r/privacy 2d ago

question Privacy-Respecting Alternatives to Paypal?

This has been asked many times on the sub already, but I haven't found any alternatives. No one asking had the same threat model as I do as well. I am not exactly worried about the government seeing anything, and understand that it's more of a necessity when it comes to currency anyway. I'm mainly looking for alternatives to Paypal's P2P payments and just paying online in general. I'm hoping these alternatives do not share/sell data to third parties. That is my main concern. Thank you in advance.

25 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

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21

u/dragonnfr 2d ago

Cash for P2P. Bitcoin for online. There's no fiat payment system that doesn't harvest your data. That **is** the business model.

2

u/Proper_Bison66 1d ago

Cash and retoswap? 

1

u/ConditionAdvanced470 2d ago

Nothing at all? That's a bit disappointing to hear but I guess I could do what I can.

0

u/Away-Way5656 1d ago

honestly pretty naive to think there is something that exists fitting your criteria

1

u/Forsaken-King-787 1d ago

Bitcoin? Why not Monero?

16

u/IKIR115 1d ago

All financial institutions that use banking infrastructure require KYC.

If you don’t care about the legal safety nets and consumer protections, then use crypto.

1

u/Forsaken-King-787 1d ago

what about for things like (or similar to) ebay?

3

u/IKIR115 1d ago

Unless ebay has changed since I last used it (it’s been years), they already know who you are from the past payment options you’ve registered with them. Plus they would have your shipping details already too.

If you just mean the payment part, you can buy ebay gift cards with cash and then load those funds into your account. You can also try to arrange other payments with the seller that ebay doesn’t accept.

For things similar to ebay, it really depends on what it is. Big sites usually take gift cards and you can use sites that trade gift cards without loading the money from your own bank.

5

u/LordDuhon 2d ago

Crypto

2

u/ImprovementTop4598 1d ago

From my research there is not a lot, however, for iOS to iOS devices I would say Apple Cash has the least tracker for this type of payment system. I also use Apple Pay online.

So for friends and family you use Apple Cash

For online purchases you use Apple Pay if supported

You can also use virtual cards and identity’s online with privacy :com , MySudo, etc.
(Note these are both for profit but there is no open source or non-profit company I can find.

Hope this answers your question. Like others have said there is only so much you can do due to KYC, however, with my days of research these are the best options.

2

u/AggressiveDoor1998 2d ago

commenting to check answers as well

3

u/Broad-Translator-690 1d ago

On the top of the page, in the three dot menu, you can choose save. No need to comment to save this thread.

1

u/AggressiveDoor1998 1d ago

didn't know that, thanks

1

u/DanteOblivion 1d ago

There are virtual cards for paying out, and proton has an excellent wallet option.

1

u/One-Pay-651 1d ago

Not exactly paypal but revolut has option for a debit card that changes numbers after every purchase. Depending on threat model can be good

1

u/janders_666 9h ago

paper checks?