer pays $10,000 for an item on your online store and then cancels the order shortly after, you as the merchant will have a $290 fee from Paypal. This fee is no longer refundable. Despite the fact that the transaction was cancelled.

PayPal's Refund Policy - Not the Industry Standard

No matter how you look at this, this policy is bad for business. Merchants will need to find ways to absorb or minimise these fees. Ultimately, the costs will be passed onto consumers.

PayPal claims that this refund policy is standard across the industry. It is difficult to agree with this statement. Most merchant service providers do not have a policy like this. So, what is the solution? PayPal has said that anyone who disagrees with any of their new terms is free to close their account. If you're a business and are using PayPal, we also recommend closing your PayPal account.

Is there an alternative to PayPal for small businesses?

Absolutely there is. The issue comes down to general awareness. The fact of the matter is that PayPal had been the largest and most dominant force in the merchant services game for years. Therefore, many have signed up to Paypal without being aware of superior alternatives.

A viable alternative to PayPal is Stripe. Consider the two companies side by side. Stripe charges 2.9% plus $0.30 for all U.S. card payments. PayPal also charges 2.9% plus $0.30 for transactions in the United States, but if your customers use an American Express card, this fee goes up to 3.5%. For non-U.S. cards, this fee is even higher: 4.4% plus a fixed fee based on the currency outside the U.S.

Both PayPal and Stripe offer recurring billing. PayPal charges a monthly fee of $10 to set up recurring billing (this is on top of the $30 monthly fee for the PayPal Pro account). There’s no monthly fee with Stripe and you only have to pay 0.5% on all recurring charges.

Choose the best alternative to Paypal for Business  

All in all, this is one of many policy changes that has come from within PayPal that has frustrated customers and business owners, giving them yet another reason to stop using the service and find an alternative. PayPal's refund policy for sellers makes the alternatives far more appealing.

If you run an e-commerce website or app that collects payments, we recommend you consider Stripe as an alternative merchant provider. Stripe provides users with Low Processing Fees, Fast Payment Times and allows consumers to Get Paid via domestic and international debit/credit cards, as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay and many more.

Better yet, by signing up with TillyPay your business will gain access to all the best aspects from Stripe but with no need for developer or coding expertise. TillyPay also helps merchants set up Subscriptions, makes it easy to get Invoices Paid from 132 Currencies.  

A TillyPay + Stripe Collaboration

We have to say that a TillyPay + Stripe combination provides the most comprehensive service for merchants.

If you are ready to make the switch and start doing business with TillyPay + Stripe, open an account with TillyPay right now. You'll automatically gain access to a Stripe account, as well as all the many benefits that TillyPay has to offer.