6 PayPal alternatives for International Payments: Top Picks

PayPal alternatives for international payments: How to choose the best for your business

PayPal revolutionized how people send money when it launched in 1998, quickly becoming the go-to platform for digital transactions. As online payments became mainstream, it grew into one of the most widely used digital payment services, driven by its early ability to move funds securely and predictably through its closed-network rails.

Today PayPal serves more than 400 million active users and has processed over $1.6 trillion in payments. Its convenience and brand recognition keep it popular, yet some newer platforms now surpass PayPal—especially for international payments. However, because PayPal spans so many functions, from payment processing to P2P transfers to debit cards, it may be hard for businesses to determine how a viable alternative fits into their broader financial workflows.

Fortunately, many competitors now meet or exceed PayPal’s capabilities. Alternatives offer global companies more comprehensive payment and expense management tools, along with access to diverse international rails that help reduce slow settlement times, high FX markups, and reliance on intermediary banks. Slash is one such solution: a business banking platform that unifies cross-border transfers, stablecoin payments, and spend management capabilities in a single dashboard, bridging both P2P and B2B payment needs.⁴ Continue reading to learn how Slash and its competitors stack up to PayPal.

Is it time to switch? When businesses should consider a PayPal alternative

Before diving into PayPal alternatives, it’s helpful to understand the scope of PayPal’s services and how businesses typically use them. Below is an overview of its core functions:

• Payment processing: PayPal operates as an online point-of-sale system that processes and accepts payments for merchants. Funds can be routed to a PayPal balance, PayPal-issued cards, or a linked bank account.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers: Allows individuals and businesses to send and receive payments directly, using bank accounts, cards, or PayPal balances. For digital payments abroad, Paypal will natively handle currency conversion.
• International transfers: Supports cross-border transfers to many countries. Although fees and FX markups often apply, PayPal can offer faster delivery compared to traditional bank transfers, which may pass through intermediaries or clearing houses.
• Digital wallet: Enables users to store funds inside their PayPal account. Balances can be used for purchases, spent via PayPal-branded cards, or withdrawn to a bank. PayPal also lets you hold and transfer cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
• Lending and credit services: PayPal Credit provides consumers with a revolving line of credit for larger purchases. PayPal Working Capital and similar products offer financing to eligible businesses based on historical PayPal sales.
• Debit and credit cards: Issues physical and virtual cards linked to PayPal balances, allowing users to spend funds directly without transferring them to a bank.

If your business relies on one or several of these features, switching platforms to a PayPal competitor may seem overwhelming. Yet there are a variety of PayPal alternatives that offer comparable or even stronger capabilities. For example, Slash offers specialized features tailored for international businesses, industries with unique workflows and compliance requirements, or companies seeking low-fee solutions with more focused functionality.

If your organization is running into any of the challenges listed below, it may be time to evaluate switching to a PayPal alternative:

• Excessive payment processing fees, especially for international currency conversions or card-funded transfers.
• Limited payment options due to over-reliance on closed-network rails over bank transfers.
• Restrictions when making large payments or withdrawals.
• Lack of integrations with accounting, ERP, or CRM systems.
• Frequent or unresolved fraudulent transactions, disputes, or unexpected account holds.
• No volume-based discounts for businesses with significant monthly or international payment flows.
• Poor user experience, such as slow settlement times or unclear FX fees.

6 PayPal competitors: Compare fees, features, and flexibility

Comparing PayPal alternatives can be challenging because each platform serves a slightly different purpose. Some platforms focus on low-cost international transfers, while others are built for marketplace payouts, business disbursements, or full merchant payment processing. To help you evaluate them more clearly, the breakdown below highlights how six major competitors stack up in terms of fees, features, and overall business fit:

Best overall: Slash

Slash brings together all the functionality businesses look for in PayPal while offering greater advantages for global operations. Slash’s corporate charge cards provide spend-management tools, a low 1% foreign transaction fee, and unlimited physical and virtual cards that can be issued internationally—features that can make international spending far more cost-efficient than PayPal’s card options.1 Gain access to business checking accounts, working capital financing5, and major payment rails, including SWIFT international wires, global ACH, and free domestic ACH, and real-time transfers. Slash’s stablecoin transfers with on/off ramps for USDC, USDT, and USDSL can further reduce cross-border costs by eliminating traditional banking fees.

