Not too long ago, any business that wanted to accept credit cards had to have a merchant banking account. A merchant account is a bank account that allows a business to receive funds from an acquiring bank. An acquiring bank is a bank that acquires the funds from credit card transactions that a business has processed. For many small businesses, especially businesses that operate on the Internet only, obtaining a merchant account can be difficult due to the stringent personal and/or business credit requirements. Fortunately there are several options that enable the small business owner to accept credit card payments without a merchant account. Paypal is one of these options.
PayPal is used by eBay buyers and sellers, online retailers and other internet run businesses. Most eBay listings offer PayPal, and many sellers insist on it. With PayPal, you can request money from anyone with an email address and receive money from anyone with a PayPal account. Whether you're an established merchant or just an occasional seller, PayPal lets you accept debit and credit cards, among other forms of payment, from buyers around the world. PayPal notifies you by email as soon as the money has been sent to you and the sender never sees your financial details.
About Paypal
Founded in 1998, PayPal, an eBay Company, enables any individual or business with an email address to securely, easily and quickly send and receive payments online. PayPal's service builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards and utilizes the world's most advanced proprietary fraud prevention systems to create a safe, global, real-time payment solution.
PayPal has quickly become a global leader in online payment solutions with 40 million account members worldwide. Available in 38 countries around the world, buyers and sellers on eBay, online retailers, online businesses, as well as traditional offline businesses are transacting with PayPal.
PayPal has received close to 20 awards for technical excellence from the Internet industry and the business community at large – most recently the 2003 Webby Award for Best Finance Site and the 2003 Webby People's Voice Award for Best Finance Site.
Located in San Jose, California, PayPal was acquired by eBay Inc. in October, 2002.
From the official Paypal website
Signing up with Paypal
Signing up with Paypal is completely FREE. When you first sign up with Paypal you will be asked what type of account you would like to sign up for,"Business" or "Personal" account... the choice is yours (although the business account is recommended). Personal accounts can be used to send payments to and receive payments from anyone with an email address. Business accounts can send and receive payments, and also accept credit card payments.
After choosing the account type you will then be asked to fill in your personal details: "name", "address", "telephone number", "email address" etc. Once you've completed the form and have agreed to Paypal's terms and conditions you will be asked to add a debit or credit card to your Paypal account (note: you cannot register using a debit or credit card issued in Thailand – use an overseas issued card, ie. U.K., U.S...) . All of these details are used by PayPal to verify that the credit card you intend using is a valid credit card. When the card has been added an email will be sent to your email address in order to verify that it is a valid email address. Open the the email and click on the link to verify.
At the end of the PayPal registration process you will be informed by PayPal that your credit card has been debited with $1.95. This $1.95 debit will show on your next credit card statement with a 4-digit security code (expanded use number) next to it. If you can access your bank account through online banking, wait a few days before checking your statement for the 4-digit security code, otherwise wait till you receive the statement by post. When you receive the statement login to the Paypal web site and type in the 4-digit security code – once entered Paypal will verify your credit card and you can start accepting and receiving payments online.
Paypal isn't the only online payment solution, there are other systems that work in a similar fashion, but PayPal really does lead the pack by a large margin. With over 40 million users worldwide economists are predicting that Paypal, in the not so distant future, could very well surpass the major credit cards as the premier payment method for online customers paying for online purchases. All in all PayPal is the ideal payment solution for those who "can't get", "don't want", or don't need" a merchant banking account.
Sign up for paypal today and get your online business off the ground
to register, click on the logo below...
