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If you require any personal advice, please seek such advice from an independently qualified financial advisor. While we aim to feature some of the best products available, this does not include all available products from across the market. Although the information provided is believed to be accurate at the date of publication, you should always check with the product provider to ensure that information provided is the most up to date.
Capital at Risk. All investments carry a varying degree of risk and it’s important you understand the nature of the risks involved. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in.
Where we promote an affiliate partner that provides investment products, our promotion is limited to that of their listed stocks & shares investment platform. We do not promote or encourage any other products such as contract for difference, spread betting or forex. Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing which may affect the value of the investment in sterling terms. You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.
PayPal core business is an online payment service that allows individuals and businesses to transfer funds electronically.
The company administers over 434 million active consumer and merchant accounts, and processes around 40,000 payment transactions a minute. It continues to sustain robust growth, and has a 50% share of the global payment processing industry.
However, the past success of PayPal is no indicator of future performance and anyone thinking about investing should consider researching the company more thoroughly to better understand its potential benefits and risks.
Investing puts your capital at risk, and investors should be prepared to lose some or all of their investment.
How To Buy PayPal (PYPL) stock
With this in mind, and once you’ve satisfied yourself regarding the reasons for buying shares in a particular company, there are several steps to take:
1) Open an account
Whether you’re a seasoned trader or new to stock market-based investments, if you want to buy shares in PayPal, you’ll need to open an account with a broker.
Stockbroking is competitive and services for DIY investors range from online investing platforms to investment trading apps.
Before opening an account, remember it is important to:
- Keep your ultimate financial goals in mind
- Be prepared to ride out market ups and downs
- Aim to keep costs to a minimum
- Remember that share investing can prompt tax charges
And before buying any shares, ask yourself these questions:
- Should I take professional advice?
- Am I comfortable with the level of risk?
- What’s my investing budget?
- Can I afford to lose money?
- Do I understand the company in which I’m looking to invest?
- Am I protected if my platform provider/advisor goes out of business?
2) Know where is PayPal traded?
The ticker symbol for PayPal is PYPL and the company is traded on the Nasdaq in the United States.
You should be able to buy US shares through most broker accounts. Buying shares in US dollars incurs a foreign exchange fee (typically around 1%) unless you fund the purchase from a US dollar account.
Most brokers also charge a slightly higher transaction fee for buying US, rather than UK, shares although it’s worth comparing the fees charged by different brokers if you plan to trade US shares regularly.
Here are some factors you may want to know about buying and selling PayPal shares.
Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing which may affect the value of the investment in sterling terms. You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.
You will be asked to complete a W-8BEN form (valid for three years) which allows you to benefit from a reduction in withholding tax for qualifying US dividends and interest from 30% to 15%. Holding US shares also carries exposure to foreign exchange risk. If the pound strengthens against the dollar, your shares will be worth less in sterling and vice versa.
Any profit made on shares regardless of what exchange they are traded on – will be subject to capital gains tax (CGT), unless you hold the shares in an individual savings account (ISA), or self-invested personal pension (SIPP).
Tax treatment depends on one’s individual circumstances and may be subject to future change. The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of tax advice.
3) Do your research
To find out more about PayPal, visit the respective company’s investor relations page.
4) Decide your investment strategy
People tend to invest either with a lump sum or via smaller, regular amounts.
The latter method is often referred to ‘pound cost averaging’, which may help you pay less per share on average over time. Rather than waiting to build up a lump sum, it means an investor’s money is put to use straight away.
5) Place an order
Once you’re ready to buy shares in PayPal, log in to your investing account. Type in the ticker symbol PYPL and the number of shares you want to buy, or the amount of money you want to invest.
6) Review PayPal’s performance
Whether your share portfolio is crammed full of companies or holds a handful of stocks, we believe it’s vital you review how each component is performing on a regular basis: monthly, quarterly, annually, or whichever frequency is appropriate.
Doing this enables you to review performance and ask if any adjustments to your holdings are required.
PayPal stock price performance
The graph below displays the past performance of PayPal. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Investments in a currency other than sterling, are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing which may therefore affect the value of the investment in sterling terms. You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin.
- Q4 total payment volume (TPV) increased 7% year-on-year to $437.8bn while 2024 TPV increased 10% to $1.68 trillion
- Q4 net revenue increased 4% year-on-year to $8.4bn while 2024 net revenue increased 7% to $31.8bn
- Q4 transaction margin dollars increased 7% year-on-year to $3.9bn while 2024 transaction margin dollars rose 7% to £14.7bn
- Q4 GAAP earnings per share (EPS) fell 6% to $1.11, non-GAAP EPS increased 5% to $1.19
- 2024 GAAP earnings per share (EPS) increased 4% to $3.99, non-GAAP EPS increased 21% to $4.65
- Company launches $15bn stock repurchase programme.
How to sell PayPal shares
If you want to sell your holdings, log in to your investing account, enter the ticker symbol and select the amount you want to sell.
If you’ve made a substantial profit, you may be liable to pay CGT when you come to sell your holdings, especially if your shares were held outside of a tax-exempt wrapper such as an ISA.
The CGT tax-free allowance for the tax year 2024-25 is £3,000. Find out more about CGT, rates and allowances.
Be mindful that the content of this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of tax advice.
Why consider owning shares?
Before buying shares in any company ask yourself why you’re taking that decision. Does the company have potential prospects with a share price that could go from strength to strength?
Is there takeover talk that could potentially drive up a company’s share price?
Maybe the company you’ve identified is on a recovery mission and its share price is starting to recover from previous lows.
How to invest in PayPal via a fund
Investing directly in individual stocks can be an absorbing and, hopefully, profitable experience. It may also qualify you for shareholder perks specific to the company in question.
However, investing directly in individual companies can leave you more vulnerable to stock market volatility as well as unforeseen swings in share prices.
That’s why, financial experts often recommend that people invest in a diversified mix of asset classes and investment funds that hold hundreds, if not thousands, of company shares.
Being a major component of the Nasdaq index, PayPal is found in many funds incorporating a bias towards the US.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PayPal pay a dividend?
No. As of March 2025, Paypal has never paid a dividend to shareholders.
Can I buy PayPal shares with a debit card?
Yes, in the sense that you’d need to add funds using a form of method of payment. One option is using an appointed card to an existing online investing service or trading app before making the share trade from there.
What does it cost to trade PayPal shares?
This will vary depending on the investment service/platform that an investor is using to trade.
Broadly speaking, there are three main types of fees. First is a share trading fee that investors are charged by a platform each time they buy or sell shares.
Note that some platforms charge no fee for this activity, while others may charge a flat fee of typically between £6 and £12.
Second comes the platform fee which is typically levied as an annual fee charged for holding shares on a particular investing platform. Again, some providers impose no fee, others charge a flat fee, and some services charge a percentage, typically 0.25% to.0.45% per annum of the underlying portfolio.
If you buy or sell shares denominated in a foreign currency, nearly all of the investing platforms charge a foreign exchange fee. Again, this will vary among providers, but tends to sit in a range from 0.5% to 1.5% per transaction.
Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing which may affect the value of the investment in sterling terms.
You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.
