Overview
PayPal is the earliest and most globally established online payment provider, founded in 1998 by the 'PayPal Mafia' including Peter Thiel, Max Levchin and Elon Musk. As of 2024 it has over 430 million active accounts, operates in 200+ countries and regions and supports 25 currencies. PayPal is one of the most trusted payment methods for overseas buyers, widely used in cross-border e-commerce, DTC stores, SaaS subscriptions, freelance work and Fiverr/Upwork withdrawals — an essential money conduit for Chinese overseas professionals.
Core Features
Global Coverage
Available in 200+ countries with 25 currencies — the universal standard for cross-border transactions
Buyer Protection
180-day Buyer Protection covering items not received or significantly different than described
Payment Security
SSL encryption and fraud detection — card numbers are never exposed to merchants
PayPal Balance
USD balance can be used for spending, withdrawals, transfers and crypto investing
Merchant Invoicing
Generate professional invoices, subscription bills and pay-button links
Bank Withdrawals
Withdraw to a domestic debit card or USD bank account, typically 1-3 business days
How to Use
Sign Up
Register at paypal.com choosing Personal or Business — Business is recommended for China sellers
Link Bank Card
Link a dual-currency credit card or debit card from a Chinese bank and complete KYC
Configure Receiving
Enable PayPal as a payment method in your store — customers can pay by balance or card
Withdraw to China
Withdraw to a linked China bank card at ~1.2% fee, or route USD via LianLian or Payoneer
Founding Story
PayPal's precursor Confinity was founded by Max Levchin and Peter Thiel in 1998, focused on PalmPilot cryptography payments. In 2000, Confinity merged with Elon Musk's X.com and was formally renamed PayPal in 2001. In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion, making it eBay's dominant payment method. PayPal spun out from eBay and IPO'd again in 2015. The founding team, known as the 'PayPal Mafia', later founded SpaceX, Tesla, LinkedIn, YouTube, Palantir, Yelp and more — the most influential founder circle in Silicon Valley. Acquisitions of Braintree and Venmo further expanded PayPal's mobile payments footprint.