Jamie Pauls
Among the many hats I wear as I go about my daily life is that of a professional musician. I currently don't work an 8 to 5 job where I am paid like clockwork on a regular basis. As much as I long for those days occasionally, it does not seem that that is my path in life right now. When I do get paid, I like to know that I will be able to have funds available to me in a timely manner. Likewise, I want to be able to pay others for their work efficiently. Cash works, but often an ATM is not handy, and larger amounts of money do not lend themselves well to that form of payment anyway. In this increasingly digital age, even writing checks is becoming increasingly rare. My wife, who is sighted, often is not able to lay her hand on the checkbook as easily as she once did. Many employers will directly deposit money into an employee's account, but what can make the process of transacting money as painless as possible when cash, checks, and direct deposit aren't convenient?
Over the last several years, various forms of online payment platforms have sprung up. We will take a look at several of these in a series of AccessWorld articles. This month, we will look at two related payment platforms: PayPal and Venmo.
A search for the differences between PayPal and Venmo brings up this article, which is quite informative.
PayPal
Since PayPal has been around since 1998, it's no surprise that the blind community has used the service for many years. Unfortunately, the PayPal Website has not always been as screen-reader friendly as it might be. To complicate matters further, the site changes its look frequently, so a process that you might be familiar with this month could be entirely different the next time you try to work through it.
I had a job several years ago that required that I invoice my employer monthly via PayPal. It seemed to me that I often spent more time trying to bill for my services than I did actually providing the services themselves—an over-exaggeration of course, but you get the point. Fortunately, the mobile apps provided by PayPal are much easier to use for many common tasks than the website itself. Once you set up a free PayPal account, it's actually possible to create a permanent link that you can send to people where they can more easily pay you for your work. If you are the one getting paid through the site, you can either transfer money to a linked bank account or use a PayPal business debit card—an option that I really like a lot. It's possible to spend money directly from your PayPal account and even have money applied from your linked bank account should your PayPal balance not cover the amount spent. Should you want to instantly transfer money from PayPal to your bank, the site will keep a little of the money for itself. If you are willing to wait three or four days for the process to be completed, you can keep all the money.
If you are providing a service or selling an item, PayPal also keeps a small amount of the money transacted, but gifts are transferred from one person to another in whole. PayPal also offers buyer protection in case you need a refund on something you purchased and the seller is not being cooperative.
It's possible to place a PayPal button on your website, which makes it easy for people to purchase a product through the site rather than needing to enter credit card information. Once they log into PayPal and confirm the transaction, they can return back to your site.
I have used PayPal on Windows, Mac, and my iPhone. I have not tried using the service on Android. I would hope that the Android experience is as good as that of iOS.
Venmo
As solid a platform as PayPal is, it doesn't seem to be as trendy as its younger sibling, Venmo. Owned by PayPal, Venmo is a site that is geared more toward social interaction than business. I first began using Venmo last Christmas. A good friend who helps me shop for my wife every year purchased an item for me and I needed to repay her for the gift. I never like to lock people into apps and services that I use unless it's absolutely necessary, so when she told me that Venmo was her preferred payment platform, I signed up. I found the process to be very straightforward and both the website and iOS app were a pleasure to use.
If you allow Venmo access to your contacts, you can easily see how many of your friends on social media use the service and connect with them easily. One interesting feature of Venmo is the ability to see what people are spending money on. You might see something like "Jim paid Sally for dog sitting." You can keep your transactions private if you wish. You can also choose to see transactions from only your friends or the entire Venmo community if you prefer.
Like PayPal, it's possible to link Venmo to your bank account. Also like PayPal, it's possible to obtain a Venmo debit card. If the amount you spend from your Venmo debit card exceeds your balance, the service "reloads" the card by taking the remainder of the amount from your bank account. Finally, you can immediately transfer money to your bank account for a fee, or you can allow the process to take several days without incurring a fee.
Benefits of Online Payment Platforms
Let me give you a practical example of why online payment platforms are of such value these days. My wife recently took care of two cats for someone in our community. One of them required twice daily seizure medication, so it was important for the owner to find a trustworthy caregiver for his animals. At the end of the cat-sitting week, my wife and I were getting ready for an anniversary weekend. Normally, we would have needed to touch base with the cat owner in order to get cash or a check for services rendered. I asked if the gentleman used any sort of payment platform, and it turned out that he used Venmo. Within minutes, money was deposited to our Venmo account. A few days later, she took care of the cats again, and we were paid for her services even before the pet parent got back home. No fuss, no hassle, and everyone was happy.
When you use either a PayPal or Venmo debit card, you see the transaction on your phone as a notification. It is also possible to receive emails of transactions, and of course you can browse the respective sites to view this information as well. This makes it especially easy to keep track of expenses.
On one occasion, my wife and I had breakfast at a local restaurant and I paid for the meal with my PayPal debit card. As we were driving to our next destination, I looked at my phone and realized that the restaurant had accidentally overcharged us a considerable amount for our meal. I wouldn't have noticed this until sometime later if I had used my bank debit card. We were able to immediately return to the eating establishment where the problem was quickly and professionally rectified.
The Bottom Line
If you find yourself needing to exchange money with friends, I definitely recommend setting up a free Venmo account. Venmo's iOS app also works well.
PayPal is here to stay, and the iPhone app is my preferred way to use the service.
Next time, we will take a look at Apple Pay. Happy spending until then.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
Related Articles:
- FreshBooks Makes Accounting Accessible for the Blind by Jamie Pauls
- Small Business in the Gig Economy: How Freelance Services have the Potential to Create Employment by J.J. Meddaugh
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