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How to Buy Stocks with PayPal [2024] | Step-by-Step

How to Buy Stocks with PayPal
Nemanja Curcic

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.

Highly Rated Stock Trading & Investing Platform

  • Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.

  • 0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.

  • Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.

  • eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.

30+ million Users
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs, only real Crypto assets available. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

Can you buy stocks with PayPal?

Companies exchange stocks for money to grow and develop. As a business expands and increases in worth, so do the stocks that investors hold in those businesses. Since the S&P 500 tracks the 500 largest U.S. companies, stocks have generated annual returns of approximately 10% on average. These returns are 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 need to register on the platform, link your PayPal as a deposit, and you’re ready to invest.

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

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 need only a desktop PC or a phone, and trading gets done in a single press of a button. The stock market can be rough and unstable, but with this trading platform’s tools, you will get more options and features to help you navigate, such as stop loss, take profit, and leverage. 

Buying stocks with eToro (PayPal included).
eToro stock trading image. Source: eToro.com

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.

PayPal is available only after the first deposit in these countries: Bahrain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Jersey Island, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates. PayPal is no longer available for deposits to the eToro balance of users under the FCA regulation. Full information about funding methods on eToro can be found here.

Supported Credit/Debit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron and Maestro.

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.

Highly Rated Stock Trading & Investing Platform

  • Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.

  • 0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.

  • Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.

  • eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.

30+ million Users
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs, only real Crypto assets available. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

About PayPal

PayPal (NasdaqPYPL) is a top-rated and widely used financial service people use to transfer money online. 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. 

Regarding availability, PayPal operates in more than 200 countries and regions worldwide. As a cherry on top, all you need to transfer money via PayPal is to have a connected bank account or a credit card, debit card, or prepaid card.

When buying stocks with PayPal, the service acts as an intermediary between you and a stock exchange offering them.

How to buy stocks with PayPal: PayPal homepage screenshot.
PayPal homepage image. Source: PayPal.com

How to invest in stocks with PayPal

As we mentioned, stocks (or shares) are essentially 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 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.

When it comes to long-term processes and investment, there are two ways to earn profit from buying stock:

  • Investing in stocks as a long-term process is the most common approach. You can hold your shares for years or decades, aiming to earn profit from rising dividends and stock prices over time. Accordingly, short-term losses are acceptable, as investors expect some rebounds as time passes.
  • On the other hand, investors trading stocks hold shares 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 buying and selling actual stocks, which is 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 with PayPal

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 exceeds supply, the prices will rise and vice versa.

Additionally, supply and demand are affected 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 indicates the current supply-and-demand trend, which can help your decision to buy stocks with PayPal.

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. Considering many of these fundamental conditions 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.

Common investing mistakes to avoid when buying stocks with PayPal

  • Investing unthinkingly: 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. On the other hand, 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. In other words, 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 probably won’t, that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed not to. 

Pros

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

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).

In summary, 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.

FAQs about how to buy stocks with PayPal:

Can you buy stocks with PayPal?

Yes, you can buy stocks with PayPal through legitimate brokerage platforms.

How to buy stocks with PayPal?

To buy stocks online with PayPal, you can use eToro‘s platform and trading features. 

Where to buy stocks with PayPal?

You can buy stocks with PayPal on stock exchanges and via trusted brokers. 

Is buying stocks with PayPal safe?

Buying stocks with PayPal is safe as long as you do it through a third-party services.

How to buy stocks?

You can easily buy stocks with PayPal and eToro per the guidelines in this article. 

Are stocks a good investment? 

If done correctly, stocks can be a very profitable investment for any trader. 

Highly Rated Stock Trading & Investing Platform

  • Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.

  • 0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.

  • Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.

  • eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.

30+ million Users
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs, only real Crypto assets available. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

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