PayPal: Difference between revisions
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{{ | {{CompanyCargo | ||
| | |Description=American platform for online payments. | ||
| | |Founded=1998 | ||
| | |Industry=Financial technology | ||
| | |Logo=PayPal.png | ||
| | |ParentCompany= | ||
| | |Type=Public | ||
|Website=https://paypal.com/ | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''{{Wplink|PayPal|PayPal Holdings, Inc.}}''' is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers. It serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders. The company operates as a payment processor for online vendors, auction sites and many other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. | |||
==Consumer impact summary== | |||
{{Ph-C-CIS}} | |||
== | |||
=== | *'''Arbitration:''' "You and PayPal each agree that any and all disputes or claims [...] shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration or in small claims court. You or PayPal may assert claims in small claims court instead of in arbitration if the claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in small claims court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis."<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=PAYPAL USER AGREEMENT |url=https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/useragreement-full |website=PayPal |date=26 Jan 2026 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260303092217/https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/useragreement-full |archive-date=3 Mar 2026}}</ref> | ||
PayPal | *'''Censorship''': PayPal prohibits ''anything'' they consider "Adult Content" or "obscene" ([[wikipedia:Not_safe_for_work|NSFW]]), even when the content is part of a private transaction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-29 |title=Acceptable Use Policy |url=https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/acceptableuse-full |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260313194719/https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/acceptableuse-full |archive-date=2026-03-13 |access-date=2026-03-16 |website=Legal Agreements for PayPal Services}}</ref> This doesn't protect kids, it needlessly limits the ways in which artists earn money, and content users can consume.{{Citation needed}} | ||
*'''Market control:''' In countries outside of the European Union (EU), PayPal has a duopoly as a payment handler, along with [[Stripe]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woods |first=Evelyn "eevee" |date=2025-07-03 |title=The rise of Whatever |url=https://eev.ee/blog/2025/07/03/the-rise-of-whatever/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260312024943/https://eev.ee/blog/2025/07/03/the-rise-of-whatever |archive-date=2026-03-12 |access-date=2026-03-16 |website=fuzzy notepad}}</ref> | |||
==Incidents== | |||
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]]. | |||
https:// | ===Ends transaction fee refunds (''2019'')=== | ||
Effective 7 May 2019, PayPal stopped refunding transaction fees on refunds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meldner |first=Richard |title=PayPal Will No Longer Refund Transaction Fees On Refunds |url=https://eseller365.com/paypal-will-no-longer-refund-transaction-fees-on-refunds/ |website=eSeller365 |date=6 Apr 2019 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251005165446/https://eseller365.com/paypal-will-no-longer-refund-transaction-fees-on-refunds/ |archive-date=5 Oct 2025}}</ref> PayPal announced they would undo this policy change, and then a few months later re-implemented it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Statt |first=Nick |date=2019-09-21 |title=PayPal reinstates controversial policy of pocketing fees from refunds |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/20/20876570/paypal-refund-fee-policy-change-sellers-controversy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250917201037/https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/20/20876570/paypal-refund-fee-policy-change-sellers-controversy |archive-date=2025-09-17 |access-date=2026-03-14}}</ref> | |||
===Introduces an inactivity fee for certain countries (''2021—'')=== | |||
Sometime in 2021, and later expanding it to more countries in 2022, PayPal began charging an inactivity fee in Canada and the EU.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brinkmann |first=Martin |title=Here is what you need to know about PayPal's Inactivity Fee |url=https://www.ghacks.net/2022/11/16/here-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-paypals-inactivity-fee/ |website=ghacks |date=16 Nov 2022 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116162657/https://www.ghacks.net/2022/11/16/here-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-paypals-inactivity-fee/ |archive-date=16 Nov 2022}}</ref> | |||
https:// | If you don't log in or don't have transactions for a year you will be charged $20 CAD or €10 each year. Then, when there are no more funds in the account, they will close your account. If you have not logged in they assume you have seen the changed terms and agree to the changes and thus the fees.<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=What is the inactivity fee? |url=https://www.paypal.com/ca/cshelp/article/what-is-the-inactivity-fee-help947 |website=PayPal |date= |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260124082923/https://www.paypal.com/ca/cshelp/article/what-is-the-inactivity-fee-help947 |archive-date=24 Jan 2026}}</ref> | ||
=== | ===Restricts purchase of Steam games to certain currencies (''2025'')=== | ||
PayPal | Beginning in early July 2025, PayPal limited the purchasing of games on [[Steam]] to the following currencies:<ref>{{Cite web |last=David |first=Carcasole |title=PayPal Is Only Processing Steam Purchases in EUR, CAD, GBP, JPY, AUD, and USD |url=https://wccftech.com/paypal-only-processing-steam-purchases-eur-cad-gbp-jpy-aud-usd/ |website=wccftech |date=12 Aug 2025 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251009090046/https://wccftech.com/paypal-only-processing-steam-purchases-eur-cad-gbp-jpy-aud-usd/ |archive-date=9 Oct 2025}}</ref> | ||
*U.S. dollar (USD) | |||
*Canadian dollar (CAD) | |||
*Euro (EUR) | |||
*British pound (GBP) | |||
*Japanese yen (JPY) | |||
*Australian dollar (AUD) | |||
No official reason was provided, however the timing of it does somewhat line up with [[Collective Shout]]'s campaign of [[Valve allows ISPs and payment processors to censor content on Steam|pressuring payment processors]] to censor certain content on Steam. There is no proof of this, though. | |||
== | ==Violations of the GDPR (''2025'')== | ||
PayPal | The introduction of the [[General Data Protection Regulation]] (GDPR) in 2018 in Europe forced PayPal to disclose a list of third-party companies they shared user data with. The list included over 600 different companies, from fraud prevention to analytics, tracking, and advertising companies.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author= |title=List of Third Parties with Whom Personal Information May be Shared |url=https://www.paypal.com/ie/legalhub/paypal/third-parties-list |website=PayPal |date=1 July 2025 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260117193303/https://www.paypal.com/ie/legalhub/paypal/third-parties-list |archive-date=17 Jan 2026}}</ref> | ||
In December 2025, a study by Netzwerk Datenschutzexpertise (Data Privacy Expertise Network) found PayPal to be violating the GDPR in several instances. It lists unlawful data processing for advertising purposes, invalid consent practices, and violations of the principle "Privacy by Default", as required by Article 25 of the GDPR.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Schuler |first1=Karin |last2=Weichert |first2=Thilo |title=Datenschutz bei PayPal — Big Tech und Finanzdienstleistungen |trans-title=Data privacy at PayPal — Big Tech and financial services |url=https://www.netzwerk-datenschutzexpertise.de/sites/default/files/gut_2025_12_paypal.pdf |website=Netzwerk Datenschutzexpertise |date=10 Dec 2025 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251212191337/https://www.netzwerk-datenschutzexpertise.de/sites/default/files/gut_2025_12_paypal.pdf |archive-date=12 Dec 2025 |lang=de |format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Koch |first=Marie-Claire |title=Expert Report: Massive Data Protection Violations at PayPal |url=https://www.heise.de/en/news/Expert-Report-Massive-Data-Protection-Violations-at-PayPal-11112066.html |website=Heise Online |date=11 Dec 2025 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251228190640/https://www.heise.de/en/news/Expert-Report-Massive-Data-Protection-Violations-at-PayPal-11112066.html |archive-date=28 Dec 2025}}</ref> | |||
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== | ==Products== | ||
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==See also== | |||
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==References== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]] | |||