PayPal is one of the most widely used payment processors online. While it does have some limitations, particularly on where in the world it can be used, this payment service can be a great help to the newbie ebusiness on a budget. It allows newcomers to accept online credit card payments, as well as transfer money to and from bank accounts and other PayPal accounts. It is important to know how to use it in order to get the most from this service.
Setting up a PayPal account is free. There are 3 main types of accounts available, Personal, Premier and Business. The Personal account is just that, for personal use, paying for things you buy on Ebay and such. Transactions are free with this type of account, but your options for use are quite limited and it is not an account type suitable for ecommerce.
The Business and Premier accounts are nearly identical, except that the Business account allows multi-user access, while the Premier is exclusive. Both are ideal for ecommerce use and offer unlimited credit card transactions, full merchant services and access to a PayPal ATM debit card that can be used around the world. They also charge a percentage of each transaction, depending on the amount of money being transferred.
PayPal is not available in every country, so you need to make sure that your country is on the list for full services. If not, check to see which services are available in your area, as some countries can set up an account but only do online transfers, not withdraw the money. This is vital to know ahead of time!
For the ecommerce site, PayPal offers a full merchant account with secure servers and anti-fraud protection to help protect both you and your customer. They also have a shopping cart and shopping buttons available on the site. You simply enter the information needed, such as price and product name plus shipping costs, etc. and the site will spit out a piece of HTML code that allows you to place the button on your website for any product desired.
PayPa's merchant account can be used with several different shopping carts, so if you don't like the ones they offer on their site, you can easily replace them. Also, the ability to accept credit cards online is a very nice feature that most ebusinesses will appreciate. You can also accept eChecks and direct PayPal to PayPal payments, which expands your payment options quite a bit.
The free merchant account is somewhat limited, but you can upgrade to the Virtual Terminal if you do business in the U.S., which allows you to process credit cards online, by fax and by telephone. This allows a more flexible payment plan both on and offline, ideal for the ecommerce merchant looking to expand offline as well.
PayPal is one of the webs most accepted payment service options for good reason, they have earned their position. For low fees and easy merchant account setup, they are the ideal solution for a new ecommerce website.
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