The PayPal Stripe integration is built into Stripe: you turn on PayPal as a payment method, link your PayPal account, and customers can pay with PayPal at your Stripe checkout. Where it stops: Stripe says it is only for Stripe accounts in the EU (except Hungary), Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK and Switzerland. If you keep the money in PayPal, you match the payments by hand and Stripe's sales charts leave PayPal out. Anywhere else, you run the two side by side. Nobody checks that the two add up. AI agents do that work.
What a PayPal Stripe integration has to do
Plenty of customers want to pay with PayPal. Plenty of businesses run everything else through Stripe. When the two are apart, you have two sets of payments, two sets of fees, two places refunds come out of, and two dispute inboxes to watch.
So connected has to mean one checkout that offers both, money landing where you expect, and one set of numbers your bookkeeper can trust. Stripe's own PayPal option does the first two in Europe and the UK. The third is the part people still do by hand.
Three ways to use PayPal with Stripe
Where your Stripe account is based decides most of this.
PayPal through Stripe
- How it works
- Stripe's built-in PayPal payment method. You turn it on in the Stripe Dashboard and connect your PayPal account. Customers are sent to PayPal to pay, then back to you. You see PayPal payments, refunds and disputes in Stripe, and you set whether the money lands in Stripe or stays in PayPal.
- Good for
- Businesses with a Stripe account in the EU, the UK, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland that want one checkout and one dashboard.
- Where it breaks
- Stripe says it is for Stripe accounts in those countries only, and not in Hungary. If you keep the money in PayPal, Stripe says you reconcile by hand from PayPal's reports. Platforms that sign up other businesses to take payments, like Shopify or Squarespace, can't use it.
Stripe's PayPal adapter (preview)
- How it works
- Stripe's PayPal custom payment method uses your own PayPal account. Your team hosts a PayPal adapter Stripe wrote, and Stripe sends PayPal payments from its checkout through it.
- Good for
- Businesses outside those countries that have a dedicated Stripe account manager.
- Where it breaks
- Stripe calls it a preview. You ask your account manager for access, and Stripe charges its own fees on top of PayPal's. Someone on your side has to host and look after the adapter.
Run both, with Zapier in between
- How it works
- You keep PayPal and Stripe as two payment options at checkout. Zapier can start from a PayPal sale and add a customer or an invoice in Stripe.
- Good for
- Businesses anywhere that want to offer both PayPal and Stripe at checkout.
- Where it breaks
- It copies what each step says and nothing more. Refunds, disputes and fees are separate steps you build and keep up. Some Stripe steps on Zapier check for new data every 15 minutes on the free plan.
Arkeo agents
- How it works
- Agents read the day's payments, refunds, fees and disputes in both PayPal and Stripe, match them to your orders, and flag what doesn't line up. They draft the dispute reply with the proof, and send the owner one weekly total from both.
- Good for
- Businesses that take money through both PayPal and Stripe, where a missed refund or dispute costs real money.
- Where it breaks
- Refunds, dispute answers and anything your rules keep for a person wait for a yes from the owner.
How to set up PayPal in Stripe
These follow Stripe's guide to turning on PayPal. They apply if your Stripe account is in one of the supported countries.
- 1Turn on PayPal
In the Stripe Dashboard, go to the Payment methods settings page. Find PayPal and click Turn on.
- 2Set where the money goes
Set the Settlement preference with care: Add PayPal funds to your Stripe balance, or Keep PayPal funds in PayPal balance. Money in Stripe is matched for you. Money kept in PayPal you match yourself. Changing it later takes a support ticket.
- 3Connect your PayPal account
Click Continue to PayPal. Connect your PayPal account, or make a new one, and PayPal sends you back to Stripe.
- 4Clear a pending status
If PayPal shows as pending, confirm the email address on your PayPal account and finish any checks PayPal asks for. If it stays pending, contact Stripe support.
- 5
Check it at checkout
Stripe Checkout, Payment Links and Elements can show PayPal without code changes. Make a test payment and a refund, and check where each one lands.
Where the Stripe PayPal integration stops
Stripe's PayPal option puts PayPal at your checkout. Matching the money, the fees and the disputes across both accounts is still somebody's job.
It depends on where you are. Stripe's guide lists the EU (except Hungary), Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK and Switzerland. Outside those, Stripe's route is a preview you ask an account manager for.
Money kept in PayPal is matched by hand. Stripe's settlement guide says that if the money stays in PayPal, you reconcile it yourself using PayPal's reports, and Stripe's Gross and Net volume charts won't show those sales. You also have to keep money in both accounts to cover refunds, disputes and PayPal's dispute fees, because Stripe doesn't move money between them.
Fees and disputes live in two places. Stripe says PayPal's fees aren't on Stripe's tax invoice; you get those from PayPal. For some disputes, talking to the customer has to happen in the PayPal dashboard, not in Stripe.
Switching accounts resets subscriptions. Stripe says that if you switch to a different PayPal account, recurring payments turn off, and you have to collect customer approval again.
Your store may not show it. On WooCommerce's feature request page, store owners ask for PayPal in the Stripe plugin, and one says PayPal is on in their Stripe account but doesn't show at checkout.
None of it tells you, at the end of the week, whether PayPal and Stripe together match your orders.
The agents that do it
Each agent does one job from start to finish, in your own PayPal and Stripe. Your team talks to them in Slack or Teams.
Your store and PayPal agree.
- Compares PayPal payments to store ordersevery day
- Finds payments with no order, or refunds not in the storeper payment
- Sends each one to your team with the causeright away
Answer disputes on time, with the proof.
- Spots new disputesas they happen
- Gathers the receipt, emails and proofsame day
- Sends it to your team to submitbefore the due date
Your numbers, without pulling them by hand.
- Adds up new, upgraded and lost customersweekly
- Checks Stripe against QuickBooksweekly
- Sends the report to your teamMonday morning
Questions
Is my customers' information safe?
Yes. Agents work in your own PayPal and Stripe accounts and see only what their job needs. Customer details never go into public AI. Agents connect to AI through business-grade connections audited under SOC 2.
Can Stripe accept PayPal payments?
Yes, if your Stripe account is in the EU (except Hungary), Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK or Switzerland. You turn on PayPal on the Payment methods settings page and connect your PayPal account. Elsewhere, Stripe offers a PayPal adapter as a preview through its account managers.
Can I move money from PayPal to Stripe?
With PayPal through Stripe, you can set PayPal payments to land in your Stripe balance. If you keep the money in PayPal instead, Stripe doesn't move money between the two accounts.
How long do I have to refund a PayPal payment in Stripe?
Stripe says PayPal payments can be refunded up to 180 days after the payment. The refund comes from Stripe or PayPal, depending on where you set the money to land.
What does it cost?
You get the price on the call, along with the hours it saves your team.