Do-It-Yourself Ecommerce

Another method to accept credit cards on-line without using a merchant account is PayPal. PayPal started out as a way for Internet users to transfer money and has developed into a specialized online merchant bank now owned by eBay.

One advantage to PayPal that I’ve come across is that many shoppers will use PayPal because, by using their own separate account, their spouse doesn’t know about the online purchase.

There is no setup fee or monthly fee, and PayPal charges 2.9% plus a $.30 transaction fee for sales up to $3000/month. The percentage paid comes down as sales per month increase.

You can use PayPal to set up your web site to receive donations and also use it to process subscription or recurring credit card payments.

However, it’s better to use the free PayPal as an option for shoppers rather than your sole method of billing customers. Anyone who does not have a PayPal account who just wants to use a credit card to pay for a purchase is subjected to numerous solicitations from PayPal to set up their own PayPal account.

But, PayPal has what they call Website Payments Pro for $30/month which offers buyers the option of paying with their credit card or using their PayPal account.

Another disadvantage is all of the money goes into your own PayPal account, meaning you have to transfer funds to you business bank account to use the money.

For more information on using PayPal to accept credit cards on-line click here.