my experience with paypal as anything other than a way to buy things has been exclusively shit. their "security features" like locking your account because of "suspicious activity" on a card that's been expired for 5 years - are little more than excuses to claim your money when after sending them scans of your passport, dental records, grandmother's birth certificate and wifi password you inevitably give up and let it go

their one benefit - ubiquity - isn't even earned. no, they were just early to the scene 20 years ago, then held their nerve until about 2010 after which the major online players pretty much haven't changed. fuck the current online eco[nomic]-system. the network effects of familiarity nearly always trump competence or quality

my advice: never ever have money in your account. it's just too tempting for them. if you're taking payments, auto-transfer them out. if you use it pay for things, use it via a card. since I realised this, I've not once had to unlock my account, no unsolicited two-factor, not even a dodgy notification. it's almost like they have nothing to gain from locking it anymore :o

I have actually had a really good experience with braintree (a paypal service, competes with Stripe).