I want to make ONE simple financial transaction with someone whose best option is PayPal. This other person has only a Personal account, as far as I can tell, so there is no option for being able to accept money without me having an account.
I would really rather not sign up for PayPal. Not only have I heard all the horror stories, but I don’t want to go through the process just for this ONE stupid transaction. Is there any way around this, or will I have to investigate other options?
I don’t think there’s a way to send money without registering. Unless it’s a need money fast or an excessively large amount, I’d go with a money order and standard mail.
ETA: You probably know someone with an account that could send the money for you and you pay them back.
nvm.
FWIW, I’ve used PayPal for many years, and never had anything but positive experiences.
I’ve used it several times without signing up, mostly to buy things from private individuals destashing yarn and fiber on Ravelry. They sent me an invoice, I clicked the button to pay, put in my credit card info, and then declined the offer to sign up at the end. The invoice was always in that person’s actual name, not any sort of business name, so I would assume the accounts in question were personal rather than business.
The page that describes the “don’t need to sign up feature” specifically says that only Premium and Business accounts have that option, so those accounts must have been one of the two. 
Ask the other person to send you a request for money and see what happens
Send it how? To where?
ETA: Due to various factors, logistical and otherwise, PayPal or some other Internet based method is the best method here. So it looks like I may just have to create an account, make the payment, then close the account. I just hope that it’ll be easier for me to do than the horror stories I’ve heard… Any tips on how to make this go as smoothly as possible?
in paypal there is an option to request money. the other person clicks on that puts in the amount and sends it to your email address. you don’t need to have an account for this to happen. You will then be sent a link with how to pay (credit card only though). As far as I know you should be able to pay and then decline to sign up.
If you are really worried use a prepaid credit card to sign up. That way there is no link at all to any bank account.
I have been using paypal ever since it was an option here in Australia. Never had a problem.
I believe madrabbitwoman has the best advice. Have them send you an invoice and then just pay with your credit card.
That said, I’ve used Paypal for over ten years and have never had an issue.
Even if the person sending the request doesn’t have a Premium or Business account?
I have a regular user account. I just logged in and went to Request Money -> Request Money. At the top it says “You can request a payment from anyone with an email address even if they do not have a PayPal account. Need to add more detail? Create an invoice”
I’ve sent them and I have just a basic account.
FYI, thanks for the above tip. I used it, and seemed to have no problem.
Actually, except for one thing: it’s been about four hours since I made the two payments I needed to make, and the promised receipts have still not been e-mailed to me. I have the receipt numbers, though, so I assume it’s okay — although I forgot to print up an actual receipt before the session timed out. Is this unusual?
In certain convenience stores (most US 7-Elevens, as far as I know) you can buy cards that let you add money to your paypal account. Much like with prepaid phones, you pay the amount plus a small fee, then scratch off the covering on the back of the card to reveal a long serial number. Give that serial number to Paypal, and the money is added to the account.
So you could buy such a card, then communicate the serial number to the other person and they can get the money.
The biggest problem I foresee is you would have very little proof that you paid.
I’ll have to remember that.
Still no receipts. I’m starting to get a little concerned, although one recipient did report getting paid, and while the other hasn’t said anything one way or the other yet, the link in the payment request she sent is now “broken,” so I assume that must mean it’s considered paid, but still.