PayPal review: products, pricing and markets (2026)

PayPal is a US-listed payments group (Nasdaq: PYPL) that runs a consumer digital wallet, merchant checkout and card processing, and brands including Venmo, Braintree and Xoom, with 440 million active accounts at 30 September 2026. In the EU it operates through PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., a Luxembourg credit institution supervised by the CSSF; in the UK through PayPal UK Ltd, an FCA-authorised electronic money institution; and in the US through PayPal, Inc., which holds state money transmitter licences.

At a glance

Key figures

The Q3 2026 release, dated 27 October 2026, names Enrique Lores as chief executive.

Products and services

PayPal wallet and checkout

The core product is a stored-value wallet that lets consumers pay online merchants without re-entering card details, send money to other users and hold balances. According to the FY2025 10-K, users can send payments in about 140 currencies, withdraw to bank accounts in 57 currencies and hold balances in 24. For merchants, the PayPal button works as an alternative payment method alongside cards at checkout.

Card processing and Braintree

PayPal sells card acceptance to merchants under its own name (advanced card processing, virtual terminal) and, for larger and enterprise clients, through Braintree. Braintree sells into the same enterprise segment as Stripe and Adyen. Our explainer on gateways, PSPs and acquirers covers how these roles differ.

Venmo

Venmo is PayPal's US app for payments between people, listed as a core brand in the FY2025 10-K.

Credit and buy now, pay later

The 10-K lists PayPal Credit and buy now, pay later products in the US, Germany, France, the UK and Australia, plus Paidy in Japan. In the UK, PayPal UK Ltd holds an FCA consumer credit permission (FRN 996405). Merchants weighing BNPL options often compare this with Klarna.

Xoom, Hyperwallet and payouts

The 10-K lists Xoom and Hyperwallet among PayPal's brands. The UK fee page also prices PayPal Payouts at 2% of the amount, capped at £10 for domestic payouts. Platforms paying many recipients may also want to read our Payoneer profile.

PayPal USD (PYUSD)

PayPal offers a US dollar stablecoin, PYUSD, which the 10-K says is issued by a third-party issuer. Cryptoasset products carry their own risks and rules, including the UK financial promotions regime and, in the EU, MiCA.

Fees and pricing

PayPal publishes standard merchant rates by country. The table below uses the UK merchant fees page, last updated on 1 October 2026 and checked on 3 November 2026. Rates differ in other markets and can be negotiated for larger merchants.

Interchange plus pricing is also listed for card processing (interchange plus 1.2% plus a fixed fee). The page notes that interchange ranges from about 0.2% to 2%.

Markets, currencies and payment methods

The FY2025 10-K describes about 200 markets and 439 million active accounts at 31 December 2025. Currency handling (140 currencies to send, 57 to withdraw, 24 to hold) matters for cross-border sellers, since conversion at 3% above the base rate in the UK can add up on foreign sales.

The UK fee page prices PayPal checkout, card payments (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and others), BNPL, QR code payments and other alternative payment methods separately. Coverage of specific local methods varies by market and product, so the fee page and merchant agreement for each country are the reference.

Regulation in brief

The UK entity's company number is 14741686. The UK service description gives two different London addresses for the registered office (5 Fleet Place and 76 Upper Ground), so we have not listed one. In December 2025 PayPal applied to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC to set up PayPal Bank, a proposed industrial loan company; the 10-K states that approval is not assured.

To confirm any of these entries yourself, search the entity name or reference on the FCA register, the CSSF entity search or NMLS Consumer Access. Our guide on how to check a financial licence walks through each step.

Who it tends to suit

• Online merchants selling to consumers who already hold PayPal accounts, where a recognised wallet button may help checkout completion.
• Small sellers that want published, self-serve pricing rather than a negotiated quote.
• Marketplaces and platforms paying out to many recipients, through Hyperwallet or Payouts.
• Larger merchants that want a single provider for wallet, cards and BNPL, typically through Braintree.

Merchants focused mainly on low-cost card processing at scale sometimes compare PayPal with enterprise processors. Our PayPal alternatives page sets out the main options.

What to check before signing up

• Which PayPal entity will hold your contract (EU, UK or US) and which regulator supervises it.
• The fee page for your own country, not the UK table above, and whether tiered or interchange plus pricing is available.
• Cross-border and currency conversion costs on your expected mix of foreign customers.
• Dispute and chargeback fees, and the reserve or hold policies in the user agreement.
• Whether BNPL is offered to your customers' country and how it is priced.
• Settlement timing and the currencies you can withdraw to your bank account.