When I started signing up with different MSC, I avoided all of those who would only pay through paypay. Accepting to be paid only by direct deposit or cheque. I don't use PayPal or even buy anything online. However I've noticed an MSC who pays only through PayPal that has interesting shops in my area. In fact two comics store shops that were also bonused. So I've decided to take the plunge and sign up with them and take the shops. Are you satisfied with getting paid through PayPal? Can you transfer the money to a bank account without paying any commissions or is it just to use to make online purchases? Thanks for your input.

I'd rather be paid through PayPal, and wish that at least one company I shop for would offer a PayPal option. You can withdraw the money to your bank account or leave a balance for online purchases if you wish. You don't pay a fee to receive payments. I think I once read (maybe here?) that some MSC's don't have an arrangement by which they absorb the fee, but that may not be accurate. I don't know. I don't have fees on my MS payments, but I don't work for that many companies.

One nice thing is that it keeps your mystery-shopping payments in one place, and you can run periodic reports (I do mine yearly, but you can do monthly, quarterly, or customized periods) and sort them by vendor, so you can keep track of your payments and/or use it (as I do) to total your MS income for tax purposes.

Pay Pal is very convenient and easy to use. I only use it for shopping pay. The money gets put into my pay pal account and then I move it to my bank account. Some companies will pass the small fee of $1.00 or so on to you, but those companies (all the ones I know of) also use direct deposit. I use direct deposit for all the MSC's that have it but Pay Pal works fine too.

That's interesting, thank you! I guess I'm old fashioned when it comes to payment.

I have been using paypal for years. You can get a debit card, for instant access to your funds. I transfer the money to my bank. In the last month, all my transfers have happened within 24 hours, which is faster than normal. It used to take 2-3 days, which I was fine with, but now, they money shows up in my account the next day.

Many companies seem to prefer to pay through PayPal, and that is just fine with me. I would rather give out the email address associated with my PayPal account than give out my bank account information. Checks that are mailed can get lost too easily.
It is easy to tranfer the money to your bank account from PayPal. You can also pay with PayPal at certain stores using their app.

I've used PayPal for years with EBay. Because of old horror stories out there I tied my Mystery Shopping PayPal account to a bank account with minimal funds in it. I get paid, transfer it to the bank account, then transfer that to another account.
One MSC I signed up with offered Direct Deposit, PayPal and paper checks. Checks took the longest and they wanted to charge a fee for PayPal so I went with Direct Deposit for them.

I love my PayPal. I love transferring to my bank without having to deposit a check.

I certainly have found PayPal to be very satisfactory. I used it when I was eBaying both as a seller and a buyer without issues and I have used it for shops for more than a decade. My preference for payments is still: direct deposit, PayPal, paper check. I like to have my payments arrive without depending on the USPS to get them here or the honesty of others to stay out of my mailbox.

I get a notice when a payment hits my PayPal, I can immediately set up a withdrawal and transfer, in 2-3 business days the money is in my bank account. I get a direct deposit and the next day it is 'cleared funds' in my bank account. I get a paper check that has been wallowing in the USPS for a week, remote deposit it and the funds are available 8 or 9 days after the check was cut.

I agree with everything that's been said about Paypal so far:

-It's nice to provide just an email address to get paid instead of all my bank information
-Paypal lets you transfer the funds immediately to your bank account. I have an alert on my account so that it sends me an email every time I get a deposit. I send the money to my bank account and it has been there the next day most of the time (expectation is 2-3 business days or so).
-You can request a free Paypal Debit card for your account. I find this helpful, especially when you're worn your poor regular debit or credit card out using it too much at gas stations. It's nice to have an extra card that has a few shekels in it for emergencies.
-If you use the Paypal Debit card, you can have them send you an email with the receipt for each transaction. It's usually sitting in my inbox when I get home from the shop I just used the Paypal Debit card on.
-Electronic processing of payments is faster and easier (for me) than receiving paper checks. I use a deposit app for checks that I receive, which is better than going to the bank. But Paypal is all done on the computer... no taking photos of the check or any of that nonsense.
-I don't work with any companies that charge a fee to receive Paypal payments, so I assume that they're few and far between.

@CaliGirl925 wrote:

-I don't work with any companies that charge a fee to receive Paypal payments, so I assume that they're few and far between.

There are a few that charge a fee for the PayPal payment but they tell you up front and I think, but am not absolutely sure, they all offer an option to be paid in a different way.

The two I can think of are Stericylce, which charges 3%, or a maximum of $1.50, and Second to None, which charges $1.00 for PayPal processing. Both these companies offer FREE direct deposit.

PayPal is my second preferred payment method, second to Direct Deposit. It is hassle-free and assists me in my record keeping. I don't incur any fee when using PayPal.

I'm with risinghorizon. Paypal is my second preferred payment method. It almost feels like Christmas to open my bank account and see a nice chunk of money has landed by direct deposit.

