How to Buy Stocks with PayPal [2023] | Step-by-Step

Summary: Users can buy stocks with PayPal by relying on the services of a third-party trading platform like eToro, which has the required tools to facilitate, keep track of, and enhance stock investment.

Best for:

Intermediate Traders and Investors

2.8 Million Active Accounts

Get Started

Finbold is compensated if you access certain of the products or services offered by eToro USA LLC and/or eToro USA Securities Inc. Any testimonials contained in this communication may not be representative of the experience of other eToro customers and such testimonials are not guarantees of future performance or success.

Can you buy stocks with PayPal?

Stocks, sometimes called shares, are a staple investing and trading asset. They stand for a portion of ownership of a company, and investing in them can be one of the quickest ways to earn profit.

Companies exchange stocks for money that is used to grow and develop. As a business expands and increases in worth, so do the stocks that investors hold in those businesses. For as long as the S&P 500 tracks the 500 largest U.S. companies, stocks have generated annual returns of approximately 10% on average. Yes, 10% on average, and that’s much higher than what you can expect if investing in cash savings or government bonds.

If done correctly and with a bit of fortune, investing in stocks can bring a lot of money in the long term.

How to buy stocks with PayPal?

You can buy stocks with PayPal; however, you will need to use a third-party brokerage service to invest or trade in stocks. This is done best through a service like eToro. You just need to register on the platform, link your PayPal as a deposit, and you’re ready to invest.

Obviously, you can’t really take your wallet, head to a company, and ask for their stocks. Only certified brokerages have stocks listed as assets that you can buy. To buy stocks with PayPal, we recommend using an investment service such as eToro.

A platform of choice for about 30 million traders, eToro can assist you in trading more than 60 various types of assets, from crypto coins to stocks. To start trading with eToro, you just need a desktop PC or a phone and trading is done in a single press of a button. The stock market can be pretty rough and unstable, but with tools provided by this trading platform, you will get more options and features to help you navigate, such as stop loss, take profit, and leverage. 

What’s left to do is to buy stocks with PayPal, and for this, you only need a registered account on eToro and a PayPal account with access to some funds.

How and where to buy stocks with PayPal: step-by-step

To safely acquire stocks with PayPal, follow these four steps:

• Step 1: Create an eToro account and go through the verification process (personal or company);
• Step 2: Enter the amount of cash that you wish to deposit to your eToro account;
• Step 3: Connect your PayPal to transfer your funds;
• Step 4: Navigate to the ‘Market’ page, select stocks from the list, then select ‘Trade’;
• Step 5: Enter the amount of money you wish to invest into the preferred units of stocks and execute the trade.

Best for:

Intermediate Traders and Investors

2.8 Million Active Accounts

Get Started

Finbold is compensated if you access certain of the products or services offered by eToro USA LLC and/or eToro USA Securities Inc. Any testimonials contained in this communication may not be representative of the experience of other eToro customers and such testimonials are not guarantees of future performance or success.

About PayPal

PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) is an immensely popular and widely used financial service used by people to transfer money online simply. People from all around the world rely on PayPal for both personal and business transactions. The app is easy to use, and the list of services you can do with it is pretty long. 

When it comes to availability, PayPal is supported in more than 200 countries and regions of the world. As a cherry on top, all you need to transfer money via PayPal is to have a connected bank account or a credit/debit/prepaid card. 

How to invest in stocks

As we mentioned before, stocks (or shares) are, in essence, parts of a company you own. You can’t buy stocks directly from a company: you need to buy them from a stock exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the London Stock Exchange (LSE), or the NASDAQ.

Successful companies tend to expand over time. Correspondingly, the stocks that investors hold in the company grow in value together with the business. If all goes well, investors can expect a hefty return on their investment.

As with all investments, nothing is guaranteed. Stocks might underperform, and the growth is certainly not linear. As a general rule, investing in stocks is considered to be a long-term process.

Speaking of long-term processes and investment, there are actually two ways to earn profit from buying stock:

• Investing in stocks as a long-term process is the standard, most common way. Investors tend to hold their shares for years or decades, aiming to earn profit from rising dividends and stock prices over time. Short-term losses are deemed to be acceptable, as rebounds are expected as time passes.

• Trading stocks, on the other hand, hold stocks for a short time and tend to sell anytime from weeks to mere hours. Short-term speculation is riskier, and investors often rely on stop-loss orders to ensure minimum losses in case of bad shifts in price.

With eToro, there are also two methods by which you can buy stocks:

• The most direct method is to outright buy and sell stocks, which is considered to be trading ‘real shares’.

• You can also use CFDs or contracts for difference, which enables trading in both directions and allows features such as leverage.

All these approaches are valid and profitable if you devise and follow a sound investment strategy. If you decide to buy stocks with PayPal, make sure that you know what you’re doing beforehand.

What to look for when investing in stocks

As a general rule of thumb, the most important information you can work with regarding stocks is all information related to a company. Stocks work on a supply-and-demand basis – if demand is greater than supply, the prices will rise and vice versa.

Supply and demand are influenced by news about the company. If the company performs well, its stocks will rise in value. Likewise, if the profits generated by the company are less than expected or the company experiences a technical failure, the value of its stocks will fall. Usually, by looking at past trends, technical analysis is a good indicator of the current supply-and-demand trend.

All kinds of information influence the price of shares of a company, from its position against competition and analysts’ opinions to business politics, affairs, and investor sentiment. Taking as many of these fundamental conditions into consideration constitutes a fundamental analysis of stocks. The more info you take into account, the better approach you’ll be able to take when you’re looking for stocks.

Bear in mind; there are some things you might want to avoid:

• Investing blindly. It’s a sure way to lose money. Make sure to know as much as possible about the company and its stocks before investing;
• Expecting wonders. Keep your expectations real. Small companies are less likely to outperform their big peers. Big companies are less likely to hold ‘lottery-ticket stocks’;
• Not diversifying. Investing in stocks is like investing in anything else: putting all your eggs in one basket is a sure way to fail spectacularly;
• Investing what you can’t afford. If you can’t afford to lose it, don’t invest it. Investing is never a safe bet; you should always be ready for the worst possible outcome;
• Being impatient. Patience is key to investing in stocks. The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. When buying stocks, it’s better to be the second mouse. 

Risks and benefits of investing in stocks

The obvious benefit of investing in stocks is that you can expect higher annual returns than government bonds and currency investments. Furthermore, investing in stocks helps offset inflation; you don’t need as much starting money, and it’s easier to diversify.

However, stocks can be fickle things and a far riskier investment than either government bonds or currency. Many factors affect the performance of companies, and many unexpected factors can rear its ugly head and bring the whole thing crashing down. While it most probably won’t, that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed not to. 

Pros

• High returns with well-performing companies;
• Not affected by inflation;
• Easy to buy;
• Low financial bar to start investing;
• Income from price appreciation and dividends;
• Liquidity.

Cons

• Higher risks than most of the alternatives;
• A broke company means a broken investment;
• Time-intensive research before buying;
• Professional competition (institutions and veteran investors).

To sum up, stocks are quite a dynamic asset to invest in, which translates to high-risk, high-reward situations, many ups and downs, and emotional seesaws. If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea (coffee?), you might consider investing in something comparatively more stable, like buying gold.

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

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