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Paypal was established in 1998 and was acquired by eBay in 2002. Today, PayPal is arguably the most popular payment processor available for online payments. They provide easy to integrate solutions for general commerce businesses, extensive fraud prevention, 24 hour customer support and competitive processing rates.
Below are two of PayPal's solutions, the PayPal Web Payment Standard, and the PayPal PayFlow Pro solution.
This is PayPal's standard package and is a cost effective solution allowing merchants to accept payments online. The downside to this package is that the customer must have a PayPal account, which could potentially result in the loss of business. The customer is also redirected through to PayPal during the purchase process which is less favorable than having the transaction take place entirely on your website.
Merchant accounts are not included in this package - you will need to obtain a merchant account elsewhere.
One-Time Setup Fee |
Free |
Annual Fee |
Free |
Gateway Fee |
Free |
Credit Card Rate |
2.90% + $0.30 |
ACH Rate |
2.90% + $0.30 |
Monthly Minimum |
Free |
Recurring Billing Support |
No |
24 Hour Customer Support |
Yes |
Fraud Prevention |
Free |
Merchant Account Services |
No |
Shopping Cart Integration |
Yes |
Customizable Solutions |
No |
This is PayPal's 'complete' payment processing package. The main differences are that merchants don't require a separate merchant account and gateway, and that the payment process does not take place off the merchants website (unless the customer clicks the 'Pay with PayPal' button).
As a PayFlow Pro merchant you are also able to accept fax, phone and post orders - allowing you to accept payments from customers you otherwise wouldn't have been able to.
One-Time Setup Fee |
$249.00 |
Annual Fee |
Free |
Gateway Fee |
$59.95/mo. |
Credit Card Rate |
2.90% + $0.30 |
ACH Rate |
2.90% + $0.30 |
Monthly Minimum |
Free |
Recurring Billing Support |
$39.95 Setup $29.95/Month |
24 Hour Customer Support |
$12.00/mo. |
Fraud Prevention |
$39.95 Setup $29.95/mo. $0.05/transaction |
Merchant Account Services |
Yes |
Shopping Cart Integration |
Yes |
Customizable Solutions |
No |