Paypal is good for all the reasons above, yet bad because it makes spending the money on Ebay way too easy.

Also, I have done work and was paid in Euros in my Paypal account. I was sitting on the Euros until just this week when a manufacturer from Budapest sold something I wanted only in Euros and I didn't have to pay the fee to have the dollars converted.

I may tell that European company to make that mistake again. They only did it once.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2015 07:13PM by scanman1.

I've been using PayPal for about 12 years and like it for all the same positive reasons stated above. I transfer money to a bank account and also have and use the PP debit card. I know nothing is 100% safe anymore as far as cybercrime is concerned, but I've always felt that PayPal is one of the more secure companies out there, based on my experiences as a customer of theirs and also a long-time ebay seller.

It is so true that, "nothing is 100% safe anymore as far as cybercrime is concerned." I chuckled the other day because my year of identity theft protection from one company ended a month or two ago and the next company that got hacked has stepped up for my next year of identity theft protection. Meanwhile I had a credit card get used fraudulently (my card was in my possession) and notices were flying to me of suspected fraud within hours. That got cleared up with minimal effort and no out of pocket expense on my part. I'm feeling reasonably well protected because the companies don't want to lose the money that sloppiness and fraud will cost them.

I just transfer from paypal to my bank account and it's free. I think the limit for free transfer from paypal to a bank account is $500 a month. So if you want to transfer more than $500 a month that might be an issue.

It seems to me that there was some minor requirement such as linking a credit card to the account or provide an SSN to have the $500 amount lifted. Snoop around the site and I'm sure you will find it. I had to do that maybe 7-8 ago so I really don't remember what the deal was.

I hate Paypal, but it's one of those necessary evils. I just take my money out immediately Chargebacks and recurrent subscription can really screw you otherwise.

There's really no reason to avoid PayPal that I have seen. Not sure why some people are so scared of it. I ran a business that go paid in excess of $100k a year through paypal for 7-8 years and never had any problems. I LOVE the 1% CashBack on the debit card. Why transfer to your bank? Use the debit card and get 1% back. There were many months I would have $100+ in cashback.

From what I understand, they discontinued the debit card in Canada. Other than that, it is a great payment method. It is easy to set up, or change around accounts that are attached.

I've had paypal for at least 6 years. Debit cards weren't an option here (I'm also Canadian).

I have used PP for the last 13-14 or so years for my main business. In all these years I've only had one client try to do a charge back and that was earlier this year [so at least 13 years without any issues] and totally knocked down by PP once I went through the resolution center, as they were very obviously in breach of contract [they were also a serious pain in the tush and totally in the wrong!]. About 75% or better of my income comes in through PP. I no longer have a regular checking account, because the remainder is paid in cash when clients come to pick up, as I don't accept checks. I prefer PP over anything - simply request the paypal debit card to go with your account, and you can spend the money the minute it posts into your account. I pay bills, utilities, gas, groceries, everything with mine. If I carry a huge balance I move the excess into savings or to another debit card that stays home. I don't believe in traveling or being on the road with a debit card that sits on a big balance, unless I need it to pay for a big ticket item...

I did open a second basic account recently, because I don't like to mix up business earnings and it is easier to keep track of stuff for tax purposes, and I got a second debit card for direct deposits. Just easy peasy!

I prefer PayPal, it keeps my payments in one place. It's easier to set up than Direct Deposit. I have never had a problem transferring the money to my bank. There is no fee to do that. Only CORI passed the fee on to me so far.

love pp, but, I have to keep on my toes as my DH takes the money to buy more crap online.. If I didn't take my money, we'd never have any.. hate spendthrifts!

yes, good point Amber... it is annoyingly convenient to use the PayPal funds on shopping websites. And not just eBay! A lot of online stores take PayPal now, those jerks!

Some regular brick and stones stores have terminals that allow for paypal transactions as well. However - if you apply for a debit card associated with your paypal account - this is like an ATM card to your bank account. You can use this anywhere you would use a regular credit or debit card which is basically pretty much everywhere. There are very few places these days that do not accept CCs...

@amberngriffinco wrote:

love pp, but, I have to keep on my toes as my DH takes the money to buy more crap online.. If I didn't take my money, we'd never have any.. hate spendthrifts!

Make him get his own account! Or change your password + use dual authentication (where paypal sends you a text with a code to enter along w/password login)!

I have been using pay for years, I have no complaints. They have been good to me even when I had messed up once. No charges to answer yur qestion. Easy to transfer money to bank account takes a couple of days for transaction to be completed. All in all I am completely satisfied with paypal. Excellent service.

I've used Paypal for my previous business, and therefore have a business account. With that, you also get a debit card, which is very convenient. And if ever that IRS question pops up again, they keep excellent records at PP.

Since we all are professionals, it might be worth considering to use primarily Paypal. Incoming payments are free, and you get a tiny cash amount back at the end of the month, if you use the debit card like a credit card.
Sofar, only CoRI had charged me and I don't really work much for them anymore.