Drawbacks: Slash does not offer native payment processing; however, payment processors such as Stripe, Square, and others can be connected through Plaid and managed from the same dashboard.

Best for affordable global transfers: Wise

Wise Business is built for low-cost international payments, offering mid-market FX rates, transparent fees, and multi-currency accounts that allow companies to hold and convert funds across dozens of currencies. Businesses can access debit cards and local bank details in multiple regions, making it easier to bill and pay global contractors.

Drawbacks: Lacks support for cryptocurrency and stablecoins. Transfers may take longer in certain countries, fees can add up for high-volume payments, and Wise lacks deeper accounting integrations, cash deposit options, or enterprise-level controls.

Best for freelancers: Payoneer

Payoneer is designed for international commerce, offering local receiving accounts in multiple regions, multi-currency balances, and integrations with platforms like Amazon, Upwork, and Fiverr. Payoneer's mass payout capabilities make it a strong option for businesses managing large networks of freelancers or cross-border vendors. Payoneer is a strong option for international contracting agencies or companies that need direct compatibility with digital marketplaces.

Drawbacks: Fees can be higher for smaller transfers, and both inactivity and withdrawal charges can add up for low-volume users.

Best for remittances: Xoom

Xoom isn’t a direct competitor to PayPal; it’s actually owned by PayPal and serves as a specialized remittance service. Remittances are personal money transfers sent across borders, often to family members in another country. Xoom focuses on delivering these transfers quickly through options like cash pickup, bank deposits, and mobile wallet reloads in dozens of countries.

Drawbacks: Xoom’s FX fees vary widely depending on the destination and funding method, its business tools are minimal, and it generally isn’t suited for high-volume or recurring commercial payments.

Best for high-risk digital sectors: Neteller

Neteller is a long-standing digital wallet used heavily in online gaming, forex trading, and other high-risk digital industries where traditional payment processors may impose restrictions. It supports international transfers, prepaid business cards, and multi-currency balances, giving companies flexibility when operating in niche markets.

Drawbacks: Neteller’s FX margins can be steep, fees vary significantly by region, and its business tools are limited compared to broader payment platforms.

Best for payment processing: Stripe

Stripe differs from most PayPal alternatives because it isn’t a digital wallet or money transfer service. Instead, it functions as a full payment gateway for merchants. Stripe can receive payments from many global cards, and it offers subscription and usage-based billing, marketplace payouts, and more. Stripe is best for marketplaces that need a customizable, scalable checkout solution.

Drawbacks: Not a viable P2P payment method. International fees can be expensive, chargebacks carry high costs, and the setup process can be challenging for teams without engineering support.

Other PayPal competitors

Although Zelle and Venmo are popular P2P payment apps, they are limited to the U.S. and are designed primarily for simple transfers between individuals. As a result, they lack the multi-currency support, global reach, and enterprise-grade tools offered by advanced business platforms like Slash.

Furthermore, mobile payment options such as Apple Pay and Google Pay offer convenient, contactless checkout experiences, but they function primarily as consumer-facing wallets rather than full financial platforms. Like PayPal, they’re a useful alternative for making and accepting mobile payments; however, they lack the tools that businesses need to manage operations.

Choosing the right solution to save on fees and simplify transactions: Key criteria

International payments come with unique challenges—currency conversion costs, delays, security risks, and compliance requirements—and each platform handles these differently. Evaluating the criteria below will help you compare providers more accurately and identify the solution that offers the best balance of cost efficiency, flexibility, and reliability for your global operations:

Offered exchange rates to the mid-market rate

The mid-market rate represents the true, midpoint price between a currency’s buy and sell values. Most banks and money transfer services add a markup to this rate to cover fees and generate revenue, which means the exchange rate you receive is usually less favorable. Comparing a platform’s quoted rate to the mid-market rate helps you avoid hidden FX costs and ensures you aren’t overpaying for international transfers.

Low payment processing fees

Consider both the upfront transaction fees and the less visible costs, such as card funding charges, international surcharges, and currency conversion premiums. Platforms with transparent, predictable pricing make it easier to manage expenses and forecast cash flow. Services like PayPal, Wise, Xoom, and Payoneer may apply varying markups depending on factors such as the sender’s location, the recipient’s country, currency type, or funding method. When these fees are layered or structured differently across regions, it can be harder for businesses to determine the true cost of an international payment.

