What are payouts? Mass payments to streamline your business transactions

That’s why many organizations use mass payment solutions. By helping businesses process multiple transactions in a single batch, they make it easier to send payouts for commissions, rebates, and even international payments without the usual stress.

Read on as we answer questions like: what are payouts? What are the benefits of mass payouts or mass payments for your business? And what are the top solutions that’ll streamline payment processing?

What are mass payments, and how do they work?

Mass payments, also known as mass payouts, allow businesses to easily send money to multiple people at the same time, eliminating the need for manual transactions. This solution is especially useful for businesses that work with freelancers, vendors, suppliers, and partners around the world.

But how do mass payments work? PayPal’s business payment solution, for example, lets businesses send funds in bulk, with recipients receiving the money directly in their PayPal accounts. Whether you’re using PayPal’s API (which allows up to 15,000 payments at once) or the batch upload tool (which supports 10,000 payments per batch), mass payouts make managing payments quick, seamless, and scalable.

Click here to create or log into your PayPal business account to start sending mass payments.

What are the benefits of mass payouts?

It’s not enough to just know the answer to “What are payouts?” Here’s a breakdown of how mass payouts can benefit your business:

• Hassle-free vendor payments and supplier payments: Instead of chasing down bank details or processing payments one by one, you can send money to vendors and suppliers using just an email or phone number. Meanwhile, recipients can access their funds just as quickly.¹
• Simplified international payments: Mass payments let you make international payments to recipients around the world — no complicated wire transfers or hidden fees to worry about.
• Automatic currency conversion: Need to pay in USD, CAD, AUD, EUR, MXN, or GBP? No problem. Mass payouts handle automatic currency conversion, so you can send payments to different countries even if you don’t maintain a balance in them.²
• More cost-effective: Traditional payment methods can rack up fees fast. With mass payouts, businesses can cut costs. The sender pays a fee when sending money, while recipients pay nothing to receive their funds.³
• Easier payment reconciliation: Still guessing if a payment went through? Mass payments give you real-time tracking, notifications, and an organized payout history so you always know where your money is going.

When to use mass payments

Wonder what payouts are used for? They can work for all types of industries and situations, including:

• Retail or ecommerce: Online marketplaces often need to send ecommerce payments to hundreds of sellers at once. Mass payments allow them to process payouts efficiently, ensuring sellers receive their earnings on time.
• Financial services: Banks and payment platforms use mass payouts to disburse funds on behalf of their clients, whether for loan disbursements, settlements, or customer refunds.
• The gig economy: Companies that rely on gig workers — such as ride-sharing platforms or freelance marketplaces — often need to process payments quickly, sometimes in multiple currencies. Mass payments make it easy to send payments in bulk.
• Service providers: Businesses offering referral programs, bonuses, or commissions can use mass payouts to send payments automatically and keep their partners and affiliates happy.
• Media: From digital publishers to streaming services, media companies often need to distribute ad revenue, pay content creators, or reward mobile readership incentives.
• Reseller: If you're a retailer that works with multiple manufacturers or suppliers, you don’t want to waste time handling payments one by one. Mass payments help streamline vendor payouts, keeping supply chains running smoothly.
• Non-profits: When responding to crises, non-profits often need to send real-time payouts to relief workers, suppliers, or beneficiaries. Mass payments ensure aid reaches the right people quickly and securely.

What is batch processing?

Batch processing is a method used in mass payments that allows businesses to group multiple transactions together and process them all at once — often at the end of the business day.

Many businesses rely on batch processing for bulk payments, integrating it with their automated payment systems to ensure payments run on a set schedule without requiring constant oversight. This is especially useful for companies making recurring payouts, such as payroll, affiliate commissions, or supplier disbursements.

Learn more about how to manage mass payments and different payout methods.

PayPal mass payment fees

Nobody likes unexpected transaction fees, but knowing the costs upfront can help businesses budget smarter and keep payments running smoothly.

With PayPal’s mass direct payments, businesses can send multiple payments at once without worrying about complicated pricing structures.⁴ Even better, unlike traditional bank transfers, PayPal mass payouts do not charge recipients to receive funds.

Here’s what you need to know:

• U.S. domestic payment fees (via website): A 2% fee, capped at $1 USD per transaction
• U.S. domestic payment fees (via API): A flat fee of $0.25 USD per transaction.
• International mass payment fees: A 2% fee per payment, capped at a specific amount depending on the recipient’s country. Learn more about international payment fees.

To start using PayPal’s mass payments, set up or log in to your account. For more details, check out PayPal mass payment fee information and Payouts terms and conditions.