If you need to send or receive money from friends try Venmo.com: https://venmo.com/
(there is also an iPhone app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/venmo/id351727428?mt=8
).
The beauty of Venmo is that all you need to sign up is an email and phone
number. Then you can use your credit card to send money to someone, and then
they can immediately transfer the money you sent to their checking account.
Sending and receiving money is 100% free!
The only catch is that it is on an invite only basis right now, so to get an
account you must either be invited by someone or you can sign up to get on
their wait list.
Either way this sure beats PayPal!