Until recently, accepting a credit card payment required a series of sophisticated requirements and tools: organizing with your bank, using sophisticated software, tools for collecting money, etc … Nowadays, thanks to Paypal (www.paypal.com) doing it has become child's play. Whether you want to accept credit cards, e-checks or bank transfers, PayPal allows you to do so with one of the simplest and cheapest systems.
Steps
Step 1. Go to the PayPal address
This link will redirect you to the "Sales Tools" page where you can consult the available options and learn more about the service.
Prices range from as low as $ 0 per month up to $ 30 per month plus transaction fees which are currently 2.9% + $.30 per transaction (as of August 2012)
Step 2. Register with PayPal
If you don't have an account, complete the registration to get a "Premium Account" or a "Business account". A "Business Account" will allow you to activate different User Accounts and manage access permissions to them.
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If you already have an account, log in.
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Step 3. Increase your spending and receiving limit
Click on the "Unverified" status. Here you can enter your identification data (credit card or similar) and obtain an unlimited spending and reception limit.
Step 4. Click on "Sales Tools"
On "Website Payments" click on the "Buy Now" button.
Step 5. Enter your product information
You can change the style of the button by modifying the options of color, shape etc… The following page will show you how to insert the button on your web page or in an e-mail.
Step 6. That's it
It's easy. You are ready to start. You can create as many buttons as you want to associate them with your products. There are many other options available; for example, the ability to send an invoice at the time of purchase or to place a shopping cart on your page.
Advice
- Check out all the tools available. There are tons of options for small and medium-sized businesses.
- PayPal also offers a free credit card reader that you can install on your smartphone to speed up transactions. With this method the commissions are 2.7% and not 2.9%.
- PayPal accepts: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and of course PayPal.
