Which scores better when comparing Azimo vs Paypal? See how each provider scores and who wins when comparing their services, fees, supported countries and customer service.
Azimo gives individuals easy access to international money transfers with a variety of payout methods. There are only a handful of currency exchange and transfer companies that provide such services. Azimo doesn’t just transfer money to a payee’s bank account, but also uses foreign agents for cash picks, payment into foreign mobile wallets and mobile credit top ups.
A unique service that Azimo offers is the ability to send money into China’s Alipay. This could be the decision maker for individuals comparing Azimo and who need to transfer money home to China.
What Azimo doesn’t offer is more of the advanced money transfer and currency exchange services that some individuals may need. Azimo does not provide services such as currency risk management tools, regular transfers or personal account managers for those large money transfers. You may want more of the personal touch instead of an online only money transfer service.
What Azimo offers
International money transfers
Cash pick ups
Mobile wallet and mobile airtime top ups
Home delivery (only in the Philippines)
Payments to AliPay in China
What Azimo doesn’t offer
Account managers
Regular transfers
Travel cards
Currency hedging tools
Unique local multi-currency accounts
Digital wallets
PayPal
33
33
PayPal provides different services for personal customers from a number of countries. However, the services on offer vary from one region to another. PayPal's consumer product is a digital wallet where the customer's ID can be their email address and phone number. PayPal customers can send money to each other's digital wallets quickly and easily. The PayPal digital wallet can be connected to a bank account and debit or credit cards. This allows customers to withdraw available funds to their bank accounts. Connecting their bank cards allows customers to buy goods and services on e-commerce stores where PayPal is accepted as a payment method.
What PayPal does
International money transfers.
Debit and prepaid cards.
PayPal Credit.
Links multiple payment methods to your account to shop online.
Digital wallet to hold funds in multiple currencies.
What PayPal doesn’t do
Dedicated account managers.
Risk management tools.
Cash pickup.
It's a draw!
Both equally compare in the Personal Features category.
Draw
Business Benefits
Azimo
11
11
Azimo's services for business clients are limited to basic money transfer services. What they do offer is a lower exchange rate margin (think hidden fees) for larger money transfers. Azimo doesn’t provide business centric services that businesses with a global presence need to reduce their ongoing money transfer costs and reduce administration. For example, accounting solutions (e.g. Xero) integration is not available which increases booking keeping administration. Nor does Azimo offer solutions for online sellers operating in a foreign market or unique international receiving accounts for foreign clients to pay locally.
A list of what Azimo do and don’t offer businesses is below.
What Azimo for business offers
International money transfers
Repeat transfers
Better rates for transfers over £1,000
What Azimo for business doesn't do
Business specialists
FX-optimized travel cards
Currency hedging tools
Digital wallets
Unique local multi-currency receiving accounts
Solutions for online sellers
Accounting integration
PayPal
56
56
PayPal for business provides a range of specialized services for businesses from different countries. Businesses can use PayPal to create and send invoices and receive payments. PayPal's merchant solution allows online sellers to accept PayPal as a payment method. Customers can use the PayPal payment gateway to buy goods or services using their PayPal account or directly with credit or debit cards. PayPal has more solutions for business accepting micro payments which may be quite useful when selling low cost products.
What PayPal for business offers
Make and accept international payments.
Solutions for online sellers.
Digital wallet to hold funds and transact in multiple currencies.
Payment gateway to accept card payments.
Accepts in-store payments with a card reader and a smartphone or tablet.
Easy accounting integration through APIs, SDKs, code samples and pre-integrated solutions.
Risk management through fraud and seller protection.
Mass payments.
What PayPal for business doesn’t do
Account managers.
Currency hedging tools.
PayPal wins!
PayPal scores better in the Business Benefits category.
Winner
Fees & Exchange Rates
Azimo
4
4
Azimo’s exchange rate fees and additional fees are higher in comparison. Azimo’s exchange rate margin (the additional percentage on top of the current real exchange rate) is also quite high. There are some justifiable reasons why fees to send money for cash pick up as 3rd parties are involved. The lowest cost transfer by making payment through local bank transfer and sending to a foreign bank account will end up costing more.
Azimo fees
Transfer fees - The Azimo transfer fee varies depending on the currencies involved, the mode of payment, the transfer method and the transfer amount. Additional fees are approximately €12 (or currency equivalent).
Cash pick up fees - Sending money to an Azimo cash pick up location is typically more expensive than transferring it to a bank account.
Credit / debit card payment fees - Payments made via bank transfers tend to be more affordable than credit/debit card payments.
Fee-free transfers - New personal customers get two fee-free transfers, and the number increases to five for new business customers.
