What is PayPal? - PyCon JP 2025 Chair's Report
Hello, this is Nishimotz, the Chair of PyCon JP 2025.
PyCon JP 2025 will be held at Hiroshima International Conference Center from September 26-28, 2025 (the final day is for development sprints). PyCon JP is Japan’s largest Python community event, an international nonprofit conference organized primarily by Python community members.
Thank you so much to everyone who has already registered for PyCon JP 2025 tickets! When registering for paid tickets through connpass, you’ll encounter “PayPal” in the payment process. Some of you might wonder, “What is this?” or feel anxious because “I don’t usually use this service…”
Today, let me explain the payment system for PyCon JP participation and share my thoughts about it.
This post is based on my note article “What is PayPal?” from July 31, part of my #100-day challenge.
Why Does PyCon JP Use PayPal for Payments?
First, let me explain the payment system structure. connpass, the event management platform we use, only supports PayPal for pre-payment of paid events.
So the direct reason is: “Because PyCon JP uses connpass for event management, the payment method becomes PayPal.”
For PyCon JP, which attracts participants from around the world, the ability to safely and efficiently manage participation fees through PayPal, a global standard payment service, offers tremendous advantages.
However, we also recognize that some people don’t have PayPal accounts or feel hesitant about the registration and identity verification procedures.
Our Vision for Cashless Operations and Request for Cooperation
Let me share a bit about what happens behind the scenes of event management. I’ve personally handled cash management at events, and it’s truly challenging work. Calculating sales, preparing change, and above all, the pressure and risk of carrying large amounts of cash places tremendous mental burden on organizing members.
While we understand there are various opinions about cashless operations, we’ve standardized ticket sales to be completely cashless. This is so that everyone involved in operations can focus on making the conference content better, rather than worrying about money management.
We also believe this leads to safer and more secure events for all participants.
This policy can only succeed with the understanding and cooperation of all participants. Thank you so much for your continued support.
Addressing Barriers to Participation
It’s true that platform specifications create constraints, making it difficult to immediately address all requests—like payment method limitations. This time, we strongly wanted to “actively work on what we can control through our own decisions,” which led us to introduce “Free Student Tickets.”
Recent PayPal Developments
PayPal has been implementing enhanced security measures recently. 3D Secure authentication is now required for many transactions, which means you might need to complete additional verification steps during payment.
Also, if you haven’t used your PayPal account for a while, you may need to re-verify your bank account information or update your payment methods. It’s worth checking your account settings before making your PyCon JP ticket purchase.
Beware of Fraud
Please be careful of phishing emails that appear to be from PayPal. Legitimate PayPal communications will:
- Address you by your registered name (not generic greetings)
- Never ask for passwords or sensitive information via email
- Always direct you to log in through the official PayPal website
If you receive suspicious emails, do not click any links. Instead, log into your PayPal account directly through their official website to check for any legitimate notifications.
For Smooth Procedures
Let me share the smooth procedure I practice when making these payments.
First, before opening the connpass page, I open PayPal’s official site and log into my account.
Why? Because this prevents situations like “frantically entering ID and password on the payment screen” or “accidentally logging into the wrong account.”
It’s also perfect to check things like card expiration dates and identity verification status at this time.
Furthermore, during the payment process, you might encounter card company authentication screens (3D Secure) or PayPal’s own multi-factor authentication (MFA). That’s why I recommend completing preparations beforehand to minimize any “rush and confusion” during the procedure.
With advance preparation, even if additional authentication is required after applying on connpass, you can calmly handle it and proceed to the payment screen.
Examples of Using PayPal as a Receiving Method
PayPal isn’t just for making payments—it’s also useful for receiving money. For example, when international conferences provide financial aid or travel grants, PayPal is often used as the transfer method because:
- International transfers are handled efficiently
- Currency conversion is automatic
- Transaction records are clear and trackable
- Recipient verification is straightforward
This is another reason why familiarity with PayPal can be valuable for active conference participants.
PyCon JP 2025 - “pieces of python, coming together” - September 26-28, Hiroshima