PayPal is an enormous percent of total sales at my company. We accept all sorts of other payments types. So we drop PayPal and then what exactly? Suffer the loss of customers?
If using Paypal imposes additional operational risk, it's entirely reasonable to charge users extra for using Paypal. Offer them lower prices for using a payment method that isn't 100% shite.
As a seller, you are going against paypal TOS if you charge a fee to use it, the same way a credit card carries the risk of chargebacks but you aren't alowed to charge a credit card fee. I agree that this would be an effective risk-management tactic (less the fact that the fee you charge to mitigate the risk still gets processed by the risk factor) but it would also worsen your chances of getting banned.
This is indeed what I would do if I'd absolutely have to use PayPal. Customers can use it if they really want to, but they're the ones paying for the risk.
I pay a few companies by PayPal. I even switch to competitors if they are very similar (reputational-wise too) and one accepts PayPal while the other requires my credit card; but that doesn't happen very often.
The issue is that the credit card system is broken. PayPal is a bit less broken from the customer POV. (At least in my country, where if they just removed money from my bank account, I'd go to the police and somebody would likely be arrested - or rather, I'd report to my bank, confident they would go to the police.)
I have no good solution to this either. Fixing the credit card system requires replacing credit cards, and the US will be an enemy of anybody that tries that.
For me, it's the extra security and convenience. If the website doesn't use Shopify/PayPal, I'm trusting them with my credit card information and who knows how good their database security is.
It's the total lack of security. With the automatic consequence that all kinds security theater get imposed, stripping people of all kinds of rights, and solving none of the problems.
As a customer, I don't see the fees. But yes, by an eagle-eyes view the amount of inefficiency on the system is a problem too, as is the oligopolization. But those don't get in my mind when I make that kind of choice.
> It's the total lack of security. With the automatic consequence that all kinds security theater get imposed, stripping people of all kinds of rights, and solving none of the problems.
Not that I’m claiming that credit cards are a bastion of security, but could you be more specific?
What rights are you giving up? What inefficiencies do you see?
Have you tried promoting other methods such as standard credit card payments above PayPal? Have you AB tested removing PayPal? It could be a convenience but not a blocker.
