The birth of a habit
In the early 2000s, the internet felt untamed and slightly dangerous. Typing card numbers into random websites felt reckless. Packages vanished. Sellers disappeared. Refunds were a gamble. Then PayPal appeared — calm, polite, and reassuring. Across Europe, people listened. But in Germany, they truly embraced it.
Germany: where PayPal became a reflex
Germans never loved credit cards.
Debt felt suspicious.
Cash felt honest.
Banks were trusted — the internet was not.
PayPal felt different.
When eBay exploded, PayPal came with it. And once Germans found a system that worked, they didn’t abandon it.
Years passed. New payment methods arrived with shiny interfaces and bold promises. PayPal stayed — not because it was exciting, but because it was reliable.
Eventually, the numbers started to look absurd.
More PayPal accounts than people.
Not because Germans were multiplying, but because:
PayPal stopped being a tool. It became muscle memory.
Why half of Europe barely uses PayPal
This is where the underwater stones — the hidden factors — matter.
PayPal didn’t lose in Europe.
In many places, it simply arrived too late.
France already had Carte Bancaire.
Banks controlled the checkout. PayPal felt redundant.
The Netherlands had iDEAL — instant, direct, bank-to-bank.
Why add a middleman?
The Nordics built Swish, Vipps, and MobilePay — real-time, phone-number-based systems backed by banks.
PayPal felt slow and foreign.
Southern and Eastern Europe leaned on cards, cash, and strong local banking apps.
Fees mattered. Trust was local.
While PayPal waited, Europe quietly built its own roads.
The UK: convenience over caution
Across the Channel, the story changed again.
The British were comfortable with credit cards. Online shopping exploded early. What they wanted wasn’t protection — it was speed.
PayPal became the shortcut:
In Germany, PayPal was a shield.
In the UK, it was a fast lane.
Different motivations. Same result.
The quiet downsides no one advertises
PayPal still looks friendly — but regular users know its shadows.
Money freezes. Not everyone who complains get the money back.
Support answers in templates.
Currency conversion fees quietly high.
And when PayPal pauses your account, there’s no counter to stand at — only emails and waiting.
People complain.
Yet they rarely delete their accounts.
Why?
Because PayPal is the emergency key
PayPal today isn’t the future of payments.
It’s the backup plan.
People keep it for:
Apple Pay is faster.
Bank transfers are cheaper.
Local apps are smoother.
But when something feels risky, people still ask:
“Can I pay with PayPal?”
So yes — people still use PayPal.
Not everywhere.
Not all the time.
But enough that it refuses to disappear.
In Germany and the UK, it became habit.
In much of Europe, it became optional.
And globally, it became something rare in tech:
Not loved — but trusted.
And sometimes, trust is enough to survive.
