PayPal Powered

Three years ago I was doing some work for a local university helping to redesign an internal website they wanted updated and made more user friendly. When the job was done the person I was doing the job for wanted to use his school issued credit card to pay for my services.

At that time I could not take credit cards because I didn't have a merchant account that is needed in order to accept credit cards. So I had to wait for a check to be issued by their finance department. This process took almost 3 weeks to get approved and then another 2 months to finally get mailed out to me. While I was waiting I searched the Internet like I always do for an answer to my problem, and happened to find the answer to my prayers.

It was PayPal.com, a company out of San Francisco, California that allows you to accept credit cards even if you don't have a merchant account. It does this by sending an email to the person that wants to pay you for your goods or services and lets them complete the transaction by using their bank account or credit card.

The money is then electronically transferred to your PayPal.com account, where you can either use your PayPal.com debit card to withdraw the money or just deposit it into your own bank account.

Unfortunately it was too late for me to use this wonderful service for the university job but I soon used it religiously for every credit card payment made to my business.

It became such a great tool for me to use that I became a premium member, which gave me a higher security status and allowed me to accept and transfer higher amounts of money as opposed to the $500.00 minimum.

So what are some PayPal.com's drawbacks you may ask? Well for one there is no fee to become a member of PayPal.com but in order for you to activate your account you have to give PayPal.com the ability to access either your credit card or your bank account. This is done more for verification purposes but can be an inconvenience if you are in a hurry to accept credit cards right away. There are also transaction fees that are incurred every time you use their service to accept credit cards. The fees range from 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for an account that receives up to $3000.00 per month to 1.9% + $0.30 for accounts that receives up to $100,000.01+ per month.

Once your account is verified via your email, credit card and/or bank account you are ready to go. This is far less than the steps involved in obtaining and maintaining a credit card merchant account where you have to pay for a setup fee and transaction fees. You also have monthly maintenance and gateway fees. To obtain a merchant account it can sometimes take days and even weeks to get up and running. With Paypal.com you can literally be receiving money in minutes.

PayPal.com became so popular among the auction sites it is by far the preferred form of payment accepted. This caught the attention of the largest auction site on the Internet and on July 8, 2002, Ebay.com decided if you can't beat them with your own money payment service, you might as well join them by buying them out.

Since then PayPal.com has expanded into e-shops and customized shopping carts for its over 70 million members. I am very excited about the many customers who have come to prefer paying me with their credit card. Now I don't have to wait almost 2 months for a paper check to arrive. I can get paid today and have the money in my account in an instant using the power of PayPal.com

Jeffrey Alexander Brathwaite, aka "JB" is a Internet Technology Coach, Speaker and Trainer. JB prides himself on helping small to medium size businesses who are frustrated with dealing with the Internet. If you are having problems trying to deal with Email marketing, Search Engine marketing or just getting your own website off the ground. Please go to our website http://www.2thenextlevel.com

---

Excuse Me, Are You Wasting Traffic?

The largest cost and concern of an internet business is... Read More

Accept Credit Cards Online Without A Merchant Account

It is often assumed if you want to accept credit... Read More

Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you... Read More

Top Ten Qualities to Look for in an Online Pharmacy

As you may have noted, there are thousands or even... Read More

Succeed With Your Own Home Based Business

An internet business is by far the best way to... Read More

Set Yourself Apart From The Ordinary

I have written at length about the need to anticipate... Read More

Web Store - Why Do You Need One?

Internet has opened a new era of business opportunities. Each... Read More

7 Suggestions for an i-Mom Friendly Web Site (e-commerce news and statistics)

The Internet began as a male dominated medium, but those... Read More

Overcoming Frustration with Technology

For whatever reason, when we get a new boost in... Read More

The Five Most Commonly Encountered, Off-putting E-commerce Errors

While getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the... Read More

Retirement Signature Frames ? The Perfect Retirement Gift!

When most people think of a retirement gift, they think... Read More

E-commerce: Is It Right for You?

The birth of the Internet and the mass availability of... Read More

Merchant Account Insider Secrets - Accept Credit Cards Online

The process of learning how to accept payments on the... Read More

The Five Steps of E-Commerce

You set up a retail business, you advertise in your... Read More

Short Story: The Benefits of Shopping Online

Maria's new lifestyle: Short story about the benefits shopping on... Read More

The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned

I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days... Read More

How To Turn Any Product You Sell In To Residual Income

The concept of this is for you to offer a... Read More

Maximize Your Froogling for Increased Website Profits

Are you familiar with Froogle? If you are an online... Read More

Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And Its Company

1. Balance - You want to find a directory rich... Read More

Shopping from Your Cell Phone with Froogle Wireless

Many surfers already know about Froogle, Google's shopping portal that... Read More

Chinas IT Industry to Maintain Fast Growth

China's IT industry is expected to see a sales revenue... Read More

The Census and the E-Commerce Wave

Understanding business and product sales can sometimes put me in... Read More

Dont Get Ripped Off Getting A Merchant Account

Far too many people get ripped off when setting up... Read More

Looking For Free Advertising, Here It Is!

There are lots of ways to advertise for free but... Read More

Is Your Website Credit Card Friendly?

In my last column I discussed the process of credit... Read More

Shopping Carts For The Faint Of Heart

The chief criteria for judging an ecommerce shopping cart are... Read More

Online Consumers ? What Are They Complaining About?

For many businesses, e-commerce represents a tremendous method for generating... Read More

Do Your Online Brokerage Business With Zero Down

If you have little or no capital but you want... Read More

The Check is in the E-mail

Have you ever had someone who owed your business money... Read More

Dont give up on your business!

Summer must be when many work at home Mom start... Read More

PayPal Powered

Three years ago I was doing some work for a... Read More

Google to Compete with PayPal?

PayPal is secure in its domination over the electronic payment... Read More

Database: The Secret of Success

BENEFITS OF A DATABASEBy maintaining your list as a database,... Read More