I am writing this article for a reason.

In 2008, I bought my first domain name through PayPal. Back then, I had to transfer the money from my credit card to my PayPal account. There was a conversion charge involved.

Then one year later, I worked with a client in the US. He paid me $600 through PayPal, for which I was charged around $30. It was a fee — a transaction fee.

For $600.

I paid a fee of $30.

Over the years, I was used to this structure. In fact, a lot of freelancers in India stick to PayPal due to limited options. That means you either ask the client to pay the transaction fee — or bare the cost like I do.

Either way, your money goes to PayPal.

Then PayPal Introduced Variable Fee Structure

Through this, they began to charge even more. For international payments, we as receivers were charged 4.4% + $0.30 as transaction fee.

Allow me to explain this in detail.

A client in Australia had to transfer me some money. She paid me in AUD (Australian Dollar) via PayPal. This was converted to USD — there was a conversion charge here.

Plus, there is a 4.4% + 0.30 transaction fee.

You can guess:

By the time I received the payment, I already lost a significant chunk.

But you know what? It gets worse:

Because to withdraw this money to my bank account, PayPal has to convert USD to INR (Indian Rupee) for which — that’s right — there was another conversion fee.

So the moment this money reaches my bank account, I have already lost additional 3-4% on top of the transaction fee.

Using PayPal Is A Battle!

It’s true.

You can be a developer, writer, graphic designer, consultant, or a marketer. It doesn’t matter.

Using PayPal is a battle because it has, and will, loot you.

It does what is best…

Take this recent policy update, for example. PayPal has tweaked it to eliminate the variable fee structure (not really) and introduced a new flat fee.

(That’s right – a flat fee).

From the blog post:

“We’re removing the variable rate pricing for sending money to friends and family members who have PayPal accounts in a country other than the United States when you send money using PayPal balance or your bank account and introducing a new flat fee of $2.99 or $4.99 per transaction depending on the recipient’s country. However, when you send money using your credit card, debit card, or PayPal credit you will be charged the new flat fee per transaction depending on the recipient’s country + 2.9% of the transaction amount + a fixed fee based on the currency.”

What is not revealed is the fact that there is another transaction fee on top of the flat fee when you use credit or debit card.

If you observe the chart below, you can see this additional fee is applicable on payments made through credit / debit card.

(Source: Reddit)

And in India, you have to make the payment through a credit card (no bank option available). So, along with the flat fee, we also pay an additional transaction fee.

This is why I believe PayPal is losing it. Something is not right. Perhaps that is why Ebay temporarily ditched PayPal. And with this new policy, they are losing customers left and right.

Fortunately, There’s Cryptocurrencies — The New PayPal

Cryptocurrencies is digital money, and they are not bound by countries. Anyone today can transfer cryptocurrencies to you and you will receive it in no time.

The benefit?

It is fast, easy, and there is a low transaction fee (even zero sometimes). In fact, if you are a freelancer working with a client paying you through PayPal, make a switch.

Choose cryptocurrencies. And declare a war against PayPal.

Because you will see how adopting cryptocurrencies can save you money and time.

That’s because cryptocurrencies are decentralized. There is no middleman. No obnoxious transaction fee (in most cases, zero fee).

Plus no more of those scary account terminations and chargebacks.

Popular Cryptocurrencies Freelancers & Clients Can Use Right Now!

Among the top cryptocurrencies available today, Bitcoin is the most popular one. Next comes Ethereum. Both are suitable for accepting payments.

One can always use Bitpay to accept Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Through Bitpay, you can instantly convert your cryptocurrencies into US dollars for a small transaction fee.

In the US, you can use Coinbase or Cash.me to send and receive Bitcoins.

And if you want something better — something incredibly safe — then consider downloading a wallet and making a transaction through your wallet.

For example, as a client, you can download this Bitcoin wallet, store Bitcoin, and then transfer it to your freelancer’s Bitcoin address.

And if you are looking beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, here are a list of popular cryptocurrencies:

Litecoin (LTC) – Started 6 years ago, Litecoin is incredibly popular and has a very low transaction fee.

Started 6 years ago, Litecoin is incredibly popular and has a very low transaction fee. Ripple (XRP) – Even though a centralized cryptocurrency, Ripple is built for payments. The transaction fee here is fixed.

– Even though a centralized cryptocurrency, Ripple is built for payments. The transaction fee here is fixed. Stellar Lumen (XLM) – Launched in 2014, Stellar Lumen has a base fee of 0.00001 XLM. (You can also earn free Lumens through its pool).

Of course, there are dozens of other cryptocurrencues. You can see a bunch of them on Coinmarketcap.

We also have coins with zero transaction fees. Check out Nano (XRB) and IOTA.

Bottom Line: Stop Accepting PayPal. And Start Accepting Cryptocurrencies

It starts now. And it starts with us.

So many crypto enthusiasts have said it before — freelancers should move to cryptocurrencies as it is fast, secure, and easier.

But very few do it.

So, as a publisher, I wrote this post — to educate new freelancers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs to look into cryptocurrencies.

In fact, on this blog, I have started accepting Ethereum. No more PayPal.

It is a tiny step — but a step forward.

The big question is, are you ready to take this step? I hope so!