Support for multiple payment methods

A strong payment solution should support a range of rails, since each payment method offers different advantages depending on speed, cost, and destination. ACH can be used for both domestic and certain international transfers and is often the most affordable option. Wires and SWIFT support high-value or time-sensitive payments and are widely accepted across global banks, though they tend to be more expensive. For more modernized forms of payment, RTP enables near-instant domestic transfers, while stablecoins are a rapid cross-border payment method that can help reduce FX and conversion costs. Slash supports each of these rails, giving businesses the flexibility to choose the most efficient or cost-effective option for each transaction.

Recurring payment capabilities

Businesses that manage contractor payments, SaaS subscriptions, retainers, or scheduled supplier invoices rely on predictable, automated payouts. With Slash, you can schedule automatic payment authorizations and executions, which can help reduce manual work, ensure on-time payments, and minimize administrative errors. This is especially important for global teams, where time zones and banking delays can disrupt regular payment cycles.

Fraud protection and PCI compliance

Platforms that offer robust fraud detection help protect against unauthorized transactions, chargebacks, and account misuse, which is especially important when dealing with international payments. PCI compliance ensures that cardholder data is stored, processed, and transmitted securely, reducing the risk of breaches and helping businesses meet regulatory obligations. For companies that work with contractors, creative partners, or product developers, secure payment systems also support intellectual property protection by reducing exposure to data leaks or compromised accounts.

Easy integration with existing systems

Your payment platform should integrate with the tools your business already relies on, whether that’s e-commerce platforms, ERPs, accounting software, or CRM systems. Smooth integrations can reduce manual work, prevent data silos, and ensure cleaner, more accurate financial reporting. Slash offers connectivity across platforms through its API, which streamlines data flow between payment operations and other business systems; it supports multi-entity account management, a must for e-commerce and multi-store businesses; and it integrates with Plaid, QuickBooks, QBO, and Xero to automate reconciliation and centralize transaction data across borders.

Volume discounts for high transaction volume

As payment volume increases, so do the fees—unless your provider offers tiered or volume-based pricing. Platforms that reward higher transaction volume with reduced rates can make a meaningful difference to your bottom line, especially for businesses handling large international payouts or high-frequency transactions. Transparent discount structures also make it easier to forecast expenses and scale payment operations without incurring unnecessary costs.

Start optimizing your payments today with Slash

Exploring alternatives to PayPal gives businesses the chance to adopt tools that better support global growth. The right solution should help you manage FX fees, automate recurring payouts, support multiple rails, integrate with your financial systems, and provide the transparency you need to budget confidently.

Slash brings these capabilities together in a single platform. Slash supports multi-rail payments—including global ACH, wires, SWIFT transfers, RTP, and FedNow—so you can choose the most efficient method for each transaction. With stablecoin on/off ramps for USDC, USDT, and USDSL, businesses can send global payment tokens in USD without traditional FX and conversion fees. We also offer low-fee international spending through the Slash Platinum Card, a corporate charge card with a 1% FX fee that works anywhere Visa is accepted.

For global payment management, Slash’s multi-entity support makes it a strong fit for e-commerce brands, multi-store operators, and businesses with distributed teams. From the Slash dashboard, connect payment processors and digital wallets to centralize statements and improve visibility over payables and receivables. Integrations with Plaid, QuickBooks, QBO, and Xero help automate reconciliation and keep expenses aligned with your accounting system.

See how Slash compares and start simplifying your global payments today at slash.com.

Frequently asked questions

Are there specific platforms optimized for high-volume e-commerce merchants?

Yes. Stripe and PayPal are commonly used for checkout, but they don’t simplify back-office financial operations. Slash is better suited for high-volume e-commerce businesses because it supports multi-entity structures that centralize payment systems across multiple stores. And, you can better organize expenses by issuing unlimited virtual cards for things like ad spend and suppliers.

How do different PayPal alternatives handle chargebacks and disputes?

PayPal alternatives vary in how they handle chargebacks and disputes. With Slash, while you can initiate chargebacks (for card transactions) directly, Slash does not provide an internal dispute-investigation service. The merchant/user must submit evidence and follow the Visa card network’s process.

Can these alternatives integrate with popular accounts or ERP systems?

Some alternatives offer limited integrations, often requiring manual reconciliation. Slash integrates with Plaid and QuickBooks. The Slash API syncs payment and expense data automatically across financial systems.