PayPal Launches New Tool to Simplify Group Gifts and Shared Expenses
With the holidays in sight, you might be planning a trip with family or friends with shared expenses or perhaps thinking of a group-funded gift. PayPal's new tool might come in handy. The company has announced a new feature that lets users create a money pool on the app or online, supporting contribution goals and tracking expenses.
Anyone can contribute to the money pool or fundraiser
Although PayPal has featured bulk payouts, this has been limited to the enterprise level when disbursing payments to multiple accounts, rather than benefiting individual users. Well, the new PayPal money-pooling feature works similarly, though you can now collect money from different accounts.
Basically, the free money-pooling tool allows a PayPal user to become an organizer who can create a pool and send invites to friends or family members through email, text, or message in WhatsApp. Recipients, whether they have a PayPal account or not, can contribute to the pool using PayPal or a bank account.
The PayPal organizer can then spend or withdraw the collected funds to a linked bank account directly. In simple terms, the organizer has the power to manage the amount, although those who contributed can also track the collection and see if the set goal has been reached.
PayPal said it is launching the money-pooling feature to address common challenges among its users, where centralizing all contributions and managing shared costs in one place is required.
Currently, the service is available in the United States and a few European countries, including Germany, Italy, and Spain. PayPal plans to expand the feature to more regions and countries, though it hasn't specified when.
However, this isn't PayPal's first group payments feature. Back in 2017, the company launched a similar money-pooling feature, though it didn't take off as expected, perhaps due to low user adoption and an arduous process. With the revamped money-pooling feature, PayPal is introducing improved functionality and a better user experience.
What are your thoughts on the new PayPal money-collecting feature? Let's hear your opinion.
Source: PayPal
