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I currently have 2 payment options during checkout: Credit Card and Paypal. Currently, clicking on the Credit Card option will reveal a credit card form, and clicking on the Paypal option will take the user to Paypal checkout (on the Paypal site).

I have also seen it where sites such as Netflix, will show a "continue to paypal" link after selecting the Paypal payment method, instead of going straight to Paypal (shown below)

Payment Options

Paypal option selected

Is the "continue to paypal" link helpful to the user, or does it just add an extra step/confusion (because the user isn't taken straight to Paypal after selecting the Paypal option)?

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  • The presence of an arrow next to the PayPal logo might make users think that clicking will reveal something... Jan 11, 2015 at 15:25
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    (especially since it's how it behaves for the other payment options, so the question is definitely about the usefulness of adding this one more step, in my opinion you should always reduce the number of steps as much as possible but in this case we must consider the fact that having a new window/tab opening when clicking a button/link is considered by many as not good for the UX/Accesibility) Jan 11, 2015 at 15:30
  • Thanks for your response. My site's Paypal option does not have an arrow, although the Credit Card option does reveal a credit card form below; so it would seem appropriate that clicking the Paypal option also reveals something, rather than taking the user straight to the Paypal checkout page.
    – mrl
    Jan 16, 2015 at 3:05

1 Answer 1

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I'd recommend to adopt the experience to the user's expectations. When the customer makes the first purchase, it's important to build trust by giving the payment options and showing the popular credit card logos. So, your option is perfectly fine.

Returning customers would like to streamline their checkout process and just one PP button with the recognisable visual style is enough. The returning customers prefer to stick with the same payment method. If they want to change it to the credit card at some point, they have a humble yet still recognisable link "Change payment method".enter image description here

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    Nowadays there's also the option of PayPal Express, which makes a clear distinction between the two scenarios OP described. Maybe you can update your answer with that.
    – Big_Chair
    Nov 18, 2019 at 11:27

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