Use a Paypal group to collect money

What you need: Any web browser Time required: 15 minutes

Online-payments system Paypal has launched a new feature called Money Pools. You can use this to create a group and securely collect money from your family and friends. It’s ideal for contributing to shared expenses like a

group trip, group gift, special event, or to help someone in need. We’ll show you how to create a Money Pool for a 70th birthday gift on your PC. You can follow the same steps by installing the free Paypal Android or IOS app.

STEP Go go www.paypal.com, click Log In at the top right 1 and log into your account. If you don’t have an account, then click the Sign Up button at the top right to create a free one (you’ll be prompted to link your bank account to it), otherwise log into your existing account. On your Paypal homepage, you’ll see options to add another bank account or card if you want 1 . Here, you’ll see the new Money Pools sectiion 2 . Click Start Collecting 3 , then click ‘Create a Pool’ at the top right.

STEP Now give your pool a name 1 , set the goal amount 2 2 and a date when the pool closes 3 (the latter two are optional). By default, ‘Show the amount you’ve collected’ is ticked 4 , but you can untick this if you want to hide it. After filling in these details, click the Next button 5 . On the following screen, you need to select one of three options to set what contributors can pay: any amount, minimum amount, or an exact amount. At the bottom, you’ll see two tickboxes: to show/hide contributors’ names and show/hide the amounts they’ve contributed. Click Next when you’ve finished.

STEP You’ll now see the option to add 3 a cover photo 1 and a description to your pool (useful to explain why you’re collecting money) 2 . Click the Preview button 3 to see how your Money Pool webpage looks. If you need to make changes, click the ‘Edit details’ link at the top left. When you’re happy, click Publish at the top right, then click ‘Agree and Publish’. You’ll now get a link to the web page that you can copy and email to your family and friends. They can contribute to your Money Pool using their Paypal balance, debit card or bank account (on PC or phone). Fees apply if they use their credit card or if send money from abroad. Upon reaching your intended goal amount, you can transfer the money into your bank account.