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How to Use PayPal Friends and Family Safely

Use PayPal Friends and Family for personal transfers only. Here’s how to send, check fees, and avoid using it for purchases.

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To send a personal payment with PayPal, sign in, open Send and Request, choose or enter the recipient, enter the amount and currency, and select For Friends and Family if PayPal offers that option. Use it only for a genuine personal transfer, such as a gift or splitting a bill—not to pay a seller. Check the payment details and any fee on the review screen before sending.

Send a Friends and Family payment

These steps reflect PayPal’s US website guidance. PayPal’s app may use different wording or place controls elsewhere, and available options vary by market.

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  1. Open Send and Request. Sign in to PayPal and select Send and Request.
  2. Choose the recipient. Enter their name, PayPal username, email address, or mobile number. Check carefully that it identifies the intended person.
  3. Enter the payment. Add the amount, choose the currency, and include an optional note if useful.
  4. Select the payment type. If PayPal presents a choice, select For Friends and Family only for a personal transfer. Do not use it for a purchase.
  5. Choose how to pay and review. Select a funding method, then verify the recipient, amount, currency, payment type, and displayed fee.
  6. Send the payment. Confirm only after the review details are correct.

To pay through a PayPal.Me link, open the link, choose Send, enter the amount, select the appropriate payment type if offered, and review the details before confirming. PayPal’s US sending instructions describe the website and PayPal.Me flow.

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Choose Friends and Family or Goods and Services based on why you are paying

Friends and Family is for personal payments, such as a gift, splitting a meal bill, or paying your share of living expenses. Goods and Services is the appropriate category when you are paying for something from a seller. PayPal’s US User Agreement says not to send a personal transaction when paying for goods or services.

#1 Best Overall
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $100 (plus $5.95 Purchase Fee) - For Online Use Only
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
Payment type Use it for Purchase Protection Fee context in the cited US guidance
Friends and Family Personal transfers, such as gifts or splitting bills Not covered by PayPal Purchase Protection The sender may pay a fee depending on funding method and location
Goods and Services Paying for goods or services Eligible payments may qualify for Purchase Protection The seller pays a receiving fee under the cited US help guidance

Do not choose Friends and Family simply to avoid a fee. A seller who asks you to use it for a purchase is asking you to give up Purchase Protection for that payment. PayPal explains the distinction in its US fee guidance and Purchase Protection information.

Understand fees before you send

Fees depend on the market, whether the transfer is domestic or international, the funding source, and whether currency conversion applies. The figures below are from PayPal’s US consumer fee schedule, last updated May 19, 2026; they are not universal rates and may change.

Rank #2
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $200 (plus $6.95 Purchase Fee) - Glam (For Online Use Only)
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
  • Domestic personal payment funded by PayPal Balance or a bank account: PayPal lists no fee.
  • Domestic personal payment funded by a card: PayPal lists 2.90% plus a fixed fee, with a $0.25 minimum and $25 maximum.
  • International personal payment: PayPal lists a 5% fee, with a $0.99 minimum and $4.99 maximum, in addition to the applicable domestic fee. Currency conversion can also affect the amount.

Because the total depends on the details of your transfer, check the fee displayed on the review screen immediately before sending. PayPal says it discloses applicable personal-transaction fees during the send process. For other countries, rely on the local fee schedule and the amount shown for your transaction.

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Check details carefully: sent payments may not be reversible

PayPal says a sender cannot cancel or reverse a payment after sending it. Before confirming, verify the recipient identifier, amount, currency, payment type, and funding source. If you sent money to the wrong person, entered the wrong amount, or chose the wrong payment type, contact the recipient and ask them to refund it.

Rank #3
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $25 (plus $3.95 Purchase Fee) - For Online Use Only
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.

If the recipient does not yet have an eligible PayPal account, PayPal says they can claim the money by opening one. If the payment is not claimed, it will be refunded; an eligible recipient may also accept or decline it.

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Recognize payment requests that put you at risk

Be cautious when someone you do not know asks you to send Friends and Family for a purchase. PayPal warns that purchase scammers may request a personal payment because it is not covered by Purchase Protection. Do not let a seller’s request or promise of a lower price determine the payment category.

Rank #4
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $200 (plus $6.95 Purchase Fee) - For Online Use Only
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.

PayPal’s scam guidance also covers impersonation, romance, extortion or blackmail, investment and cryptocurrency, and property scams. Treat urgent demands, requests for personal information, unusually high-return promises, and rental-deposit requests sent as personal payments as warning signs. For suspected sextortion, PayPal advises stopping communication, blocking the person, preserving evidence, reporting the account or content, and seeking support. See PayPal’s US scam and fraud guidance.

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Best Value
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $50 (plus $4.95 Purchase Fee) - For Online Use Only
  • Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
  • When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
  • This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
  • Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
  • This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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