Digital payment used to be a rather niche payment option reserved for certain e-commerce platforms; however, these days, the number of sites that accept PayPal has greatly expanded. Students are also using PayPal as a way to send and receive payments to people for other forms of goods and services, largely owing to the seamless transactions that digital payments allow.

PayPal started as a simple way to send money between people over email in the early 2000s. Today, it’s a global financial ecosystem that’s used across retail, subscriptions, freelance work, international transfers, and even digital assets. When reviewing insights from Casinos.com, home of independent Paypal casino reviews, it’s clear to see that the number of people who use PayPal as their preferred payment method has drastically increased. 

Why Students Are Choosing PayPal

These days, College students are increasingly adopting PayPal (and Venmo, its subsidiary) as their primary tool for managing their finances. This highlights a broader shift towards digital banking, specifically among Gen Z, with approximately 99% of of students in the US now reportedly using one of these platforms at least once a month.

College students and Gen Z are progressively choosing digital payment platforms over traditional banking, owing to a shift in financial priorities to favor speed, mobile-first accessibility and social integration.

Some of the primary reasons for students choosing digital payments are:

• While traditional banks take up to three business days to clear checks or wire transfers, many digital payment methods clear transactions within minutes or even seconds.
• You can manage your finances, pay bills, and transfer funds 24/7 from your smartphone without visiting a physical branch or having to adhere to traditional bank hours.
• Digital-first systems tend to have lower overhead costs than traditional banks, which enables them to offer you lower transaction fees and sometimes even better interest rates.
• Features that are specifically designed for student life, like bill-splitting for rent or group meals, are more user-friendly on apps like Venmo or Revolut compared to traditional banking sites.
• Using PayPal as an intermediary allows you to shop online without sharing your full financial information with every merchant, and that reduces the risk of data breaches.
• Many digital wallets have automatic record-keeping, real-time spending alerts, and cashback offers that help students on tight budgets track their expenses more effectively than the more traditional monthly statements.

With all of these advantages, it’s clear that choosing digital payments is more than just a trend or something that people do to make them look more tech-savvy. Digital payment systems are safer, faster and more convenient, which are all things that students highly value.

How Are UCLA Students Using PayPal?

A lot of students at UCLA are using PayPal for their personal financial management. Some even use PayPal for specific institutional transactions, although the university’s main billing systems usually rely on traditional credit cards and e-checks.

Students are mostly using PayPal for splitting their living expenses. If you live in Westwood or off-campus apartments, you might frequently use PayPal or Venmo to split your monthly rent and other bills. Foreign students also tend to rely on PayPal to securely transfer funds across borders or link internationally registered cards to U.S.-based services.

Many of the student-run organizations and campus departments are also using PayPal as a centralized account where they can collect dues, fundraise for events or sell merchandise without needing a full merchant ID.

After some of the recent changes that have been made to collegiate sports, PayPal has become one of the main avenues for NIL payments. Ever since UCLA partnered up with the Big Ten in 2024, student-athletes have been able to receive direct institutional payments through PayPal and Venmo. They can then use their PayPal wallets for things like purchasing game tickets or buying supplies at the university bookstore.

Risks and Downsides That Students Should Know

As much as there are so many great benefits to using PayPal, it’s definitely not without its risks. Yes, you can send money instantly and link multiple funding sources, which is great, but you should also be aware of the potential risks involved so you can make a more informed decision about whether or not you want to make the switch to digital financing.

The fact that it’s so easy to send money also means that you can easily be tricked into scams. This happens most often when you send money to the wrong person or respond to a payment request that seems urgent. Getting your money back after making a mistaken payment is extremely difficult and sometimes even impossible. Accidentally sending money to the wrong email or phone number can also have a real financial impact, especially if you’re living on a tight student budget.

It’s also important to be aware that some transactions (especially business payments or international transfers) can incur fees or less favorable exchange rates. You should also be careful of overspending. Since payment apps make spending feel “frictionless,” it’s easier for students, especially those still building financial discipline, to spend more quickly than they intended.

Weigh Your Options

Yes, digital payments make life a lot easier, but they also require more discipline. Sometimes, the limits of traditional banking can act as a buffer against overspending or making poor financial decisions. Even so, PayPal and Venmo have certainly made student life a lot simpler than it was before.