The increase in net penetration has enabled the phenomenal growth of online business and if experts are to be believed, the business which has already doubled in the last three years is set to grow at least 7 times in the next 5 years or so. To match this growth, the demands on merchant accounts, credit card processors and payment gateways are increasing.
Unfortunately, the growth of online business is matched by a corresponding increase in the parallel professions of Internet fraudsters. To compound the problem further, the legal infrastructure in most countries to deal with network fraud is in its infancy. The electronic contracts that were issued have not tested the judicial waters.
Getting a merchant account is not easy for everyone. It's an expensive proposition in terms of initial setup costs to ensure a fraud-proof network, and the level of security must grow to keep up with increasing threat perception.
So how to demonstrate the consumer's interest in doing business on the Internet with a sense of security? You need to read user reviews and terms and conditions of credit card processors. In fact, http://www.InternetMerchants.info provides a summary of the various credit card processors. It would be good to check it from here.
PayPal
In such cases, PayPal is an easy choice. With more than 85 million active accounts and operations in more than 55 countries, PayPal is the fast, easy, cost-effective, trusted and globally preferred way to shop online. It's practically a merchant account, credit card processor, and payment gateway all in one. No recurring fees, free anti-fraud tools, no setup or gateway fees, free merchant and eBay tools, and with transaction fees starting from zero, for small merchants PayPal offers a virtual merchant account at a fraction of the cost. Although for small customers its rates may seem higher, but for high volume customers it can be cheaper by about 10% than a trading account. For example, for a merchant with $1 million in sales through PayPal, while their standard merchant fees might be $29,520, including various annual fees, PayPal's fees would be $26,550.
PayPal – a good solution for small and medium-sized businesses and professionals
With PayPal, you don't need to have a website, payments can be accepted using an email account, and your customers don't even need to have a PayPal account.
If you are bidding on an item online, PayPal can arrange to automatically notify the winning buyer of the end of the auction with a link back to said item. PayPal will also take care of your shipping needs. It offers you tools to calculate shipping costs, create shipping labels, track delivery, pay for insurance on shipped items, and more.
PayPal has also partnered with Yahoo, and now you can create, set up and manage your own e-commerce website with Yahoo Merchant Solutions, including page builders, simple order and inventory management tools and much more.
PayPal also helps you fight unfair chargebacks from buyers.
PayPal acceptance restrictions
PayPal has some restrictions on the items that can be transacted with it, such as the sale of counterfeit items, gambling, etc.
PayPal is also ideal for buyers.
Sending money
Sending money via PayPal is easy. Money can be sent for free to recipients in 55 countries where PayPal is accepted in US/Canadian/Australian dollars, pounds sterling, yen or euros.
It also helps you earn from referrals
PayPal also helps you earn money by referring your friends. You can put a referral link in your email or website and every time a merchant signs up for a new merchant/premier PayPal account through this account, you can earn a commission of 0.5% of the payment value, limited to $1000.
Security precautions
Working with over 1,000 employees and using encryption and CVV2 checks, PayPal has a strong protection system that prevents identity theft and claims 100% protection against unauthorized payments. PayPal also offers you a free one-month security bar installation to protect against spam and malicious emails purporting to be through your PayPal account, but after the initial one-month period, you'll have to pay for it. In the event of a dispute with the seller regarding the quality or content of the goods, you can contact PayPal's dispute resolution specialists. PayPal also purchased Verisign Payment Services and added industry-leading payment protection tools.
PayPal also has its critics
Although PayPal has a loss rate of less than 0.5%, which is significantly lower compared to Master Card or Visa, PayPal also has a number of critics. The main reason to grouse is that with PayPal you lose your rights under consumer protection laws. PayPal, would not allow you to refund in the event of any unauthorized activity from your credit card or PayPal account. They also complain that PayPal has put in a deadline to take the funds from your bank account to ensure recovery against you.
The worst allegation against this is that if someone pays you with a stolen credit card, your account is immediately marked as "criminal behavior".
In fact, in a lengthy public trial, PayPal decided to settle out of court and pay $9.25 million and walk away from the entire charge, fearing that the ruling might force it to change its questionable practices.
Regardless of the accusations and criticisms, the fact remains that PayPal has become the global leader in online payment solutions worldwide. With a renewed focus on customer satisfaction, it should be able to regain lost ground.
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