If you’re just now getting digital e-wallets, welcome!
With that out of the way, we’ve got a lot to cover. Today’s topic is breaking down the major differences between PayPal and Skrill. What’s the difference? Is one more secure than the other? There are a lot of questions to get answered, and luckily for you, those of us at EwalletUpgrades are ready and waiting to help you out.
Skrill vs. PayPal: The Breakdown
Let’s get going!
Skrill and PayPal are both awesome services but what are the key differences between the two?
Is PayPal the Same as Skrill?
The long and short of this question is that no, Skrill and PayPal are not one and the same.
However, they are quite similar in that they’re both online wallet services that allow you to process payments for business or personal transactions, convert between currencies, and make secure payments online.
They each offer similar (but, vitally, different) services that will serve different people better, depending on their needs. Skrill is primarily suited to gambling, Forex trading, and buying/selling cryptocurrency, whereas PayPal is more aimed at online payment processing exclusively.
Is Skrill Part of PayPal?
Skrill and PayPal are entirely separate entities. Skrill is a part of thePaysafe Groupand is located in the United Kingdom, while PayPal is owned by eBay and is headquartered in the United States.
Is Skrill Safer Than PayPal?
This is one of those questions that is somewhat difficult to quantify. Both Skrill and PayPal, by design, are extremely secure – if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be trusted worldwide with millions of peoples’ personal funds.
PayPal is regulated under very strict American financial law and has some of the most secure encryption and payment processing on the market today. However, it’s not without faults, and as such, they highly recommend that you take secondary security steps, such as two-step authentication. Most compromised data on PayPal comes from user error, so if you trust yourself to keep your account secure, PayPal is a secure choice.
Alternatively, Skrill is incorporated under the United Kingdom’s equally strict Financial Conduct Authority. Skrill uses equally powerful (but entirely different) security systems and encryption methods.
All in all, both Skrill and PayPal are extremely secure payment processing and e-wallet services. While they operate quite differently, both will do their utmost to ensure your money is as secure as possible.
What is an Alternative to PayPal?
There are quite a few alternatives to PayPal. Each has its own distinguishing features and offers something special for specific needs, such as gambling, forex trading, or cryptocurrency buying and selling. Read below for a quick breakdown of PayPal’s largest competitors.
Skrill
Skrill is a Paysafe company, as mentioned in the section above. One of Skrill’s largest draws is that they can convert over 40 global currencies, compared to PayPal’s 25. Additionally, Skrill offers:
- Chargeback protection
- Multiple integrations into various services
- Simple API
- Fraud management
- Simple access to globally secure, near-instant payment processing
- And an easy means to trade forex, buy/sell cryptocurrency, or gamble with security
It’s worth noting that Skrill comes with several extra fees, broken down in our “Skrill Basics: Fees” article.
Stripe
Stripe is an increasingly-common payment processing service that is widely considered one of the best card processing services for both brick-and-mortar and online retailers. It’s widely accepted across most major companies, including Google, Lyft, and Amazon (among others).
Some of Stripe’s most beloved features are:
- Customer interface
- Broad payment options
- Revenue optimisation
- Payouts
- Third-party integration/support
- Fraud & dispute support
Stripe offers easily integrated payment processing and comes with two payment models that are designed to suit small and large businesses alike.
Square
Square is a fantastic payment processing service for small businesses, both online and brick-and-mortar. They’re super simple to get set up and use, and the service is designed from the ground up to be a breeze to understand.
Among Square’s most popular features are:
- Secure payment processing
- Simple interface
- Customizable security options
Square comes with a standard per-transaction fee of 2.6% + $.10 on all contactless, swiped, and chip payments.
Venmo
Venmo is great for those who don’t own a business and just want to send money to friends. It comes with a few minor fees ($2.5 for “out of network” payments), and, oddly enough, has tried to position itself as a social media network – hence the “out of network” fee.
All in all, it’s a great option for the more basic features that Skrill offers, with none of the bigger options on offer from the other mentioned competitors.
What is PayPal’s Biggest Competitor?
PayPal is a large name in payment processing, especially in the United States. But they’re not the only company in the field, and that means competition.
PayPal’s largest competition is as follows:
- Skrill
- Broken down above
- Google Wallet
- Google entered the online wallet and e-transaction space relatively recently and has quickly grown to be widely supported, alongside its direct competitors, Apple and Samsung Wallet(s).
- Apple Wallet
- Same as Google Wallet
- Samsung Wallet
- Same as Google Wallet
- Square
- As detailed above, Square is a fast-growing e-commerce and payment processing service for small businesses.
- Alibaba Group (Alipay)
- An extremely popular e-commerce platform based in Chine, with 1.3 billion worldwide active users.
Conclusion
If you’re trying to figure out which e-commerce platform is better between PayPal and Skrill, you have a tough choice ahead of you. Depending on your needs, you’ll find that each has some great benefits, though neither is more or less secure than the other.
If you’re more interested in online shopping or e-commerce than forex trading, gambling, or cryptocurrency, then PayPal will likely serve you better. But most users across the globe will get more out of Skrill – especially if you gamble, regularly deal with foreign currency or trade Forex, or if you like to buy and sell cryptocurrency.
