Managing group expenses while traveling is one of the most annoying human activities. You often forget who paid for what; there’s so much math involved, and it gets even more complicated when some expenses don’t have to be spread evenly across the group. Luckily, apps like Splitwise have become one of the most popular tools for managing group vacation expenses.
PayPal has announced that it is introducing an easy and free way to collect or contribute funds to the app. Starting today, users can create a “pool” and add people to it. Pool members can use it to manage group spending while traveling, so you and your friends don’t have to spend an hour doing the math on the last day. The company says it should also be useful in group gifts, where everyone has to contribute to a shared gift. The feature should also be useful for agreed-upon shared expenses, such as rent and utilities, that are shared between roommates.
Here’s how to create a joint fund in the app. Go to the app menu and select “Money pool” or find the “Additional options” menu in the “Send/Request” tab to create your pool. Next, give it a name, description, target date, and an optional amount. Then share the pool link with your group via text message, email, or WhatsApp, among other options. Your group can then donate directly to the pool using your link. Once the funds are sorted, click “Transfer” on the pool page to transfer them to your PayPal balance.
Splitwise has long been a popular app for this purpose, but it does have some limitations. First, it’s built on a freemium model, which means you can use the most basic features without paying, but you have to subscribe to a paid plan for advanced features. It’s annoying that the “advanced features” include something as basic as adding more than three expenses to a group during the day. The new PayPal feature is completely free.
Secondly, third-party applications such as Splitwise require account registration. PayPal’s pooling features work even for non-PayPal users. The pool organizer is the only person who has an account, but they can invite anyone to join the pool.
In addition, the money in your PayPal app can be used without going to the bank. You can shop in-app for a long list of participating retailers. In special pooling apps, the money transferred to you will not be used until you manually transfer it to your bank account.
