A bitcoin paper wallet is just the Bitcoin private key printed on a piece of paper.

Despite the fact that paper is one particular distinct medium of holding the private key you will find other companies which have incorporated them into physical coins, for instance Casascius.

Paper wallets are a type of cold wallet and primarily a bearer instrument - whoever holds them has access to both the Bitcoin private crucial and thus the address.

So you could possibly essentially hand the wallet to a person in lieu of payment - they would have to trust that you didn’t have yet another copy of it although and wouldn’t run off and invest the balance prior to they could.