PayPal allows any business or consumer with an email address to securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send and receive payments online. PayPal's popularity was in no small way due to the ease of use, as all that was required to use it was an email address. All you need to do is click the link above to visit their site and create free account today.

PayPal is definitely becoming, if it isn’t already, one of the default ways to digitally pay for goods and services over the Internet. It offers a way to more securely use you payment methods and cuts out the need to reenter information time and time again. It also eliminates the need for a user to sign up for an account on a specific website. Along with administering payments for goods, it’s also a catalyst for users to accept payment either for sold goods or paychecks from employers. If you use PayPal for any of the reason mention above, the application is something you will definitely find use for; an app essential, if you will.

The PayPal Business Account features:

• Low cost. No start-up or monthly fees, no cancellation fees and no minimum payments Lower transaction fees than other merchant accounts
• Quick setup. Sign up and get started in minutes. No extra software or hardware needed
• Security. As an industry leader in fraud prevention and risk management, PayPal has 60%-70% lower fraud loss rates than other merchant accounts
• Network of buyers. One in three online buyers in the US has a PayPal account, and over 58,000 users worldwide sign up for PayPal each day.

The PayPal application allows for users to access and initiate a wide variety of functions and information. One of the main features is the ability for users to accept money from sources such as customers where goods or services are rendered to employers who want a quick secure way to place payments to their employees. The app also provides a way to withdraw or transfer payments to bank accounts if the user doesn’t have a PayPal debit card. Withdrawal periods typically take about three to four days to complete. Record of all your transactions from your withdrawal to your bank account to activity on your PayPal debit card is all done on the software. Sending and requesting money is also available on the app. You send or request money from and to other PayPal users. There is also a new feature on the PayPal applications that allows you to bump your device with other devices and instantly send and receive money by exchanging contact information as soon as the bump is complete. You can also set reminders for yourself to alert you to send or request money from and to a member. While there is no auto-login or continuous logged-in sessions (such as those you see with Facebook and Google), you do have the option to create a faster login method by creating a four-digit pin with your devices phone number. The app allows you to do that, however, you will have to verify the request on the PayPal website. Doesn’t seem as seamless as just verifying yourself in the app, but it isn’t something that you are going to be repeating occasionally.

PayPal currently offers three types of accounts:
Personal: This is the standard PayPal account used for money transfer between individuals and online shopping.
Premier: For buying and selling. Accept credit card, debit card, and bank account payments.
Business: This is perfect for your online business. Same as premier but supports multiple users adn is associated with a business name.

Site Promotion:
Though it may not be a big factor, PayPal offers to help merchants promote their website in two ways. US residents can list their website under PayPal Shops for no cost, and that may bring some traffic. In addition, when a payment is made through your PayPal order form (such as for an auction purchase), the order form encourages the buyer to visit you at your website URL, also.

Shopping Cart System:
The feature that makes PayPal especially useful to non-auction merchants is PayPal's WebAccept (for single item purchases) and Shopping Cart (for multiple item purchases). For PayPal this is wonderful since they don't have to maintain huge product databases for merchants who do little or no business. Instead, all the information PayPal needs is transferred to it from the merchant's website when a customer clicks on the "add to cart" button.

Accounting Integration:
One strength of using PayPal is its growing integration with common small business accounting software. You can download your transaction history into Quicken, QuickBooks, or a comma-delimited file which can be used by spreadsheets, accounting ,or order management programs. QuickBooks 2001 now offers you the option to invite payment of invoices via PayPal.