Item: PayPal Zettle
Rating: 7
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are a non-profit organization that hosts fundraisers off-site multiple times per year. Every year, fewer and fewer people carry cash and we needed a solution to encourage folks to still purchase items from the gift shop as well as easily donate. This was one of the solutions we tried and it worked for most of our situations.

Pros and Cons

Can be a quick way to pay with a credit card.
Is easy to use.
It is a brand name that the general public recognizes and at least mostly trusts.

Missing functionality: It doesn't work well when the cell signal is low, like in a large metal building. We really struggle with slow loading or transactions refusing to go through.
Ideally, we'd want an offline version, but obviously, that's not really possible. If it could function with a lower signal though, that would be a major improvement.

Most Important Features

Recognizable brand.
At least mostly trusted brand.
Simple, easy to use.
Fees aren't the best, but they aren't deal-breakers for us. Higher volume customers may be able to work out better rates.

Return on Investment

Today people carry very little cash. So relying on a cash-only model of business just won't work.
Concessions, gift shops, etc. areas of our events can survive, and without dependence on a big cash box that we then have to always have an eye on.
People will spend more, and even put their cash away, when they find out we can take cards.

Alternatives Considered

Square POS

It's been a while now since I've compared the two, but PayPay and Square were relatively similar for what we needed them for. I think the physical PayPal product at the time was a little bit more of what we needed, but I don't remember it being a very large margin between the two. You probably couldn't go wrong either way.

Key Insights

Do you think PayPal Zettle delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with PayPal Zettle's feature set?

Yes

Did PayPal Zettle live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of PayPal Zettle go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy PayPal Zettle again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

I really struggle with it at certain events we do that are in low cell-signal areas. In higher signal areas, I don't usually have too many problems using it. And it's handy to be able to email or text receipts since as a charity, people can write off their donations and we don't have to worry about providing tax receipts. And they don't have to worry about keeping track of some little piece of paper while they're out and about enjoying the events.

As Cash Disappears, PayPal offers a solid option

Overall Satisfaction with PayPal Zettle (formerly PayPal Here)