Choose PayPal Payment Links when direct PayPal-hosted checkout suits your sales. Consider Viva Quick Pay for a permanent link where known customers enter the amount. If PayPal wallet acceptance is essential, do not assume a Viva Quick Pay link includes it: Viva explicitly excludes PayPal from Quick Pay, even though its separate Smart Checkout integration can offer PayPal.
This is a buying guide for European merchants selling through messages, email or an existing customer base. “Viva Wallet” is a familiar search name; the current official service is branded Viva.com.
Compare the payment route, not just the provider
PayPal's merchant links provide hosted checkout for products and services without a website. This is a business sales product, not merely a personal PayPal.Me request. Methods and eligibility vary by market; the US page is not a promise that every listed wallet is available to a European merchant.
Viva's Quick Pay guide describes a permanent link, with the customer defining the amount and transaction description. It identifies small merchants with customers they know as a suitable audience, and explicitly excludes PayPal.
| Buying requirement | Direct PayPal Payment Link | Viva Quick Pay | Viva Smart Checkout with PayPal enabled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share a simple sales link | Hosted merchant checkout | Permanent customer-entered-amount link | Evaluate the relevant checkout or payment-order route |
| Keep PayPal wallet buyers | Evaluate local PayPal eligibility | PayPal excluded | Available to eligible merchants after activation |
| Control the order amount | Configure the merchant checkout | Customer enters amount | Verify your payment-order configuration |
| Know where PayPal funds arrive | PayPal account | Not a PayPal route | PayPal account, according to Viva's PayPal guidance |
| Deliver an order or download | Assign a fulfillment workflow | Assign a fulfillment workflow | Assign a fulfillment workflow |
Viva's PayPal integration guidance also states that recurring payments and pre-authorizations are not supported through that particular PayPal integration. That restriction must not be generalized to all PayPal products or all Viva payment methods.
A 36-order worksheet for the channel decision
Here is an original hypothetical planning exercise, not a checkout test or demand forecast. Assume thirty-six €50 sales in a month: twenty-four customers are willing to use a supported card or other available method, while twelve require PayPal wallet checkout.
| Route being considered | Orders whose required method is covered by this assumption | Gross value associated with those orders |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Pay alone, with suitable methods for the first group | 24 | 24 × €50 = €1,200 |
| A locally eligible PayPal-capable route covering both groups | 36 | 36 × €50 = €1,800 |
| Gap to resolve before choosing Quick Pay alone | 12 | 12 × €50 = €600 |
The €600 is the assumed value of orders needing another route. It is not measured lost revenue, a conversion uplift or a savings claim. Some buyers might use another method; others might not. The exercise exposes a purchase requirement that a headline fee comparison misses.
If both groups must remain, compare direct PayPal links with an eligible Smart Checkout route or another suitable collection platform. If the twelve-wallet requirement does not exist in your own customer mix, Quick Pay may be a reasonable simpler choice.
Ask for prices for this actual order mix
Do not compare a US PayPal fee with a European Viva card-present rate. Viva's Quick Pay guide directs merchants to card-not-present pricing under its Interchange++ model. Obtain the current quote for your merchant country, card types, payment methods and currencies.
Use this worksheet with actual quoted figures:
For thirty-six equal €50 transactions, an applicable percentage rate expressed as a decimal contributes €1,800 × rate, and a fixed per-transaction charge contributes 36 × fixed charge. Split the twelve wallet orders into their own category when their charges differ. Add any extra fee for offering PayPal through another service rather than assuming that combining providers removes costs.
Decide who confirms and delivers the sale
A receipt confirms a transaction; it does not automatically fulfill a product. Viva documents an emailed Quick Pay confirmation with transaction details. PayPal lets merchants present product information and configure checkout. Neither fact alone demonstrates the complete delivery workflow your business needs.
For a service, require an order reference, agreed amount and a reliable way to match the payment to the customer. For a download, identify the system that sends the file after confirmed payment and handles a failed delivery. For a recurring client charge, evaluate a supported subscription product instead of treating a reusable one-off link as recurring consent.
Before buying, ask the vendor to demonstrate one successful order, one wrong-amount case and one refund, using your intended route and merchant country.
Where PayRequest adds a collection workflow
Compare PayRequest payment links if you want a branded collection workflow around a supported payment provider. PayPal payments are a relevant route to evaluate; provider approval and local method availability still apply. PayRequest is not presented as a Viva integration.
When selling files, compare the separate digital product delivery workflow. When charging a specific client, consider an invoice rather than asking customers to type the amount themselves.
Check pricing for the platform cost as well as provider charges. Free has a 2% standard payment fee; paid plans have 0% standard platform fees while active, with provider fees and commission-payment exceptions separate. Adding a platform is justified by the work it completes, not an assumption that payment processing becomes free.
Next step: create an account and prepare one business payment link with the correct amount, description and customer handover. Verify your chosen provider before sharing it with paying customers.
*Editorial note: prepared with AI assistance; sources reviewed on 2 November 2026. The thirty-six orders and customer preferences are disclosed assumptions, not measured conversion data or a live provider test.*
