Are you looking for PayPal alternatives for freelancers to collect payments in WordPress? PayPal is one of the easiest platforms to collect payments on your website. However, it is not available in all countries and not all of your clients may want to use it. In this article, we will share some of the best PayPal alternatives for freelancers to collect payments in WordPress.
Why Look for PayPal Alternatives to Accept Online Payments
PayPal has made online transactions fast and hassle-free. Allowing WordPress site owners to make money online by selling products and services.
However, there are certain issues with PayPal which leads to many searching for PayPal alternatives.
For example, there are a number of developing countries where PayPal does not work. PayPal transaction charges are also on the higher side and can significantly build up over time.
Perhaps the biggest reason why people are searching for PayPal alternatives is its uncertain behavior. Many PayPal accounts have been blocked or suspended for small issues, which has caused major losses for a number of PayPal users.
That being said, here are 7 payment services that you can use as PayPal alternatives on your WordPress site.
1. Stripe
Stripe has quickly become the most popular PayPal alternative and one of the most popular payment gateways. Unfortunately, it is only available in select few countries.
The best part about using Stripe is lower fees, ease of use, and seamless integration into popular WordPress eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify.
If you don’t want to set up a complete online store, then you can create a simple form with WPForms to collect payments via Stripe from your clients.
Stripe fees vary depending on which country you are in. For the United States, they have a fixed 2.9% + 30¢ fee for any successful credit card charge.
2. Transferwise
Transferwise allows your clients to pay you directly in your local currency. Your clients will be charged for the payment, and it will be sent to your bank account as a local transfer.
It is available in many countries and currencies. Transferwise fees vary depending on the location of both sender and receiver. However, we have found it to be often way lower than other payment services or a direct wire transfer. They also use the same exchange rate that you see on Google or XE, which also saves you additional money in currency exchange.
One downside is that Transferwise doesn’t allow business payments to be sent in some countries. Make sure to check the country page before requesting your clients to send you money for pricing and business payment status.
3. Bitcoin
Cryptocurrencies are all the rage these days. Bitcoin is one of the first and the most well-known cryptocurrency in the world. Bitcoin also allows users to send and receive money across borders without the need for an intermediary such as a bank or a money transfer operator who takes a cut out of the transaction.
If your client is familiar with Bitcoin, then they can easily transfer money to your Bitcoin wallet. You can then convert this amount into local currency through a Bitcoin exchange, use the amount online, or transfer it to any other payment service.
Coinbase, a bitcoin trading platform, allows businesses to accept bitcoin payments. It is already being used by top companies like Expedia, Dell, Intuit, Wikimedia Foundation, and more.
4. Payoneer
Payoneer is a reliable name in the online payments industry. It is available in many countries around the world. There are currently no integrations available to connect it directly to your eCommerce or membership website. However, you can request clients to send payments via Payoneer.
Payoneer also makes it quite convenient to withdraw payments into your local bank account or use Payoneer branded debit card to withdraw payments from ATMs anywhere in the world. The downside is that their fees are higher compared to Stripe or PayPal, but lower than some other payment service providers.
For accepting credit card payments directly from clients, you will be charged 3% of the transaction amount. Additionally, you will be charged $1.50 for the local bank transfers in the same currency. If you are withdrawing an amount in another currency account, then you will pay an additional 2% of the transaction amount.
5. QuickBooks
QuickBooks is one of the best accounting software for freelancers and professionals. It allows you to easily send invoices to your clients and accept payments directly into your bank account.
Your clients can click on the play button anytime and make payments using their credit card. QuickBooks is an accounting software so you can connect it to your credit cards, bank account, and PayPal to capture all your transactions.
QuickBooks Payments is a pay as you go solution. Fees for an invoiced payment is 2.9% + 25¢ on each transaction. If you charge more than $7,500 a month, then you can contact them for a discounted rate.
6. 2Checkout
2Checkout is one of the most known payment gateways and a good PayPal alternative. All popular eCommerce plugins for WordPress have addons to integrate 2Checkout as your payment gateway. You can also add it to your online store and start selling products to countries where Stripe or PayPal are not supported.
2Checkout offers different payment withdrawal methods, and you can even integrate your Payoneer debit card to withdraw payments. Other notable features include recurring payments, hosted checkout experience, multiple currencies, and language support.
2Checkout charges differ depending on which country you are located in. For the United States, you will be charged 2.9% of the transaction amount + 30¢ on each transaction.
7. Google Wallet
Google Wallet is another excellent option to replace PayPal for your payments. It is currently only available in the United States and the United Kingdom, and you cannot send payments from the US to the UK. It doesn’t have an out of box integration available for any WordPress eCommerce platform.
Like many other Google tools and services, it does not charge any fees for sending or receiving money. This makes it a great option for freelancers who want to request client payments through Google Wallet.
We hope this article helped you find the best PayPal alternatives to collect payments in WordPress. You may also want to see our ultimate step by step WordPress security guide for beginners.
