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PayPal vs Stripe australia: Fees, safety and features compared
Running and managing an online business can be made easier these days through a range of new online payments platforms to facilitate and accept payments. Choosing which one is best for your business requires research and what needs your business requires to be met.
We’ll take you through two options - PayPal and Stripe - that are available to the Australian market and cover their business services, fees and how they safeguard your money.
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Who is PayPal?
PayPal is a large multinational online payments company that is operating in over 200 markets around the world. Paypal has been operating in Australia since 2005 and currently has over 7 million active accounts.¹
PayPal allows personal and business customers to send and receive money between PayPal accounts from around the world. PayPal allows personal customers to:
- Shop and checkout at thousands of online stores
- Pay with linked cards or a bank account
- Send money securely
- Track all your purchases history
PayPal also has a business commerce platform that allows businesses of all sizes utilise PayPals services to sell their products online and accept payments from customers.² We’ll be focusing on this leg of the Paypal Australia services in this article.
Who is Stripe?
Stripe is an integrated suite of payment solutions founded in 2011 and has since grown to offer its products globally. In Australia, stripe has been in operation since 2014. Unlike PayPal, Stripe offers their payment products to businesses, enterprises and developers.⁴
Feature comparison: PayPal vs Stripe
Product offerings
PayPal
PayPal offers businesses a solution to accept payments online, physically in store or on many of the online marketplaces. Businesses can offer their customers to pay through:
- Online checkout
- QR codes
- Email payments
- Smartphone payments
- Social media payments
Once a business has access to their own PayPal commerce platform, they will take advantage of several tools to make managing their payment easier. These include:
- Resolve and respond to customer queries
- Check the status of all payments
- Access business insight information
- Withdraw your money to your bank account
Once you have been established with your PayPal business account for a while, you may be able to access a PayPal Working Capital business loan that has no impact on your credit score.³
Stripe
As Stripe only works with businesses, all their main product offerings are designed and catered to this clientele. Businesses are able to:
- Accept payments in online or in person
- Send money globally
- Grow their business revenue with automated solutions
- Access Banking-As-A-Service
Once a Stripe account has been activated, businesses will be able to:
- Send invoices
- Create and issue virtual cards
- Manage your business spending
- Fraud detection and protection options
Stripe also accepts payments in over 135 currencies and allows businesses to develop their own Automated Programming Interfaces (API) into their stores.⁵
Supported currencies
Both PayPal and Stripe can facilitate foreign currency business transactions. Here are the currencies and regions supported.
| Service | PayPal¹¹ | Stripe⁵ |
|---|---|---|
| Currencies supported | 25 | 135+ |
| Countries/Regions available | 200 | 46 |
As seen on 7 October 2023
Payment methods
How you can receive your business payments and then where you can withdraw the funds can help make your choice easier.
| PayPal | Stripe⁷ | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in options | Credit or Debit Cards Echeques Instant bank Account QR codes³ | Debit or Credit card Bank account Payment links |
| Pay out or withdrawal options | Bank account⁶ | Bank account⁷ |
As seen on 7 October 2023
What about safety?
Knowing how your money is protected online can make a huge difference when choosing your provider. We’ll compare the safety features of both companies and how they are regulated in Australia.
PayPal
Paypal in Australia is provided by PayPal Australia Pty Ltd under the Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) 304962.²
PayPal is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) certification which is required as a payment provider.¹² PayPal also provides businesses using their services:
- 24/7 transaction monitoring
- Transaction dispute centre
- Encryption technology
- PayPal seller protection options
PayPal has also been a reputable international brand since its inception in 2005.¹³
Stripe
When you make an account with Stripe, you are going into an agreement with Stripe Payments Australia Pty Ltd under the AFSL number 500105.¹⁴
As a payments provider, Stripe must meet certain standards to operate to help keep your money and data safe. Stripe is PCI Service Provider 1 certified which is the means they meet the highest standards for security as a payment provider. Stripe also:
- Frequently conducts System and Organisation Control (SOC) audits
- Has security policies based on the NIST CyberSecurity Framework
- Continually updates Privacy and Data controls
- Offers account access security features include multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Has mandated HTTPS connections and encryption on all services
- Third party system monitoring for system issues
- Employee access management controls
- Dedicated security teams on call
Stripe also guides account users on how best to keep their own accounts secure and has reporting suites for suspicious transactions.¹⁵
Fee comparison: PayPal vs Stripe
Main fees charged by both companies for their respective main business product, like accepting money/payments, withdrawals etc.
