Well, given how little I know about everything else let me at least contribute what I know about Paypal, having used it for years and years and gone 'through the levels'. Apologies to all who know this already. First, to review the 'classic' Paypal thing:
The most basic level of Paypal allows you to send and receive funds between Paypal 'accounts' with no charges whatever to either side. This has been used on eBay for ever. You can only pay from an existing balance in your Paypal account.
Paypal 'accounts' function very much like bank accounts except the only thing you can do with them is pay another Paypal account or transfer to a real bank account. Apart from receiving funds from another paypal account you can also add funds to your account directly from a credit or debit card subject to the usual clearance time. I believe that in the US they have a Paypal debit card which lets you use your Paypal funds in physical transactions.
Transferring out to a nominated bank account (of which you can have any number) takes 4-5 business days (really boring) and is only free if the transfer amount is £50 or more.
A regular seller moves up to the Business account; the downside of this level is you now pay commissions on your receipts of 2.9% (3.4% if your volume is less than £1,500 a month). The upside is (1) you can transfer funds into your paypal account instantaneously from a bank account so if you plan to spend with paypal you don't need to keep a balance in there just in case. You just make the payment and paypal uses up the available balance then tops the rest up from your nominated primary bank account.
(2) People paying you for transactions on eBay etc do not need to have a paypal account. They can pay you directly from their credit/debit card. When going to pay, the paypal front screen 'splits' to allow login for existing paypal users (or create a new account) or go straight to pay if you don't have/don't want an account. (Confusingly, I think this capability has been extended to non-business accounts as well but in those cases the payment isn't instant - it has to 'clear' for the usual 4-5 days.)
(3) You can maintain balances in as many currencies as people pay you in (of course you can set prices in 'your' currency and paypal converts in the usual way but if you prefer you can for example sell goods on eBay UK in GBP and the same goods on eBay US in USD).
There are still no standing charges at this level.
I may have some of this round the wrong way; we've been using Paypal for years and have been a Business seller for so long I can't remember all the differences. Anyway:
The new thing is Website Payments Pro which has only been launched in the UK this year. This is exactly like a traditional payment service provider/gateway, with a transparent API interface such that buyers never see a paypal screen. It's no different to taking a service from Barclays or whatever. You still pay 2.9% on transactions and you now have a monthly fee to pay as well (which is about the same as all the other providers). Paypal doesn't offer a hardware terminal but instead gives you 'Virtual Terminal' as they call it - which is simply a screen where you can enter a card transaction manually and get authorisation.
You can have this even if you have never and will never use or offer 'classic' Paypal to yoru customers.
Unlike a bank's service, receipts are credited to the paypal account, not your bank account, and you have to transfer them out manually whenever you feel like, as above. In other respects it's exactly like the gateway we used to have with Barclays years ago.
If you're not a Paypal user, then Website Payments Pro has to be compared to your favourite provider and may not be the best value for money - I don't know because I didn't shop around. If you are a paypal user anyway (and we get about £5,000 - £6,000 a month going through paypal) then it's tempting just for the single-point reporting of transactions.
Because Website Payments Pro is a standard 'gateway' or whatever they're called, I have to assume you need SSL or similar because you are hosting the input screens. Like most gateways, it starts off in 'test' mode until you've tested your interface and been approved, then you switch it to 'live' mode. I really doubt if Paypal would be happy if I didn't have SSL of some sort, shared or otherwise.
Some people I've talked to have been confused about Website Payments Pro because they think it's a Business paypal account - in fact it might be easier if Paypal didn't use the word 'paypal' at all! It's not the same thing. The yellow button that appears on checkout page 1 is not Website Payments Pro, it's 'classic' Paypal.
I could have brought up my Actinic site just using Paypal as I use it on eBay - the button's right there. However, I know that there's a whiff of amateurish-ness about the Paypal name so this lets me take payment the 'posh' way too. Ironically, I happen to think classic Paypal is very safe and very secure but plenty of people disagree with me and the customer is always right...
