Selling Online: Why You Need PayPal

PayPal is a godsend to vendors who want to accept payments online. And, with over 100 million account members worldwide, many obviously agree.

I started to research online payment processors in 2004 after writing a few e-books. I'd heard about PayPal, but was still new to this type of processing. Before then, I had been using a more traditional credit card processor. The fees were a bit much, and I wanted an easier way to track payments.

The more research I did, the more the PayPal name popped up. Following are three reasons I not only signed up with them, but have continued to be a satisfied customer.

1. Customer Privacy: If you have an email address, PayPal allows anyone to send you money WITHOUT having to disclose their account information to you.

As a business owner, I was used to keeping information confidential, but in these days of identity theft and fraud, I never liked the idea of being privy to someone's information. With PayPal, they payor doesn't have to give the payee any confidential information.

It feels good to let buyers know that they can purchase from me without having to give me a credit card number or banking information.

Takeaway Benefit: Purchasing via PayPal is as easy as typing in your email address and clicking send. You don't have to share your financial information - ever!

2. The Ease of Signing Up: PayPal makes it quick and easy to sign up. I think it took me all of 3 or 4 minutes.

I have my account hooked to a banking account. So, all I have to do is transfer funds from my PayPal account to my bank account. It's free to transfer funds to a bank account and, according to their website, takes 3-4 business days (in my experience it's usually 2-3 days).

Takeaway Benefit: There's no lengthy approval process and no shopping cart needed. Start accepting payments today. Further, there are no monthly start-up or cancellation fees - and no annual commitment. (from www.PayPal.com)

3. Variety of Payment Options: PayPal accepts all major credit cards and you can even do e-checks. So, you can offer your customer a variety of ways to pay.