Are you familiar with the phrase "pay pipes" from a public park? A slot that visitors can put money in but can't reach in and take money out? You've probably thought, "I want a digital version of that: a URL that people can click to send me money."?
If so, you need to set up a PayPal.Me.
What Is PayPal.Me?
PayPal.Me is an optional tool within your PayPal account that creates a public face for that account. This makes it easier for other people to send you money or request money from you over PayPal, particularly if that person hasn't interacted with your PayPal before. Public crypto wallets work similarly but have fewer bells and whistles.
The process of setting up a PayPal.Me link is fast and easy as long as you already have a PayPal account. However, finding the tool at first is somewhat difficult since it is buried within PayPal's Request interface.
How to Create Your PayPal.Me
To set up your PayPal.Me link, follow these steps:
- Log into your PayPal account, and select Send and Request from the banner menu at the top of the page.
- From the menu at the top of this page, select Request.
- Click Get your own PayPal.Me on the right side of this page.
The first step to creating your PayPal.Me is to come up with a custom URL. In the end product, this will take the form Paypal.com/paypalme/[custom].
An indicator in the text field will let you know whether that URL is available or taken by another user. Once you have a satisfactory and available URL, click the Next button underneath the text field.
After this, you will have another opportunity to review your profile. After all, PayPal.Me makes your account more outward-facing than it was before.
From here, to change your profile, you have to open your account in a new tab or go back to change your profile and restart the process. It's actually easier to change your account later, but we'll get there.
If everything looks good, agree to PayPal's T&C and Privacy Policy and then select the Agree and Create button.
Now, you get a cheery confirmation page from the team at PayPal. From this page, you can select Done to go back to your main PayPal page, or select Manage Profile to update a few things.
Editing and Managing Your Profile
If you got here by selecting Manage Profile when you first made your PayPal.Me, that's great. If you made your PayPal.Me before, that's fine too.
Just go back to the Send and Request and Request pages. The button to access your PayPal.Me account is in the same place in that menu on the right, only now it says Share your PayPal.Me.
From this page, you can preview what your PayPal.Me account looks to visitors. The first fun change that you get is selecting a background image by selecting a camera icon in the upper right corner of the image.
You can upload your own image, or you can choose some default options from PayPal.
Scrolling down, you get to the more practical settings. For example, you can set your location to show your city/state or not appear at all.
You also get an optional 200-character About you blurb. Your Profile Status essentially allows you to turn your URL on and off. Finally, you can toggle whether people can find you via email and/or phone.
PayPal.Me: When and Why to Use It?
There are several potential use cases for a link that lets people send you money. First, you can share it on your birthday via social media. Secondly, you can use it for crowdsourcing for special needs or goals without creating a page on a website like GoFundMe.
Alternatively, if the profile is for a charitable organization, you can leave the link on your other web pages all year. PayPal gives you the option of turning this feature off while you aren't using it, which is handy as there aren't a lot of reasons to leave your URL in public places long-term.
Using PayPal for your business has many benefits, but you are probably better off using their invoice tool than simply sending clients and customers a link to pay you.
How Will You Use PayPal.Me?
PayPal.Me is an excellent tool. Using this technology, people can find you and make all kinds of virtual payments in easier and more convenient ways than ever before.