The most basic level of Paypal allows you to send and receive funds between Paypal 'accounts' with no charges whatever to either side. This has been used on eBay for ever. You can only pay from an existing balance in your Paypal account.
Paypal 'accounts' function very much like bank accounts except the only thing you can do with them is pay another Paypal account or transfer to a real bank account. Apart from receiving funds from another paypal account you can also add funds to your account directly from a credit or debit card subject to the usual clearance time. I believe that in the US they have a Paypal debit card which lets you use your Paypal funds in physical transactions.
Transferring out to a nominated bank account (of which you can have any number) takes 4-5 business days (really boring) and is only free if the transfer amount is £50 or more.
A regular seller moves up to the Business account; the downside of this level is you now pay commissions on your receipts of 2.9% (3.4% if your volume is less than £1,500 a month). The upside is (1) you can transfer funds into your paypal account instantaneously from a bank account so if you plan to spend with paypal you don't need to keep a balance in there just in case. You just make the payment and paypal uses up the available balance then tops the rest up from your nominated primary bank account.
(2) People paying you for transactions on eBay etc do not need to have a paypal account. They can pay you directly from their credit/debit card. When going to pay, the paypal front screen 'splits' to allow login for existing paypal users (or create a new account) or go straight to pay if you don't have/don't want an account. (Confusingly, I think this capability has been extended to non-business accounts as well but in those cases the payment isn't instant - it has to 'clear' for the usual 4-5 days.)
(3) You can maintain balances in as many currencies as people pay you in (of course you can set prices in 'your' currency and paypal converts in the usual way but if you prefer you can for example sell goods on eBay UK in GBP and the same goods on eBay US in USD).
There are still no standing charges at this level.
I may have some of this round the wrong way; we've been using Paypal for years and have been a Business seller for so long I can't remember all the differences. Anyway:
The new thing is Website Payments Pro which has only been launched in the UK this year. This is exactly like a traditional payment service provider/gateway, with a transparent API interface such that buyers never see a paypal screen. It's no different to taking a service from Barclays or whatever. You still pay 2.9% on transactions and you now have a monthly fee to pay as well (which is about the same as all the other providers). Paypal doesn't offer a hardware terminal but instead gives you 'Virtual Terminal' as they call it - which is simply a screen where you can enter a card transaction manually and get authorisation.
You can have this even if you have never and will never use or offer 'classic' Paypal to yoru customers.
Unlike a bank's service, receipts are credited to the paypal account, not your bank account, and you have to transfer them out manually whenever you feel like, as above. In other respects it's exactly like the gateway we used to have with Barclays years ago.
If you're not a Paypal user, then Website Payments Pro has to be compared to your favourite provider and may not be the best value for money - I don't know because I didn't shop around. If you are a paypal user anyway (and we get about £5,000 - £6,000 a month going through paypal) then it's tempting just for the single-point reporting of transactions.
Because Website Payments Pro is a standard 'gateway' or whatever they're called, I have to assume you need SSL or similar because you are hosting the input screens. Like most gateways, it starts off in 'test' mode until you've tested your interface and been approved, then you switch it to 'live' mode. I really doubt if Paypal would be happy if I didn't have SSL of some sort, shared or otherwise.
Some people I've talked to have been confused about Website Payments Pro because they think it's a Business paypal account - in fact it might be easier if Paypal didn't use the word 'paypal' at all! It's not the same thing. The yellow button that appears on checkout page 1 is not Website Payments Pro, it's 'classic' Paypal.
I could have brought up my Actinic site just using Paypal as I use it on eBay - the button's right there. However, I know that there's a whiff of amateurish-ness about the Paypal name so this lets me take payment the 'posh' way too. Ironically, I happen to think classic Paypal is very safe and very secure but plenty of people disagree with me and the customer is always right...
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