Can You Use PayPal on AliExpress? Is it common these days?
by Shopify API on Sep 15, 2023
If you’re an avid online shopping fan, PayPal must probably be your go-to payment method when checking out. And if you love shopping through virtual platforms, then AliExpress must already be your next favorite shopping site.
AliExpress is the home of super affordable items, and you can surely find anything - even bizarre stuff that you are looking for. If you are planning to spend your next purchase on AliExpress, then you might be asking the question, “Can You Use PayPal on AliExpress?”
All the answers, terms and conditions that you need to know for using PayPal on AliExpress are right here in this article. Let’s make your whole shopping experience much better with AliExpress and PayPal!
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Why doesn't PayPal work on AliExpress?
To give you a quick answer for this question, yes you can definitely use PayPal when you purchase stuff from AliExpress. However, this payment method comes with terms and conditions and it is not available for all customers.
Here are the limitations of using PayPal on AliExpress:
Country Limitations
As of the moment, only customers residing in the USA, UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain have access to using PayPal on AliExpress. If you are living in an unregistered country, there is no other way to use PayPal as your payment method on AliExpress. Trying to change your address to use PayPal won’t work too, so don’t even bother trying!
So the next question is, what if you moved into a registered country stated above? If you wish to use your PayPal account to pay for AliExpress, you have to close your previous account and register a new one with your new address.
Supplier
So, now that we have listed down the countries wherein PayPal can be used as a payment method, we have another thing to consider - the supplier. You might have ticked off the first requirement, but this payment method still depends if your supplier offers PayPal as a payment option.
Currently, there are only limited suppliers across AliExpress that offers PayPal and here are the ways to know if they do:
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1. Check for PayPal on the Payment Section.
If you have selected a certain item on AliExpress, the next step is to check out the item on your cart. Once you’re on the page, set your shipping information and on the Payment Methods section, you can check the available payment options that the supplier has.
If ever you are buying in bulk, and you would like to use PayPal as your principal payment option, we highly recommend looking for the same item coming from a different supplier that offers PayPal for your convenience.
2. Set the location to US/UK and other registered countries.
Once you visit the webpage, you would immediately see the language section at the top right corner of your screen. You can set the Ship To button on any registered PayPal countries like the USA or UK.
This will increase the probability of you getting suppliers that offer PayPal as an option. You might still encounter some suppliers that don’t offer this option, but at least, you can narrow it down better for a faster transaction.
3. Contact the Supplier for further confirmation.
When it comes to online shopping, confirmation and validation are the most important things to consider. So, if you want to be 100% sure that you won’t have any issues with the PayPal transaction after looking for hundreds of suppliers, contact them.
This might be a tedious task to do, but if you don’t have any other payment options available with you, this is always worth the try. If you saw that the current supplier you’re eyeing for doesn’t have a PayPal option, you can try negotiating with them for a transaction outside AliExpress.
Once the seller agrees to have a PayPal transaction outside AliExpress, the seller will send an invoice to the customer. After that, the customer needs to fill out all the necessary information to be sent back to the seller’s PayPal account.
What Other Payment Methods Does AliExpress Accept?
If you have all your hopes up since PayPal is not available to most countries, don’t fret! If you’re also a frequent buyer on AliExpress, here are other payment options that you could use aside from PayPal:
- Ideal
- Credit/Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express)
- Western Union
- Bank Transfer
- DOKU
- Ticket
- Sofort Banking
- Giropay
- Webmoney
- Mercado Pago
- Boleto
- TEF
The most commonly used payment option is a credit card or a debit card. You don’t need to use a third-party application just to settle your payments. This is also one of the most convenient ways to pay for your items in AliExpress, aside from PayPal.
FAQs About Using PayPal on AliExpress
Take a look at the most asked questions by customers who want to make use of PayPal to pay their goods on AliExpress:
Does AliExpress Support PayPal?
Yes, AliExpress supports PayPal but only to limited countries like the USA, UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. This payment platform is also dependent on the supplier, since not all suppliers offer this payment method even to registered countries. The customer can contact the supplier directly for further clarification about accepting payments through PayPal.
Is There Any Downside to Using PayPal?
Yes, PayPal might have its very secured system in transferring payments, but it also has a major downside: fees. Using PayPal comes in a hefty price, and it’s usually around 1% of your total payment.
Another drawback is that once you receive money on your new PayPal account, it would take up to a maximum of 21 days before you are allowed to withdraw your funds. This might be a very long processing time for some people, especially those who needs to encash their money right away.
How to Find Sellers That Accept Payments via PayPal?
As of the moment, there is no option on AliExpress that filters out suppliers that offer PayPal as a payment method. The customers have to manually go through the checkout page to see if the current seller offers PayPal as an option.
Additionally, customers can also check the community forums wherein some customers list down the names of sellers that offer such an option.
Why Can’t I Pay with PayPal on AliExpress?
There are currently two reasons why a customer cannot use PayPal to pay for their goods. First, the customer might be residing in a country where AliExpress does not honor PayPal for an online transaction. Next, the supplier might not have PayPal as one of their payment methods on their page.
Last 2011, AliExpress removed PayPal as a way to settle payments because of high transaction costs. But now, it has become available again only to limited countries where PayPal is mostly used.
Is it Safe to Use PayPal on AliExpress?
It is definitely safe to use PayPal on AliExpress and it is actually one of the most trusted online payment platforms. There are no big issues regarding fraud, lost funds, and scams using PayPal. Although technically, there is no 100% safe online payment methods, PayPal is known to be on top when it comes to security and safe transactions.
Can I Send Money from PayPal to Alipay?
As of the moment, there are no ways to send money from PayPal to your AliPay account. If you were to add funds on your AliPay account, we highly recommend using a bank transfer instead of using a third party application. In this way, you can lessen the hassle of transferring money, and you’ll have a more secured transaction.
Why Is PayPal Listed as a Payment Option?
If you see PayPal as a payment option on the product that you wish to purchase, it basically means that you can use it to pay for your item. This is great for people who are always using their PayPal account for online purchases.
Using PayPal on AliExpress 2023
AliExpress indeed has limitations regarding the use of PayPal as one of their main payment methods. We know that there would still be advances and improvements about using PayPal on AliExpress. One of it is the widening of allowed countries registered to use PayPal for purchasing goods and services on AliExpress.
If you are currently residing in the above-mentioned countries that allow PayPal as one of the online payment methods, then you should not have any problems about the process. The only thing that you have to consider is if the seller has the option to receive payments from PayPal.
On the other hand, if you’re residing in other parts of the world, we highly recommend choosing a different payment option for your AliExpress shopping spree. Don’t worry, we have listed all of the available options that you can use just in case PayPal isn’t an option for you.
If you love PayPal and you love AliExpress, you might have to consider all the things we have talked about. Have you tried purchasing on AliExpress using your PayPal account? Let us know how it went on the comment section below!
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