Payment methods compared

Wishlist.de gives you three ways for guests to pay: none at all, PayPal, or card and more through Stripe. Here’s what each one means so you can pick the right one for your list.

The three methods

1. No online payment

The simplest option. You handle the money yourself. Guests reserve a gift or promise a contribution on Wishlist.de, then settle up with you directly — bank transfer, cash, whatever suits you.

Good for:

• small groups who know each other
• anyone who’d rather not set up a payment provider
• office gifts, where the money gets collected in person

2. PayPal

You enter your PayPal.me username. Whenever a guest gives money — a contribution, or a wish you set to money instead of a gift — they see a button that takes them to PayPal with the amount already filled in. Reserving an ordinary gift that the guest buys themselves involves no payment and no button.

Important: you and your guests both need a PayPal account. Without one on either side, the payment doesn’t work.

Good for:

• when you and your guests already use PayPal
• when you have a PayPal.me link you want to keep using

3. Card, SEPA and more, through Stripe

Guests pay on a secure payment page — card, SEPA direct debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay and whatever else you switch on. The money lands in your bank account. Guests need no account with anyone.

You need a Stripe account for this. Connecting one takes a few minutes. Stripe verifies who you are, and asks for an ID document only if its automatic check isn’t enough. Which payment types guests get is up to you, in your own Stripe dashboard — so SEPA, Klarna or TWINT appear only if your account offers them, and SEPA works in euros only.

On Stripe payments there’s a fee: 3% for the platform, plus Stripe’s own fees. For the other two we charge nothing, because the money never passes through us — what PayPal itself charges is between you and PayPal.

Good for:

• when not everyone has PayPal
• larger groups and public wishlists
• creators with a running list
• anyone who wants payments handled properly

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At a glance

	No online payment	PayPal	Card and more
Account needed (you)	No	Yes, PayPal	Yes, Stripe
Account needed (guests)	No	Yes, PayPal	No
Payment types	Up to you	PayPal	Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, plus whatever your Stripe account offers
When the money arrives	However you agree	Straight to PayPal	A few working days, to your bank account
Setup	Nothing	Enter your PayPal.me username	Connect a Stripe account
Fee	No Wishlist.de fee	No Wishlist.de fee; PayPal may charge its own	3% for the platform, plus Stripe’s own fees
Money instead of a gift	Yes	Yes	Yes

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Which one suits you?

Organizing an office gift?

No online payment is usually enough. You see each other anyway and can collect in person.

Making a birthday list for friends?

PayPal is ideal if everyone has it. If not, take card and more, which reaches guests who have no PayPal — within the countries and payment types Stripe supports, and those differ from country to country.

A creator, or a running list?

Any of the three works, and money instead of a gift is what you want in each case. Card and more is the smoothest, because guests pay on the spot; with PayPal or no online payment they pledge and settle with you afterwards.

Not sure?

Start with no online payment. You can switch to PayPal whenever you like; switching to Stripe needs a connected, verified account first.

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Worth knowing

• You pick one payment method per wishlist, not several at once.
• You can change it at any time in the settings — though switching to Stripe needs a connected, verified Stripe account first.
• With every method the money moves directly between you and your guests. Wishlist.de never has access to it.
• Wishlist.de never sees bank details or card numbers. What we store is the amount, whether it went through, and — on a Stripe payment — the transaction reference.
• Bank transfer with an IBAN or QR code, and TWINT, appear in the picker marked as coming soon. They aren’t available yet.
• On a list where guests only reserve gifts and never give money, the section explains that there’s nothing to set up instead of offering you a choice.

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Setting a payment method up

1. Open your wishlist and go to the settings tab
2. Find the section asking how you want to receive money
3. Pick your method and follow the prompts — your PayPal.me username, or connecting a Stripe account
4. Save — from then on guests see your payment option whenever they give money, on a contribution or a money-gift wish; reserving an ordinary gift still needs no payment

Read next

• How to set up Stripe — step by step
• How to receive money with PayPal — setting up your PayPal.me username
• Money instead of a gift — receiving money directly