With an increasing number of people working from home, it is no surprise that more people are accepting payments through the online payment system Paypal. Digital wallets have become commonplace, especially among Gen Z and millennials, and Paypal holds over three-fourths of the market share for digital wallets.
More and more people are monetizing their social media accounts with the help of YouTubeStorm, and usually, payments are accepted via Paypal. Freelance websites also tend towards the very easy-to-use and reliable system. In the latest move from the company, we can expect to see payments in more brick-and-mortar stores to have a Paypal option now.
Why Digital Wallets Are Popular
Although more often seen among the younger generations, it is safe to say that digital wallets are gaining popularity in all age groups. Contactless payment is viewed as a safer and more convenient form of payment. All you need is a phone, which you would have been carrying anyway, right?
As the global pandemic is going towards possibly a third wave, there is heightened awareness of hygienic practices. People have a fear of touching things such as paper money which is known to be extremely dirty, and potentially a carrier of disease.
Many digital wallet users also report that they are awarded more flexibility by using them, whilst additionally feeling more secure. Paper money is more easily stolen, and thus seen as less safe. Also, digital wallets are more difficult to hack into than credit or debit cards.
Paypal in Retail
According to an article in Forbes magazine, Paypal is already available in 600,000 retail locations. They expect that the company will move “aggressively” forward with making its system available in a variety of cash-dominated markets such as pharmacies and grocery stores. This move can potentially add billions in revenue to Paypal.
Stores that accept Paypal as a payment report more customer satisfaction, and an increase in successful check-out rates. This means that more people are able to finalize their purchases, as no obstacles to payment are in their way.
When conducting person-to-person payments, it is a lot easier for people to remember their PayPal user names than it is to remember their bank account information. Usually, bank account numbers are a long string of numbers that can easily be misremembered, whereas PayPal accounts are based on an email and thus are already a commonly remembered piece of information.
How Secure is Paypal?
Even though any service online (whether it is banking-related or not) is prone to hacking, Paypal is one of the most secure out there. It also offers users extra security measures such as two-factor authentication. This is a system where, for example, you get a code on your phone after you’ve already swiped a card. That is, two steps are required to ensure the transaction is indeed done by the account holder.
All transactions that go through the service are encrypted, of course. Another security feature PayPal uses includes a single vault system to store all their data. Also, because there is a detailed account of the transaction, returning money (or getting it back from a company) is easier as there are no paper receipts to keep – the system already has the receipts saved for you.
Paypal has been in the market since the beginning of the internet, and it has only more success in its future. For those that do not use digital wallets that often, it can still be useful in accepting or sending payments online without sharing bank information, thus being safer than the alternative. Digital wallets might soon gain enough popularity to warrant their use in payment or salaries of corporate companies and government organizations.
