Thursday, November 13, 2014

How Safe Is PayPal?

Recently, a friend asked my opinion on the safety of PayPal.  I have not researched the exact security methods that PayPal uses, so I cannot comment on exactly what PayPal is doing to keep your information safe.  However, I did make two points regarding PayPal.

First, PayPal's entire business model depends on its security.  If PayPal's security is less than what you would expect to find on an average retailer's site, then no one would be interested in using PayPal.  PayPal knows that one major hack could cause enough people to lose trust and make it go under.  Therefore, I would expect that PayPal's security procedures are similar to that of the largest banks.

Second, given the number of hacks that have occurred recently, I would be most interested in keeping my credit card number in as few places as possible.  If a site offers PayPal as an option, I usually choose that option.  I can then keep my card number in one place (PayPal) as opposed to two places (PayPal and that retailer).  (Obviously, this assumes that you already have a card number entered into PayPal.)  If you think about all the retailers that you might do business with online, paying with PayPal whenever possible will greatly reduce your vulnerability.

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