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Comment by rr888 | Hacker News Reader

In general is there any reason to use PayPal? I think 15 years ago people were no used to using their credit card on the web but now its normal.

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Because I don't like to enter my card details into a random site. Even if I trust the company in general, I still don't know how secure their infrastructure is.

Having a dedicated card/account for just paypal is easier.

I'm the same way I like paypal to mask this. However some credit cards now have "virtual cards" that give you a temporary online number that you can use for specific transactions. It's another great way to avoid your data getting out there. I use one from Citibank as I have a CC from them.

I highly recommend that instead of Paypal too if you suspect a site will have a much higher chance you'll need to reverse a charge. Paypal has longer wait times for disputes than the CC companies. CC companies will also have your back a bit more, typically.

If you set up a wise account you can create virtual cards - achieves the same outcome (minus paypal).

Some services demand PayPal if you want to receive money - for example BandCamp.

You can link it to your IBAN, which lets you pay using SEPA Direct Debit. This is pretty useful if you don’t have or don’t want to use a credit card.

PayPal doesn't have foreign transaction fees while most credit cards (at least in the US) do.

Paypal doesn't assess a forex fee as a separate line item, maybe. They document[1] that the "conversion rates" they give are 3-4% worse than wholesale, which is at least as bad as every credit card I've ever held.

[1]: https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/where-can-i-find...

Currency conversion is different but I'm not sure if it is necessarily worse with PayPal, although I haven't compared that as closely (I think credit cards often don't give great currency conversion rates either in addition to the foreign transaction fee). I sometimes make USD transactions outside the US (GOG, some donations) and for this PayPal doesn't charge me anything (not sure about the other side) while credit cards do (there are some that don't, but those have other issues for me). I'm not certain I've tried Bandcamp payments without a PayPal account, possibly there isn't a fee there since PayPal still processes the payments. I think I have made credit card payments to Canadian companies that accept USD without being charged the fee but I'm not sure if Canada is exempt or if the payment processor manages things so it doesn't apply.

It used to be completely rediculous how much PayPal would charge for conversion at the time of a transaction, but recently (I think in response to a lawsuit) it is only somewhat unreasonable (probably the 4% you mention). You can still get a better rate if you have funds in PayPal and do the conversion first and pay in the correct currency. However, then you risk a lengthy pain if PayPal decides to close your account randomly or block your access to it.

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