Using PayPal to send money to grandchild in college

[PointBreeze]

We want to send money every month to our granddaughter who is starting college in September. Kids that age like to do everything on their phones and tend to lose checks. So we set up a PayPal account and so did she.

We linked our PayPal account to a Chase credit card and did a test of sending her $10. PayPal charged $0.59, which we expected. Credit card charged a $10 cash advance fee. We called Chase and they said they would charge $10 every time we transferred money thru PayPal.

Here are my questions:

1. Do any of you have a credit card that does not charge for a transfer via PayPal?
2. Do any of you have PayPal connected to a bank account? All of our accounts are at Fidelity, and I want to be careful about connecting a Fidelity account to PayPal
3. Lastly, instead of PayPal, is there a better way for us to send $$ to our granddaughter every month?

Thanks in advance!

 

[braumeister]

Cash from a credit (not debit) card will always get a cash advance fee -- that's normal.

You might look into other forms like Venmo or Zelle as well. Should be cheaper.

We want to send money every month to our granddaughter who is starting college in September. Kids that age like to do everything on their phones and tend to lose checks. So we set up a PayPal account and so did she.

We linked our PayPal account to a Chase credit card and did a test of sending her $10. PayPal charged $0.59, which we expected. Credit card charged a $10 cash advance fee. We called Chase and they said they would charge $10 every time we transferred money thru PayPal.

Here are my questions:

1. Do any of you have a credit card that does not charge for a transfer via PayPal?
2. Do any of you have PayPal connected to a bank account? All of our accounts are at Fidelity, and I want to be careful about connecting a Fidelity account to PayPal
3. Lastly, instead of PayPal, is there a better way for us to send $$ to our granddaughter every month?

Thanks in advance!

 

[single2019]

Venmo is free if you use bank account or debit card

 

[Dash man]

I agree, Venmo or Zelle are the way to go.

 

[OldShooter]

I have used PayPal, mostly for eBay sales and purchases, for quite a few years. Transfers are to/from a bank account and I have not had any problems attributable to the PayPal piece. For the past few years the bank has been Schwab, which promises to make good on any unauthorized transactions. I have never had to test this but at least the promise is there. IIRC Fido has a similar but weaker guarantee.

DW uses Zelle through here Wells checking account. Apparently it is an option for her through online banking. No problems AFIK

Neither of us would even consider using apps or saving bank or investment information on our phones or our tablets. DW retired as a megabank SVP, so it is not like she is generally bankophobic. Carrying any kind of financial information on devices that can be lost or stolen just seems stupid to us. YMMV of course.

Edit: Why not have granddaughter set up a checking account with a debit card, to be used only to receive transfers from you? My guess is that credit unions and smaller banks would be more likely to offer no- or low-fee account options.

 

[38Chevy454]

If you have a balance in your Paypal account, you can send as "friends and family" with no fees. But the key is you need money sitting in your Paypal account first. You can link a bank account to Paypal and transfer money into your Paypal account with no fees. Then send granddaughter funds.

Your granddaughter may be able to request money "invoice" from you using your Paypal account. Then you can pay the "invoice" using a credit card which should only have the Paypal fees and no credit card cash advance since it will appear as an invoice paid like a business transaction. That's the only way I can see to use your credit card to pay that would not be like a cash advance. BTW, cash advance on credit cards also charge interest form that day, no 30 day grace period to pay like normal sales type credit purchases.

Or since both above seem a complicated route, you can send direct from your bank with Venmo or Zelle or similar.

 

[RetireAge50]

We use Venmo or Apple Pay to transfer money back and forth between our kids and other friends. Instant free transfers. The money can then be spent at almost all businesses using Apple Pay or transferred to a regular bank account.

 

[single2019]

I have used PayPal, mostly for eBay sales and purchases, for quite a few years. Transfers are to/from a bank account and I have not had any problems attributable to the PayPal piece. For the past few years the bank has been Schwab, which promises to make good on any unauthorized transactions. I have never had to test this but at least the promise is there. IIRC Fido has a similar but weaker guarantee.

DW uses Zelle through here Wells checking account. Apparently it is an option for her through online banking. No problems AFIK

Neither of us would even consider using apps or saving bank or investment information on our phones or our tablets. DW retired as a megabank SVP, so it is not like she is generally bankophobic. Carrying any kind of financial information on devices that can be lost or stolen just seems stupid to us. YMMV of course.

Edit: Why not have granddaughter set up a checking account with a debit card, to be used only to receive transfers from you? My guess is that credit unions and smaller banks would be more likely to offer no- or low-fee account options.