Exchange rate margin - Azimo applies a margin on existing mid-market exchange rates, which can be between 1.5% and 2.25% depending on the currencies being traded.
PayPal
0
0
PayPal fees vary based on where you live and the services on offer. Below we show sample fees for the USA. For more detailed information on fees for PayPal merchant solution, iCompareFX has created an interactive payment gateway fees comparison tool and more detailed breakdown of merchant variable and fixed fees by region.
Fees for sending money within the US
Payment method
Fees
PayPal Cash, PayPal Cash Plus or a linked bank account
$0
Credit card, debit card or PayPal Credit
2.9% of the transfer amount, plus a fixed fee
Fees for sending money overseas
Payment method
Transaction fees
Funding fees
PayPal Cash, PayPal Cash Plus or a linked bank account
5% of the transfer amount (minimum of $0.99 and maximum of $4.99)
$0
Credit card, debit card or PayPal Credit.
5% of the transfer amount (minimum of $0.99 and maximum of $4.99)
2.9% of the transfer amount plus a fixed fee
Fees for selling
Mode of selling
Fees
Selling in the US
2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction
Selling internationally
4.4% plus a fixed fee based on the currency received
PayPal Here card reader
2.7% for card swipes, or 3.5% plus $0.15 for manually entered transactions
PayPal exchange rates
PayPal adds a margin of up to 3% on existing mid-market rates when carrying out currency conversion. Combined with the fees you need to pay, the cost of sending money overseas through PayPal becomes rather prohibitive.
Azimo wins!
Azimo scores better in the Fees and Exchange Rates category.
Winner
Ease of Use
Azimo
61
61
Azimo has an ease to use system. It is easy to register, prove identity and start your first transfer. As a basic money transfer service you would expect just that. Their speed of transfers are relatively fast with multiple pay in and payout options.
Signing up - Register using the Azimo app or website.
Payment options - Bank account transfers, debit cards, credit cards, SOFORT and iDEAL.
Speed - Up to 2 business days, although it can be more in some instances.
Multilingual website - Use the Azimo website in different European languages.
Mobile apps - Available for iOS and Android.
PayPal
68
68
What PayPal does well
Sign up - Signing up takes little time, and you may do so by using the PayPal website or app.
Payment options - You can fund your account and transfers in different ways such as bank transfers, debit cards and credit cards.
PayPal app - The PayPal app is available for iOS and Android.
Where PayPal could improve
Phone transfers - PayPal customers can not send money over the phone.
PayPal wins!
PayPal scores better in the Ease of Use category.
Winner
Support & Countries
Azimo
69
69
Azimo has good global coverage for supported destination countries. Most destination countries support cash pick and mobile top-up. Only the Philippines is supported for cash delivery to the home.
Supported destination currencies - Carries out transfers in more than 60 currencies.
Customer support - Multilingual support provided via email and chat.
PayPal
88
88
What PayPal does well
Supported countries - PayPal provides its services in more than 200 countries and territories.
Multilingual website - You can use the PayPal website in different languages.
Where PayPal could improve
Local phone support - PayPal could do better by providing local phone support in countries with large customer bases.
PayPal wins!
Azimo scores better in the Support and Countries category.
Winner
Trust & Transparency
Azimo
63
63
Azimo is a regulated financial entity within the UK and conducts millions of pounds of funds transfers for individuals and businesses every year.
Regulation - Regulated by financial regulatory bodies in the UK and the Netherlands.
Customer service - Gets a rating of Excellent on Trustpilot. However, there are reviews by customers that complain about not getting adequate customer care.
Exchange rate transparency - Azimo does not have a transparent fee structure. The margin on existing exchange rates can exceed 2% for some currencies.
PayPal
32
32
What PayPal does well
PayPal is licensed to provide its services in all the regions in which it operates.
Dispute resolution and purchase protection for buyers.
Where PayPal could improve
Customer rating - PayPal gets a rating of Bad on Trustpilot. Several PayPal reviews written by customers highlight the company's poor customer service. None of the recent reviews have been answered by PayPal. Regular PayPal complaints are related to business accounts being suspended during disputes with no notice or follow up by PayPal. This has lead to a large number of unanswered complaints on Twitter, TrustPilot and Google reviews.
Exchange rate transparency - The non-transparent exchange rate margin leaves many customers wondering about the true cost of their transfers.
Azimo wins!
Azimo scores better in the Trust and Transparency category.
Winner
The Result
Winner
PayPal
Paypal wins by a point. While they tie on Personal Features neither does well in the Fees and Exchange Rates category as they do not have competitive rates.
Winner
