Digital payment platforms are great for splitting dinner with friends. But when you need to buy a car, most payment platforms fall short.
We’ll walk you through the pros and cons of digital payment platforms for car transactions, and we’ll introduce you to a new peer-to-peer option that beats them all.
Cash App is a peer-to-peer money transfer platform developed by Square, Inc. It’s known for its intuitive interface and bitcoin trading feature.
After linking your bank account or debit card, you can send money using the recipient’s “$Cashtag,” phone number, or email. Cash App also offers a free debit card, allowing users to spend their balance directly.
Cash App features free transfers from linked accounts or Cash App balances. If the seller wants to be paid immediately, they’ll have to pay a 1.5% fee for instant transfers. The sending limit of $7,500 per week is higher than some competitors but still falls short for most car deals. Another downside to Cash App is that new accounts are capped at sending and receiving $1000 a day for the first week. If you or the seller needs to make an account, it will take a long time to finish the deal.
A group of U.S. banks created Zelle. Many banks have integrated Zelle into their websites and mobile apps.
If your bank offers Zelle, you’ll find it in your banking app. Otherwise, you can download the Zelle app separately. You can pay for a car using the seller’s email or phone number. The funds move directly between bank accounts.
While Zelle doesn’t charge fees, your bank might. Zelle also has restrictive transfer limits, which vary by bank but typically hover around $2,000 to $5,000 per day. That’s a dealbreaker for most car transactions.
PayPal allows you to send money through the PayPal website or a mobile app.
You and the seller set up an account linked to your bank accounts, debit cards, or credit cards. Sending money is as simple as entering the seller’s email or phone number and the amount. The seller usually receives payment instantly and can hold funds on the platform or transfer them to a bank account.
PayPal takes a 2.9% + $0.30 cut for goods and services. This means on a $40,000 car purchase, the seller is looking at $1060.60 in fees. With so many other available payment options, most sellers will be less than thrilled with this and will look to pass these on to you.
The platform also caps out at $60k, so if you’re buying a more expensive vehicle, you’re out of luck.
PayPal also owns Venmo, a mobile payment app. Venmo is popular for splitting bills and paying friends.
After linking a bank account or debit card to your Venmo account, you can send money to contacts by email or phone number.
Venmo is free for most transactions but tacks a 3% fee onto credit card payments. The big problem for you? A weekly sending limit of $4,999.99. That won’t cover most cars.
Most payment methods, including digital platforms, involve a trust problem. You and the seller are caught in a catch-22; they don’t want to hand over the keys until they’re paid, and you don’t want to send payment without assurance you’ll get the car. To solve the trust problem, you’ll need some outside help.
Traditionally, an escrow service helped both parties overcome the trust catch-22—but at a price. Escrow services are expensive. They’re also inconvenient and add complexity and hassle to the deal.
A bill of sale creates accountability within private transactions. It’s a legally binding document, signed and countersigned by both parties. Should the seller have dishonest intentions, you have a document that would prevail in court.
It’s easy to print two copies of your state’s bill of sale. For states that don’t have an official bill of sale, a generic version works equally well. Before money or car title exchange hands, you and the seller can fill out both copies, sign, and countersign.But two problems still exist for printed bills of sale:
A digital bill of sale—stored online, signed, and countersigned under both parties’ legal identities—overcomes the problem. That’s where DealNow comes in.
DealNow is a digital payment solution designed for high-dollar car transactions. It’s fast, simple, and secure. Forget about hefty fees, transaction limits, and scammers. DealNow lets you set up a verified account from home and complete a private-party car sale on your mobile device anywhere, anytime.
With DealNow, you and the seller sign a digital bill of sale, stored securely in the cloud and accessible through your DealNow dashboards. This cutting-edge approach solves the trust dilemma and protects your records from theft, damage, or loss.
Here’s why you should use DealNow to buy your next car:
DealNow isn’t just another form of payment. It’s an all-in-one platform for safe, fast, private-party car transactions. Here’s how we compare to the rest:
| DealNow | Cash App | Zelle | PayPal | Venmo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cost |
Low (flat fee) |
1.5% for instant transfers |
None |
2.9% + $0.30 |
3% for credit cards |
|
Transfer limits |
None |
$7,500 per week |
$2,000–$5,000 per day (varies by bank) |
$60,000 |
$4,999.99 per week |
|
Security |
High |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Moderate |
|
Speed |
Instant |
Instant (with fee) |
Instant |
Instant |
Instant |
|
Chargebacks |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Identity verification |
Yes |
Limited |
Limited |
Limited |
Limited |
|
Optional title check |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Verify odometer reading |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Order a vehicle inspection |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Integrated bill of sale |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Guided transactional workflow |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Shop for insurance |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Order car shipping |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Get vehicle financing |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Save the other platforms for paying your friends, and purchase your next car the right way.
DealNow is the safest digital payment option. Unlike general-purpose apps, DealNow is designed for high-dollar vehicle sales. It combines instant transfers, title checks, and a digital bill of sale to streamline vehicle purchases and let both parties finish the deal quickly.
Our platform guarantees secure payments by verifying both parties’ identities, confirming the buyer has sufficient funds, and providing a legally binding digital bill of sale.
People prefer digital payments for their convenience, speed, and security. They don’t have to visit a bank or carry large amounts of cash. With DealNow, you can finish a car transaction any day, anytime, anywhere.
Our payment system facilitates instant transfers, includes built-in safeguards, and offers a complete solution for private-party car transactions. Plus, your funds are held in FDIC-insured accounts with easy offboarding to your regular financial institution, giving you peace of mind throughout the process.
Digital payment through a platform such as DealNow is significantly better than physical cash. It’s more secure and convenient, and it provides a clear transaction record.
With DealNow, you get the immediacy of cash with bank-level security, all from your smartphone. No need to carry large sums of money or worry about counterfeit bills.
Digital payments through a specialized platform such as DealNow are much safer than checks. Checks can bounce or be forged, while DealNow verifies funds and identities before the transaction.
With checks, you’re often left waiting days for funds to clear. DealNow provides instant transfers with built-in safeguards, making it a better choice for car transactions.
While wire transfers are secure; they’re also slower and less convenient than DealNow. DealNow offers the security of a wire transfer with the speed and convenience of a digital payment service.
With DealNow, you get instant transfers without exposing your banking details to strangers. Plus, the built-in safeguards like identity verification and digital bills of sale make the process smoother and safer than traditional wire transfers.
Buyers need a payment method that’s secure and offers protection against fraud. DealNow’s identity verification, title checks, and digital bill of sale give buyers peace of mind. It provides a complete transaction platform with additional features such as vehicle history reports and inspection services. This comprehensive approach makes DealNow the right choice for buyers in private-party car transactions.
While escrow services add security to transactions, they are slow and expensive. DealNow provides escrow-like protection with the speed of a digital transaction. The DealNow platform verifies identities, confirms funds, and has both parties sign a digital bill of sale before you transfer funds. You get escrow-like safety without the delays and high transaction fees.
DealNow is the easiest way to close your own vehicle deal, anytime. It’s the safe and simple way to avoid fraud, sign documents, and instantly transact, all in one app.
