Stephen Gardiner, 56, the manager of a Cancer Research UK charity shop, said the parking charge would affect customers and staff.
“In essence my volunteers pay to be here, they pay with their time, and now with parking charges,” he said.
It will also affect the number of shoppers in the store, he added.
“People will go to the easier option, we have a big superstore in Linwood that people can park right outside,” he said.
“I could maybe see an argument for it if there was a real problem with parking round here – but there just isn’t.”
The car park charges follow a number of significant investments Paisley, aimed at increasing the number of people visiting and living in the city centre.
They include the refurbishment of Paisley town hall as an entertainment venue and a new central library in a derelict former shop.
Despite Mr Gardiner’s opposition to the parking charges, he said: “I do think the council have done a lot of good things in comparison to Glasgow, it’s not a complete negative for me.”