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To send a personal payment with PayPal, sign in, open Send and Request, enter the recipient and amount, and choose For Friends and Family if PayPal offers a payment-type choice. Use it only for a genuine personal transfer, such as a gift or splitting a bill—not to pay a seller. Check the recipient, payment details, and fee on the review screen before sending.
Send a Friends and Family payment
- Sign in to PayPal and open Send and Request.
- Enter the recipient’s name, PayPal username, email address, or mobile number. Confirm that the identifier belongs to the person you intend to pay.
- Enter the amount, choose the currency, and add an optional note.
- If PayPal asks what kind of payment you are making, select For Friends and Family only for a personal transfer.
- Choose a funding method, then review the recipient, amount, currency, payment type, funding source, and any displayed fee.
- Send the payment only after confirming those details.
The steps above reflect PayPal’s US website instructions; app layouts and labels may differ. PayPal.Me links follow a similar process: open the link, choose Send, enter the amount, select the appropriate payment type if offered, review, and send. PayPal’s sending instructions describe the flow.
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $105.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $206.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $28.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $206.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $54.95 | Buy on Amazon |
Choose Friends and Family only for personal transfers
Friends and Family is intended for personal payments, such as sending a gift, splitting a meal bill, or paying your share of living expenses. If you are buying goods or services from a seller, choose Goods and Services instead. PayPal’s US User Agreement says not to use a personal transaction to pay for goods or services. PayPal US User Agreement
| Payment type | Appropriate purpose | Purchase Protection | Fee information in the cited US guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friends and Family | Personal transfers, such as gifts or bill splits | Not covered | Sender fees depend on funding method and whether the transfer is domestic or international. |
| Goods and Services | Paying a seller for goods or services | Eligible payments may qualify | PayPal’s cited US help guidance says the seller pays a receiving fee. |
Protection and fees depend on eligibility and local terms. PayPal Purchase Protection explains coverage; personal payments are excluded.
#1 Best Overall
- 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.
Understand fees before sending
Fees vary by country, funding method, international status, and currency conversion. PayPal’s US fee schedule, last updated May 19, 2026, lists no fee for domestic personal transfers funded by PayPal Balance or a bank account, while domestic card-funded personal transfers have a fee. The same US schedule lists the domestic card-funded fee as 2.90% plus a fixed fee, with a $0.25 minimum and $25 maximum. These are US fee-schedule values, not universal rates. PayPal US fees
For international personal payments, that US schedule 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 total. Check the fee PayPal displays immediately before you send; the amount shown for your transaction is the practical figure to use.
Rank #2
- 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.
Can you cancel or recover a payment?
PayPal says a payment that has been sent cannot be canceled or reversed by the sender. 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. That is why checking every detail before confirming matters. PayPal’s cancellation guidance
If a recipient does not yet have an eligible PayPal account, PayPal says they can claim the money by opening one; an unclaimed payment will be refunded. An eligible recipient may also accept or decline the payment. See PayPal’s guidance on accepting or declining a payment.
Rank #3
- 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.
Recognize requests that put your money at risk
Do not let a seller persuade you to use Friends and Family to avoid a fee. A personal payment is not covered by Purchase Protection, which is why PayPal warns that purchase scammers may ask buyers to use this category. Pay the seller using Goods and Services when that is the real purpose of the transaction.
PayPal’s scam guidance also identifies impersonation, romance, extortion or blackmail, investment and cryptocurrency, and property scams. Treat urgent demands, requests for personal information, promises of unusually high returns, and rental-deposit requests sent as personal payments as warning signs. For suspected sextortion, PayPal recommends stopping communication, blocking the person, preserving evidence, reporting the account or content, and seeking support. PayPal’s common-scams guidance
Quick Recap
Best Value
- 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.
Rank #4
- 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.