| Service | PayPal⁶ | Stripe⁷ |
|---|---|---|
| Accepting domestic commercial transactions | 2.60% + $0.30 | 1.75% + $0.30 AUD |
| Accepting international commercial transactions | 3.60% + fixed fee based on currency | 3.5% + $0.30 AUD |
| Chargeback fees | Fee charged if not eligible for PayPal Seller Protection - varies per currency AUD - $15.00 | $25.00 per lost dispute |
| Foreign Exchange Conversion fee | Fee for receiving in another currency = 4% Fee for sending payments = 3% | International receiving fee + 2% conversion fee |
| Withdrawing funds | Minimum fee: $0.25 AUD Maximum fee: $10.00 AUD | Free in AUD to AUD bank accounts |
As seen on 7 October 2023
Exchange rate used
When it comes to sending or receiving money in foreign currencies, different conversion rates can apply. Companies choose how to apply conversions either by including a fee, known as a margin on top of the wholesale or mid-market rate. Here is how conversions are applied with PayPal and Stripe.
| PayPal⁸ | Stripe⁹ |
|---|---|
| Wholesale rate from NAB + PayPal fees | Mid-market rate + Stripe allocated fees |
As seen on 7 October 2023
In 2021, PayPal and National Australia bank signed a partnership to facilitate local business transactions.¹⁰
Pros and cons: PayPal vs Stripe
Here is a quick breakdown of the pros and cons of each company.
| PayPal | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
| Cons |
|
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Online reviews for PayPal and Stripe in Australia
To see how PayPal and Stripe compare in the Australian market, here are how they have been reviewed by Australian consumers.
| PayPal reviews | Stripe reviews |
|---|---|
| PayPal Australia has been rated 1.4 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot from 87 reviews.¹⁶ | Stripe has a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars from 12, 441 reviews on Trustpilot.¹⁷ |
| On Capterra Australia, PayPal has been rated 4.7/5 stars from 24,900 reviews.¹⁸ | On Capterra Australia, Stripe is rated 4.7/5 stars from 2,951 reviews.¹⁹ |
As seen on 7 October 2023
In conclusion
Only you can make the decision on which provider best suits your business needs when it comes to accepting and making business payments. As you can see from above, PayPal and Stripe are comparable but have very different service offerings overall.
As Stripe has predominantly been built to cater to businesses, this makes it a good option for merchants looking for an integrated suite of online business management services. PayPal, as a well-known and longstanding company, is also a good option for receiving payments from all over the world. However, PayPal does come with a variety of higher fees on many of their transactions, especially conversions.
Manage international costs with Wise Business
Expanding a business globally opens up exciting opportunities, but also new challenges like receiving payments across borders. Hidden foreign transaction fees and hefty currency conversions involved with international payments can eat into your profits and time.
Wise Business serves as a cost-effective solution where you can receive money from around the world at the speed and price of local payments.
Transform the way you receive payments with Wise Business:
- One-time fee of 65 AUD for local account details in 8+ currencies, including AUD, NZD, USD, and more—no recurring fees
- One account to hold, send, and convert money with no hidden fees or exchange rate markups
- Create and send professional invoices directly to your customers through Wise Business
- Create payment links to request money in specific currencies
- Seamlessly receive payments from customers, online sales, or PSPs like Stripe and Amazon.
- Wise is safe and secure - Trusted by 13 million people and counting
Sign up for the Wise Business account! 🚀
This general advice does not take into account your objectives, financial circumstances or needs and you should consider if it is appropriate for you.
Sources:
- PayPal Australia
- PayPal How it works
- PayPal business Australia
- AFR Stripe Australia launch
- PayPal merchant fees
- Stripe pricing
- PayPal Exchange rate
- Stripe conversion rate
- NAB PayPal collaborators
- PayPal currency
- Stripe currencies
- PayPal compliance
- PayPal safety
- Stripe licence
- Stripe security
- Trustpilot PayPal reviews
- Capterra reviews
- Trustpilot Stripe reviews
- Capterra Stripe reviews
- PayPal contact methods
- Stripe contact options
Sources checked on: 07 October 2023
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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