PAYPAL ONLINE PAYMENTS

 

Paypal which was founded in 1999 has grown to be the most popular as well as the safest way of sending, receiving as well as making purchases online. One of the reasons why paypal is widely accepted worldwide is the fact that it is very secure. You would not want someone on the other end running away with your hard earn money. Therefore, in order to be successful online, most companies must accept PayPal payments. The company was designed based on the premise that buyers and sellers put themselves at risk anytime they share sensitive financial information.

By acting as an intermediary of sorts - and by handling the complex series of interchanges that must occur between banks, credit cards, debit cards and other financial instruments - PayPal makes it easy for just about anyone to buy or sell something online. This is also true with web hosting. Here are some of the things you might use PayPal for:

ü  Send or receive payments for online auctions at eBay and other Web sites

ü  Purchase or sell goods and services

ü  Make or receive donations

ü  Exchange cash with someone

HOW PAYPAL WORKS

The idea behind PayPal is simple: Use encryption software to allow people to make financial transfers between computers. That simple idea has turned into one of the world's primary methods of online payment.

''You can send funds to anyone with an e-mail address whether or not they have a PayPal account. To receive the funds, though, the recipient must have a PayPal account associated with that e-mail address. Basic PayPal accounts are free, and many financial transactions are free as well, including all purchases from merchants that accept payments using PayPal'' [source: paypal ].

If you have a PayPal account, you can add and withdraw funds in many different ways. You can associate your account with bank accounts or credit cards for more direct transactions, including adding and withdrawing money. Other withdrawal options include using a PayPal debit card to make purchases or get cash from an ATM, or requesting a check in the mail.

Summary PayPal Payment Service

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Payment Processing:	Accept PayPal payments from customers and all major credit cards Accept donations, subscriptions, and recurring payments Let PayPal handle your customer payments Send customers from your website to PayPal-hosted checkout Let PayPal store credit card information Benefit from the PayPal professional fraud verification system
Implementation:	"Buy now" buttons available to do without a shopping cart Integrates with OScommerce, ZenCart, Cube Cart and other shopping carts
Other Benefits:	Get funds directly into your paypal account immediately No software or programming skills needed Have access to free useful tools like Shipping and Tracking Reports, and Financial and Invoicing Tools
Requirements:	High merchant approval rate No annual commitment required US and International merchants accepted
Merchant Fees:	Discount rate (percentage transaction fee): 1.9-2.9% * Transaction cost (fixed fee): $0.30/transaction Setup fee: none Monthly fee: none Gateway transaction fee: none Gateway fee: none

Signing Up for PayPal

Signing up for PayPal is quick, and doesn't even require you to enter any bank account information. However, if you want to use many of PayPal's features, you'll need to add and verify a checking account or credit card. To get started, just click the "sign up" link at the top of the site's home page.
At the next page, you'll choose whether you want a personal, business or premier account. If you just plan to use PayPal for the occasional eBay auction or online purchase, a personal account is the right choice. If you intend to use PayPal to accept payments for a business, then a business or premier account would be more suitable. If you select a personal account, you can upgrade in the future.
From there, PayPal asks for some basic personal information: your legal first and last name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. You'll also need to check the box indicating that you agree to PayPal's user agreement, privacy policy, acceptable use policy and electronic communications policy. Once you click to create your account, you'll receive an e-mail with instructions for verifying your account and confirming your address.
From here, you should know what PayPal means when it refers to this verification and confirmation process. Having your information vetted by PayPal shows both buyers and sellers that you are less likely to be a scammer.

• A PayPal account is verified if you've associated that account with a current bank account or credit card. This is more than just entering account information. PayPal will ask you to follow certain steps to complete the verification process. For a checking account, for example, PayPal will make two micropayments to that account, usually about five cents each. Then, you'll need to enter the amounts of those micropayments as verification.
• A PayPal account is confirmed if you've completed one of three options to signal to PayPal that the address on your account is valid. The fastest of these is to verify a bank account or credit card matching the address you've entered as the PayPal account's address. As an alternative, you can request a confirmation code by mail after you've had the account for 90 or more days, or you can apply for a PayPal Extras MasterCard which confirms your address by running a credit check.