Venmo can be used from a PC. A phone is required only for OTP texts. Venmo is owned by PayPal

 

[COcheesehead]

Venmo. I use it on a phone and a tablet.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

My bank Discover Bank uses Zelle for my instant transfers and it's totally free. You just transfer the money to their phone number or e-mail address. You can do it on your bank app on your phone or your computer and send it from your savings or checking account.
It's so easy and money goes flying back and forth between my kids and I all the time when we're splitting a bill or owe each other money and there is no cost to do it.
When I had a lawn my 70 year old gardener wanted to be paid that way and that's how I started using it. I've even sent a few hundred dollars to my next door neighbor standing in my yard with him next to me when we were splitting a repair cost.
Just be watchful for fake e-mails from Zelle or any of the other services including Paypal, I never click on anything from them and go straight to their websites instead.
Try it, you'll be shocked at how easy it is and they keep track of what you've sent and to who in your account.
You can also do it via Paypal if you link your checking account but don't use a credit card which will trigger cash advance fees.

 

[braumeister]

Another option is Cash app. It's owned by Square, so reliable IMO. Fast and free.

 

[MichaelB]

I use Zelle to send money to family members. As others have said, it’s quick, the transfer is immediate and there’s no charge.

One thing that worries me is recent reports that banks are refusing to reimburse account holders for fraudulent transfers made with Zelle. A recent CFPB clarification has limited bank's ability to reject liability claims but there are still new reports of bank rejecting claims. I don’t use Zelle from my phone, I initiate transfers directly from the bank.

 

[Jerry1]

If you have a balance in your Paypal account, you can send as "friends and family" with no fees. But the key is you need money sitting in your Paypal account first. You can link a bank account to Paypal and transfer money into your Paypal account with no fees. Then send granddaughter funds.

Since you already set up the PayPal accounts, the above seems like the best solution. Just load up your account so there are funds there to transfer as needed.

I’m a complete novice at this, but I have an Iphone and my daughter needed to send me some money and she just texted to me and it showed up in my Cash tab in my Wallet.

 

[cranberryjoe]

If you setup a recurring payment in Paypal, it should happen without fees. I used to do this for a $20 annual website subscription. Paypal would charge my credit card $20, give the website $20, with no fees anywhere. Set it up in Paypal, not at your bank or credit card.

You can also send a one-time payment using Paypal "friends and family". No fees.

 

[braumeister]

I’m a complete novice at this, but I have an Iphone and my daughter needed to send me some money and she just texted to me and it showed up in my Cash tab in my Wallet.

Yes, I forgot about Apple Cash. That's another good, easy, and very secure option.

 

[neihn]

Yes, I forgot about Apple Cash. That's another good, easy, and very secure option.

+1 - Easiest and most secure to send money if both (sender and receiver) are using iphone.

 

[rodi]

We use venmo the most for transferring money to the kids. My younger son's new landlord wants rent paid via zelle... If you have Schwab - it's integrated and available on the website.

 

[qwerty3656]

As others have said, I used Venmo to send money to my kids all the time. Free and easy.

 

[njhowie]

Link your checking account to Paypal and then there's no fees to send...it's really no different than the others. I like using it to send/receive money from family members.

However, DD and the youngsters are all using Venmo and Zelle between each other.

 

[Aerides]

I've had bank accounts linked to paypal for over 20 years. But for instantly sending cash to others, zelle/venmo are far better. Puts the cash immediately in their bank account, no need for the recipient to fiddle with paypal to get access to it once you do the transfer.

 

[jollystomper]

Here are my questions:

1. Do any of you have a credit card that does not charge for a transfer via PayPal?
2. Do any of you have PayPal connected to a bank account? All of our accounts are at Fidelity, and I want to be careful about connecting a Fidelity account to PayPal
3. Lastly, instead of PayPal, is there a better way for us to send $$ to our granddaughter every month?

1. We have a Chase Freedom card linked to our Paypal. I recall specifically one end of year when they were giving 5% back on Paypal expenditures - I used it to send cash Christmas/Hanukkah gifts, and I was not charged a credit card cash advance fee. However, I do not normally use it when I send money via PayPal.

2. Yes, we have an old Credit Union account hooked up to Paypal that we can transfer money from our main online banks as needed to cover any cash transfers. The account normally has less than $500 in it, I feel it keeps our exposure limited in case of any issues.

3. I know Venmo, Zelle, and Google Pay are popular apps, but I have not used them. Recently a grand-nephew had a project and I tried to set up a Venmo account to send money, but there issues that I did not have the time to deal with at the time so I sent it via Paypal to my niece (his mom) for him. I should probably revisit that, just not a priority at the moment

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I use Zelle through my Chase checking account.

 

[aja8888]

I use Zelle through my Chase checking account.

Same here. Works great!

 

[RetMD21]

We also use Zelle for checking to checking transfers. You have to make sure you are sending it to the right person so I did test transfers. Our credit union makes it easy online. I don't need/use a Zelle app. Once you have the correct account and routing numbers saved it would be hard to screw up

 

[SecondAttempt]

I've used Paypal before and have nothing against it. I've heard horror stories about venmo so I avoid it but I know a lot of people use it without issue. I suggest Zelle. It is a payment network set up by US banks and has no fees (although some banks may charge you a fee.)

Any time you use a credit card to charge something cash-like (casino chips, precious metals, cash transfers, travelers checks, etc.) you will pay both a high fee and interest. You just paid $10 to learn that lesson. That's a pittance compared to college tuition.