PayPal closes off popular loophole in business payments system

PayPal Business
(Image credit: PayPal)

PayPal business users will now have to pay transaction fees on all their transfers, regardless of whether they are sending payments to friends and family.

All PayPal payments are currently classified into either “Goods & Services” or “Friends & Family”, with the latter not being subject to fees

However, the party is over for businesses using this loophole to bypass fees; from July 28 only personal PayPal accounts will be able to receive free “Friends & Family” payments.

Future of PayPal

The announcement comes as PayPal is set to “simplify” its Goods & Services seller fee to 2.99%, with no fixed fee, for US customers. PayPal’s current Goods & Services fee is set at 2.89%, plus $0.49.

This latest decision also means business PayPal users, using it for its merchant services, will need to set up a separate account if they want to receive friends and family payments.

PayPal’s stock has taken a hit as of late, falling even harder than the average tech stock in 2022. The company has lost arounds two-thirds of its value over the past year since peaking in July 2021, despite still offering one the most popular payment gateways worldwide.

However, PayPal is refining its offering as it tries to grab a piece of the growing BNPL market and other emerging sectors.

The payments giant recently announced it is expanding its service with a new Pay Monthly plan, which will allow US-based customers to spread repayments over periods as long as 24 months.

The service is available for purchases valued at anywhere between $199 and $10,000, with interest rates ranging from 0% to 29.99% APR depending on the length of the payment plan.

PayPal is also expanding into the cryptocurrency space, adding features that support the exchange of cryptocurrencies between users, effectively turning the platform into a fully-featured crypto wallet.

Will McCurdy has been writing about technology for over five years. He has a wide range of specialities including cybersecurity, fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, cloud computing, payments, artificial intelligence, retail technology, and venture capital investment. He has previously written for AltFi, FStech, Retail Systems, and National Technology News and is an experienced podcast and webinar host, as well as an avid long-form feature writer.

Read more
A hand holding a credit card in front of a laptop.
Best credit card processing for small business of 2025
Someone holding a credit card in front of a laptop displaying an ecommerce website.
Best payment gateway of 2025
contactless mobile payments
Best mobile payment app of 2025
PayPal
This PayPal scam exploits new address feature to send out phishing scam emails
A person using a smartphone and laptop.
Best money transfer app of 2025
PayPal
PayPal fined by New York for cybersecurity failures
Latest in Software & Services
TinEye website
I like this reverse image search service the most
A person in a wheelchair working at a computer.
Here’s a free way to find long lost relatives and friends
A white woman with long brown hair in a ponytail looks down at her computer in a distressed manner. She is holding her forehead with one hand and a credit card with the other
This people search finder covers all the bases, but it's not perfect
That's Them home page
Is That's Them worth it? My honest review
woman listening to computer
AWS vs Azure: choosing the right platform to maximize your company's investment
A person at a desktop computer working on spreadsheet tables.
Trello vs Jira: which project management solution is best for you?
Latest in News
Disney Plus logo with popcorn
You can finally tell Disney+ to stop bugging you about that terrible Marvel show you regret starting
Girl wearing Meta Quest 3 headset interacting with a jungle playset
Latest Meta Quest 3 software beta teases a major design overhaul and VR screen sharing – and I need these updates now
Philips Hue
Philips Hue might be working on a video doorbell, and according to a new report, we just got our first look at it
Microsoft
"Another pair of eyes" - Microsoft launches all-new Security Copilot Agents to give security teams the upper hand
Hatch Restore 3 in Putty
You can finally start your day with The Office theme song, and I couldn't be more excited
Cassian Andor looking nervously over his shoulder in Andor season 2
New Andor season 2 trailer has got Star Wars fans asking the same question – and it includes an ominous call back to Rogue One's official teaser