Whether you're shopping online or selling, you should have a PayPal account. It's one of the most secure ways of carrying out digital transactions with friends, families, and even business patrons.

Worried that learning how to open a PayPal account to receive money is a little over your head? Think again. Here, we'll look at why you need a PayPal account and how to set up a PayPal account to receive money.

Why Should You Create a PayPal Account?

Over the years, PayPal has managed to stand above the rest, earning its reputation as the defacto payment system for anyone doing business online. The choice to set up a PayPal account to receive money should be an obvious one to make.

PayPal grew as it found a gap in the market between less advanced payment alternatives and greedy credit card processors with the home-team advantage.

Much of this growth was fueled by eBay, which needed a cheap, convenient payment system for its sellers and buyers to share. Sellers couldn't afford credit card processing and buyers didn't want to risk sharing their credit cards with strangers.

Many users wonder: why can't I receive money on PayPal? Your PayPal account sign-up will be the first leg of the race.

PayPal offered a solution to both, a safe and secure way to send and receive money. It works online and offline, provides tools to businesses of all sizes and types, and even offers a pre-paid credit card to eligible users.

How do I set up a PayPal account to receive money? Head on over to PayPal, click Sign Up, choose your account type, and provide a name, an email address, and a password. That's it. It's as simple as that.

Note that two account types are available, Personal and Business. We'll cover how to receive money on PayPal using a personal account and using a PayPal business account, as well.

Related: How to Protect Your PayPal Account

How to Create a PayPal Account to Receive Money

Individual account subscribers can use their PayPal account to send money to websites, to buy things online, and to send and receive money from people that they know. You can use any type of PayPal account to receive money, individual PayPal accounts included.

For example, there's eBay. You might have sold the odd item on eBay, which doesn't require a PayPal business account, and received the money just the same. You can also receive money from people beyond eBay as well. Friends and family might send you money, or you could have a PayPal link on your website for donations.

For years, the most common way to receive payments on PayPal has been to simply request a payment from someone.

How to Set Up a PayPal Account to Receive Money for Individual PayPal Account Users

With a personal PayPal account, you can request money by signing in to your account and selecting Request Money.

How to activate PayPal account: to receive money, all that you need to do is sign up.

In the field that follows, enter the email address of the person who you want to receive money from. Add the value of the request, a note, and, if necessary, another email address. Up to 20 addresses can be entered at a time. Click Request Now to complete the process and wait for the funds to be sent to you.

PayPal provides many other options for your customers and clients when sending you the money that you're owed. How do I set up PayPal to receive money when this method isn't the best option?

Using the PayPal App to Set Up a PayPal Account to Receive Money

With the PayPal mobile app on iPhone and Android, you can request payments in three ways.

  1. Enter the name, email address, or mobile number of the person you're requesting money from. Enter the amount, add a message, review the amount, and click Request Now.
  2. You can Share Your Link using social networks and email. This creates a clickable link that the recipient can use to send you money via PayPal.
  3. Split a Bill is ideal for paying the balance at a restaurant or when pooling your funds together for a gift. Just input the value of the bill, add the email addresses of the group, and request the money.

How Do I Set Up PayPal to Receive Money If I Own a Business?

PayPal offers several tools to help you receive money as a business owner, aside from simply requesting it straight-up. These options are available to business accounts and include subscription tools, buttons, and point-of-sale tools as well.

1. PayPal Invoices

For business purposes, you can create an invoice with PayPal to send to clients. You have three options: a standard, one-off invoice, a recurring invoice, and an estimate.

PayPal Invoices have all the fields that you need for customization—specifying invoice numbers, setting logos, and adding addresses. The result is a polished, professional invoicing system.

2. PayPal Checkout

Running a website with merchandise for sale? A full e-commerce catalog? Either way, PayPal Checkout is at your disposal, either by adding a few lines of code or by adding complete integration.

3. PayPal Subscriptions

How do I open a PayPal account to receive money? That'll depend on your situation.

PayPal offers a useful feature for receiving timely, regular payments: PayPal Subscriptions. Simply select the subscription product, add details, select a pricing model, and a periodic fee.

4. PayPal Point-of-Sale Terminal

Businesses that use PayPal and that have signed up to its Commerce Platform can use Zettle. This is a PayPal-owned service that offers a portable reader and mobile app for handling card payments.

It's ideal for pop-up shops, market stalls, craft fairs, and similar small businesses. If credit card processing overheads are likely to crush your profit, Zettle might be one viable solution.

5. Virtual Terminal Payments

PayPal also lets business accounts receive payments using a virtual terminal system. This feature enables you to process debit or credit card payments over the phone. Virtual terminal payments use card-not-present authorization and must be applied for before you start using them.

6. PayPal QR Codes

QR codes are another great way to receive money. No one needs to handle cards, making it ideal for restricted contact or lockdown scenarios.

In the United States, PayPal charges users 1% of the money that they make with each QR code transaction. Check your local PayPal authority for details, as different countries charge slightly different fees.

7. Add PayPal Buttons to Your Site

Adding PayPal buttons to your website is one easy way to set up your PayPal account to receive money.

Another great PayPal feature is the ability to add payment buttons to your website. Several buttons are available with labels such as Buy Now, Add to Cart, and Subscribe. Simply select a button, grab the code, and add it to your website.

Creating a New PayPal Account: You're Ready to Receive Money

With so many ways to receive money from PayPal, there's no reason to bother with cash. Friends and family can request money via PayPal with ease in the app, and you can receive money from online sales automatically.

If you're in the process of building your own enterprise, all the better. Setting up a PayPal business account opens up even more options for you.