PayPal Payment System
Paypal is probably one of the most well known online payment systems. It allows people to make online payments in a secure way. It is available in many countries and is used by a lot of different online retailers.
Many people worry about how secure it is to give their credit card details online. They therefore prefer to have a payment system which does not reveal this information. Paypal is a system that allows them to do this. Your details just need to be given to Paypal and they will not pass this information on.
You will have to provide Paypal with details of your bank and credit card. This is collected and held securely. They will then allow you to make payments to companies using either of those or your Paypal account balance. These payments are normally immediate and mean that the retailer will never know your bank or credit details and their details will not be moving through cyberspace.
You can do transactions using Paypal without an account, but you will have to provide your credit card number at the time of the transaction, which defeats the object of using it for its security features. However, many businesses only accept Paypal as a payment method and if you do not want to open an account with them, this will be the only way that you can pay. It would be no different than directly using a credit card when making an online transaction.
You can hold either a Paypal individual account or business account. The functions and fees do differ between the two. A personal account tends to have less features and lower charges for transactions. You can pay out of the account for nothing, either by buying things or transferring money to your bank account. However, receiving money does carry a fee, which is generally a fixed transaction charge as well as a percentage.
Many businesses take advantage of the Paypal merchant account features. These allow them to make up Paypal payment buttons for their websites. It means that they can easily put together an ecommerce site and make money from their website, without having to use an expensive payment tool. They can put together an express checkout system for free, if they already accept online payments. For larger business they can have a merchant account with advanced fraud checks which has a monthly cost. There are transaction fees associated with these, but they can be a lot less than the fees for accepting credit card transactions using other companies and systems. These tend to charge a yearly fee plus higher transaction fees than Paypal.
Paypal is a very popular payment provider. It is used by eBay as well as many other businesses. This means that a lot of people trust it and have accounts and so if a business chooses to use it, it is likely that their customers will be happy with that decision. It can even mean that a business is trusted more because they are seen to be dealing with a very trusted payment provider.
Paypal can basically be used for buying, selling and transferring money. You can use it to buy things online in a secure way. Many people prefer using it to their own credit card or providing companies with their bank details because they know that it is secure. Paypal even has a prepaid card that you can use in high street stores and you can use your mobile in some shops to pay using your Paypal account. Paypal has a simple invoicing system so businesses can easily ask each other for money that is owed. It allows businesses to pay each other immediately and securely. Often Paypal is used to transfer money between friends and family. It is a secure way to do this and means that if you are not seeing the person, then you do not have to post them a cheque. This can be a lot faster and easier. If both parties have a non-business account then transferring money is free and immediate which is a fantastic function to have. There are fees if the money transfer goes abroad or if a debit or credit card is used.
Paypal will accept payments in many currencies. You can withdraw to your bank account but will need to transfer the money to the currency of the country your bank is in before you can withdraw it. This means that it is easy for people from different parts of the world to do business. Although paypal will charge to convert currency and receive payments, it can still be a lot more convenient as well as more secure than making BACS payments or using other systems.
Many people like the fact that you can reverse payments on Paypal. This means that if you pay for an item that you have purchased and you never receive it, you can get your money back. This feature means that many customers feel happy using Paypal to make payments online. They know that if there is a problem they will be able to get their money back.
Paypal also has shopping pages where you can get cash back or discounts if you spend money at certain places using Paypal. This can be great for customers because they will save money, but also for businesses as they can promote themselves using the Paypal brand and hopefully attract new customers.
So the main advantage of using Paypal is that it is trusted. This means that whether you are sending or receiving payment, you know that you will be kept safe. You financial details will not be passed to a third party, whether that is a customer or retailer and you therefore feel secure. Paypal is also popular throughout the world and so many people and retailers use it and know of it. Paypal also has a very clear fee structure which is on their website. Some companies do vary their fees and it can be difficult to know what costs are involved, whereas Paypal makes theirs very clear.
