Most people know about the online payment company PayPal. It has been around since the late 1990s, when it first got famous by helping people accept payments for eBay purchases. It did such a good job at it that eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion in 2002.
In 2015, PayPal and eBay started going their separate ways. Since then, PayPal has set out to distinguish itself as a standalone payment tool. So far, it’s thriving. And its new service, PayPal Commerce Platform, looks like it may be the killer app that secures the company’s future.
PayPal Commerce Platform in a nutshell
PayPal Commerce Platform is a collection of tools that aims to serve the complete financial needs of businesses. The tools cover end-to-end payment fulfillment and are comparable to services like Square and Stripe. But PayPal Commerce Platform is trying to be the most comprehensive service available.
Even though modern services like this usually appeal more to newer businesses and startups, PayPal isn’t stopping with just those demographics. It’s dedicated to providing services that will help more established enterprises continue to grow as well.
The many ways PayPal Commerce Platform accepts payments
Online payments
Where would PayPal be without online payments? People already know and trust the traditional PayPal Checkout service, but PayPal Commerce Platform adds even more features.
PayPal offers invoicing and estimate services for contract work. PayPal Commerce Platform allows service providers to set up recurring payments and subscriptions as well.
It even offers customers “pay later” options through payment plans and PayPal Credit. The installment payment plans don’t cost your business additional fees and are interest-free for your clients if paid in full within six months.
Payments from your place of business
PayPal doesn’t have a cash register, but it does offer point-of-sale card readers with swipe, chip, or tap options. It also has a nifty QR code payment system that lets customers pay by scanning the code with the PayPal app on their phone.
Other ways to get paid
PayPal allows you to get paid through social media (with a PayPal Business account) and even over the phone as well. With PayPal Commerce Platform, you can also accept payments through Venmo.
Fraud and risk prevention
PayPal uses smart tools and technology to keep your business and your money secure. Its fraud detection uses machine learning to grow and adapt to your business over time.
PayPal helps protect you from dishonest sellers with tools like anti-money-laundering controls. Its dispute resolution services protect you from dishonest customers. And it protects you from yourself by simplifying compliance and providing risk-management advice.
PayPal Commerce Platform even helps manage your business
PayPal Commerce Platform gives you insights into your business with reports and analytics, which can show you where your money is coming from so you can focus on those areas.
It also helps with tracking and shipping by giving you discounts on shipping labels and access to tracking services within the software.
PayPal Commerce Platform supports API integration
If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve probably bought something that redirected you to a PayPal payment page. That redirect can break up the sales flow and possibly cause you to lose customers.
It’s better to have a streamlined checkout process that blends smoothly into your website, giving it a consistent finish. PayPal makes that possible with its API.
The API is thoroughly documented and covers the full PayPal Commerce Platform offering. In other words, the API does more than let you drop a payment form into your website.
Even easier PayPal integration
If you want to add custom PayPal payment forms to your website without mucking around with the API, Jotform can help. Jotform works well with standard PayPal transactions as well as PayPal Commerce Platform transactions.
PayPal Commerce Platform covers a lot of ground. But even PayPal didn’t think of everything. You can use Jotform to fill in any missing pieces you may find when gathering customer data.
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