Apart from being a parallel ‘world’ of information,The Internet is also a global marketplace where multiple money transactions for various online and offline products and services are made around the world. Ever wondered how these transactions are made securely and easily? Payment processors of course!
Online payment processors handle credit card transactions and usually handle bank wires and transfers as well. They provide a ‘virtual’ bank account which is commonly referred to as simply a user’s account balance of the payment processors from which money can be sent to other users and received via various payment methods specifically via credit cards. Using payment processors to handle online businesses and transactions ensures privacy as well, as most payment processors allow sending money among accounts of that payment processor using only the email address or ID of that account. This is more private than standard transactions that require a wealth of personal information on the user.
Most payment processors function in a standard way with a standard set of features. Signing up is generally free, different types of accounts are offered, a typical example being personal and business accounts. All payment processors charge fees per transaction depending on the type of transaction (credit card, bank wire, bank transfer). The fees is generally a percentage of the transaction, the fees vary depending on the payment processors. They allow sending money to other users of that payment processor, from the account balance or credit card, they allow withdrawing funds via check, bank account or credit card (These features vary by payment processor and country of user generally). They handle transactions in times specified by their terms (the reputed ones atleast). Some of them offer physical or virtual debit cards that are linked directly or indirectly to your payment processor account to speed up transfer of money.
The services offered by payment processors are sometimes called Merchant services. Payment processors generally offer secure connections on all their pages. Payment processors not offering secure pages are not recommended and should not be considered for your online business or for your miscellaneous online transactions.
The most popular payment processor in use today is PayPal . They are used extensively in various advertising programs, freelancing programs, online services etc. PayPal typically offers all features stated above.
The payment processing industry is also known for being a favorable breeding ground for scammers. New scam payment processing services are launched everyday. Some of them specifically with the intention of phishing user credentials and credit card details and also to pocket money from any transactions made while the site is live. Others with the intention of developing a legitimate site however end up failing due to the high level of competition in the industry. The anonymity online and the easiness to create a payment processor contributes to the reason behind these scams.
While PayPal is great, it does have a few drawbacks, it still does not support receiving funds to more than 100 countries. Some industries such as gambling and the adult industry is not supported by PayPal. They are also notorious for freezing account without notice for ‘background checks’ tying up your money for long periods of time. Generally though, they would be the most recommended solution.
Apart from Paypal here are a few payment processors that are also popular and legitimate.
Use another payment processor not listed here? Leave a comment.
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I’m using Paypal from more than 2 years now. There are a lot of problem but still ok with it. Other than that, I suggest Liberty Reserve and Web Money. It is one way transaction.
Atniz’s last blog post..Message To Work At Home Bloggers
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Thanks for the suggestions Atniz. btw…why does Technorati title your blog as ‘Contact Support’?
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I have been using Paypal and I have not had any issues. I used 2Checkout and had nothing but problems.
Matt’s last blog post..Hardware Encryption Gone Horribly Wrong
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I use paypal because i can earn from the money market but i want to find a better paymaent processor and still get money through the money market with a different online proceesor that won’t freeze my account for whatever reason they decide to
.-= Attitude tees´s last blog ..Shop for the best commodities online =-.
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alertpay is a good alternative.
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paypal is one of the best of online payment processor in online business
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