How to receive money with PayPal
Set up PayPal so guests can send you money in a couple of taps. You need a PayPal.me username; they need a PayPal account.
With a PayPal.me link, guests send you money in a couple of taps — pick the amount, pay in PayPal, tell us you paid — whether that’s into a group fund or as a straight gift. Enter your PayPal.me username in the settings and you’re set.
First: both sides need PayPal
To use PayPal here, you and your guests both need a PayPal account. A guest without one can’t complete the payment.
Which means:
- you need a PayPal account with a PayPal.me link
- every guest needs a PayPal account too
Not everyone has PayPal? Then Stripe (card and more) is the better choice — guests pay with the methods your Stripe account offers — card, SEPA, Apple Pay and more — and need no account of their own. Compare the payment methods →
When the PayPal link shows up
Guests see it in three situations:
- Group fund — after they contribute
- Money gifts — when somebody wants to give money rather than a product
- Part of a bigger wish — when somebody covers a share of something expensive
Without PayPal or Stripe, guests have to ask you for your IBAN or email. With a PayPal link, it’s a single click.
Creating a PayPal.me link
If you don’t have one yet:
- Go to paypal.com/paypalme
- Sign in with your PayPal account
- Choose your link name — something like
maxmustermann - Done
Your link then looks like this:
https://paypal.me/maxmustermann
Picking the name
- Keep it simple and easy to remember
- Avoid special characters
- The name is publicly visible
- Important: the link name can’t be changed later
Finding your PayPal.me username
Have a link already but forgotten the username?
In the PayPal app. Open the app, go to More at the bottom right, tap Request money or PayPal.Me, and your link is there.
On the PayPal website. Sign in at paypal.com, open your profile at the top right, and go to Manage PayPal.Me.
The direct route. Go to paypal.com/paypalme while signed in and your existing link shows.
Note: a PayPal account has exactly one PayPal.me username. You can deactivate it, but not rename it.
Setting PayPal up on Wishlist.de
- Open your wishlist and go to the settings tab
- Find the section asking how you want to receive money and choose PayPal
- Enter your PayPal.me username — just the name, like
maxmustermann - Save
- Press the test button to check the link opens your PayPal page
The test comes after saving on purpose: the button is built from the username already stored on the list, so on a list that never had one it only appears once you have saved.
Tip: the username is enough — you don’t need the whole URL. Wishlist.de builds the link for you.
The username applies to the entire wishlist. Every group fund and every money gift on it uses the same PayPal link.
What guests see
When somebody contributes:
- They enter an amount and press Continue to PayPal
- PayPal opens automatically with the amount filled in
- If the window doesn’t open, they press Send via PayPal instead
- They pay you directly
- Back on Wishlist.de they confirm with I paid via PayPal
They also get two other choices there: to say they’ll transfer the money later, which leaves the contribution pledged, or to cancel because they paid nothing after all.
Once they confirm, the contribution reads Reported as paid until you mark it received.
A money gift works the same way — enter an amount, press the PayPal button, pay, report it back.
What that looks like
✅ Contribution pledged
PayPal opens automatically with the amount (€50).
If it doesn’t, press:
[💳 Open: send the amount via PayPal]
→ The contribution then reads “Reported as paid”
Why the link is worth it
| Without any online payment | With a PayPal link |
|---|---|
| Guests have to ask for your IBAN or email | One click to send |
| You have to share payment details | Everything runs through PayPal |
| More back and forth | One smooth flow |
| Transfers get forgotten | A button as an immediate reminder |
| Amounts get typed by hand | The amount is filled in |
Common questions
Do guests need a PayPal account?
Yes — you and your guests both. If not all of them have PayPal, Stripe (card and more) is the better option, because guests pay there without an account of their own.
Is PayPal required?
No, it’s entirely optional. You can use Stripe instead, or coordinate the payments yourself. Compare all payment methods →
What if I don’t have PayPal?
Wishlist.de works perfectly well without it. With Stripe, guests pay by card as usual. With no online payment at all, they get a note after contributing, saying they need to transfer the money separately. You can put your IBAN or another method in the description of your list or your group fund.
Can I have different PayPal links for different group funds?
No. One PayPal link per wishlist, covering every payment on it. If you need different links, create separate wishlists.
Can I see who transferred?
Wishlist.de can’t see PayPal payments and doesn’t know whether money actually arrived. What you do see is three stages per contribution: Pledged (promised), Reported as paid (the guest said they paid), and received (confirmed by you). Whether the money is really in your account is something you check in PayPal, and then you mark it received.
Can I change the username later?
Yes, any time in the settings. The new name applies to all future payments.
Alternatives to PayPal
Stripe (card and more). If not all your guests have PayPal, this is the alternative. They pay by card, SEPA, Apple Pay or Google Pay with no account of their own. How to set up Stripe →
No online payment. Collecting money works without PayPal or Stripe too — you simply coordinate it yourself, by bank transfer or in cash. Compare all payment methods →
The thing to understand
The money always moves directly between you.
Wishlist.de is a coordination tool. We put givers and recipients in touch:
- ✅ We show who wants to contribute how much
- ✅ We show the overall progress — as much of it as you choose to show guests
- ✅ We forward to PayPal, if you set it up
- ❌ Wishlist.de has no access to your money
- ❌ We never see bank details or card numbers
What we do store is the amount and the status. A transaction reference exists only on a Stripe payment, so on a PayPal list there is none.
The money always goes straight between you. Wishlist.de only handles the coordination.