How Using PayPal Can Keep Your Online Transactions Safe
In a world before Payoneer, Apple Pay and Venmo, there was PayPal – the OG payment gateway. And even with all these new kids on the block, PayPal still dominates the digital payments market, with millions of users all over the world. In fact, PayPal is widely used by online merchants as an accepted payment method, with studies showing customers are 54% more likely to make a purchase when they can pay via PayPal. If you’ve never used PayPal before and are wondering whether it’s safe to use for your online transactions, we’re here to shed some light on how PayPal works to keep your online dealings private and secure.
Who Can Use PayPal?
Pretty much anyone can use PayPal to make payments as well as to accept payments. Many people use their PayPal accounts to purchase from online stores or even when gambling at online casinos. When making a deposit at an online platform featured on www.newcasinos.com, you can do so from your PayPal account and enjoy not paying extra deposit fees. Withdrawals of winnings via PayPal are also instant – a huge plus!
How Safe Is PayPal?
Right, back to business – is PayPal really as safe as it claims to be? You’ll be glad to hear we can confidently say that it’s very safe. Online security and user safety are top priorities for the company, which is why it has built its business around acting as an intermediary for facilitating online payments. Instead of revealing sensitive card or banking information to online retailers, your payment information is concealed. Even if a website you transact with ends up having a data breach, your personal information is secure.
There has been a recent trend of e-commerce websites being hacked and malware being installed that skims credit card information – using PayPal means this isn’t something you need to worry about.
Safety Features
Encryption Technology
PayPal is end-to-end encrypted, which means your data is encrypted as soon as it is entered and will remain encrypted when it reaches the receiver. This means that even if a hacker intercepts your transaction, they won’t get any useful information out of it – all they’ll see is scrambled data. And before you worry, this data cannot be decrypted without the encryption key.
Browser Checks
PayPal will verify that your internet browser is configured to send data securely before allowing you to log in to your PayPal account. You will need to have HTTPS and TLS configured in order to safeguard your browser. This kind of security feature has been put in place to prevent attempts by hackers to intercept your online transactions and passively collect your sensitive information.
Want to beef up your online security? Use a VPN when logging in to sites like PayPal. This adds an extra layer of encryption that makes it near impossible for bad actors to access your information.
Security Keys
PayPal offers an optional security key to add an additional layer of security to your account. This is also called two-factor authentication – a term that may be a little more familiar to you. Whenever you (or a would-be hacker) attempts to log in to your account, a one-time pin (OTP) will be sent to your cellphone number (the one you used and verified on signup). This means nobody can access your account without the OTP.
Buyer Protection
Online scams and fraud are rife, so it should bring you peace of mind knowing that PayPal has your back. Their buyer protection policy ensures you’ll get your money back if you run into trouble with an online purchase. Whether the item never arrived or was different than described, you can get the full amount refunded to you (including shipping). To be eligible for buyer protection, you need to meet the following criteria:
- You must have paid through PayPal.
- You made a single payment for your order.
- Your account is in good standing.
Downsides
No payment provider is perfect. PayPal has a few downsides to be aware of, which include:
- Phishing scams: Scammers may send very official-looking emails posing as PayPal to try get your personal information. Don’t just accept an email at face value – look at the email address, any spelling or grammar errors, the logo and the opening line. PayPal will address you by your full name, not something generic. Also, don’t click any links from unknown senders!
- Frozen accounts: If PayPal detects any fraudulent transactions, it may automatically freeze your account. It can be a bit of an admin nightmare to get it unfrozen but it’s possible. To avoid having your account frozen, don’t make large withdrawals, limit the amount you can receive in a day and let PayPal know if you are expecting a big deposit.
The Tried And Trusted Payment Gateway
We can confidently proclaim that PayPal is one of the oldest and most trusted digital payment providers in the world. Its encrypted payments ensure your data remains private and protected in an increasingly dangerous online space. And if you ever find yourself being scammed out of money, its buyer protection policy can help you get your money back in full. This kind of refund wouldn’t be possible with a debit or credit card – most banks only refund up to 50% of the amount, leaving you out of pocket.