Thread: Paypal Website Payments Pro

PayPal is probably the biggest and best known payment processors on the Internet. Almost anyone has a Paypal account already, and anyone who has an email address has the ability to receive money. Although whether they can withdraw it to their bank account or not will depend on where they live (Check out my other post on bypassing that problem [URL="http://www.merchantaccounttalk.com/paypal-payments/56-when-paypal-isnt-supported-your-country.html"]here[/URL])

Problems with Paypal

The main problem with Paypal is that the user has to leave your site to submit payment. This makes your site look unprofessional and will also increase the chances of people not completing a purchase. This is even more of an issue if you are selling impulse purchase items. By the time someone has clicked off your site and then remembered their PayPal password they might lose interest in purchasing.

PayPal Website Payments Pro

PayPal website payments pro solve some of these problems. This is similar to a real merchant account and payment gateway in one handy package. This means that you will be able to accept credit card payments directly on your site without needing to ask anyone to leave.

Advantages of PayPal Website Payments Pro

PayPal Payments Pro does have a number of advantages. Firstly it's from a trusted name that most people trust.. The customer service is also supposedly better than other merchant accounts. Although it still doesn't beat my experiences with Worldpay (20 minute response times at Worldpay if you're polite and friendly!)

Most other merchant account providers charge large setup fees just before you can get started. The setup fees are free for PayPal websites payments pro. You also don't enter into a contract which means you can cancel whenever you want.

Website payments pro is competitively priced at $30 per month which is good for a combined gateway and merchant gateway.

Virtual Terminal is available which is normally something that most people have to pay for with other merchant accounts. This will allow you to accept orders over phone, fax and post. The payment details can then simply be entered into

Disadvantages of PayPal Website Payments Pro

PayPal is a bit like marmite, you either love it or you hate it. Many people have great experiences dealing with them, while others find them difficult to work with. If you like PayPal then this could be an advantage, or it could be a disadvantage.

You will also need to display the Express checkout with Paypal link towards the top of your checkout page. This can be off putting as it encourages people to visit Paypal to pay.

Getting approved however is slightly difficult if you have a poor credit history. They run a credit check on your status before awarding you the prized account. I was declined for PayPal website payments pro, but easily managed to get a WorldPay account.

Once your money is in Paypal it can then be withdrawn in the normal way. This includes using the top up card, or transferring it to your bank account. This will give PayPal complete control over your money, should your account become limited then this could cause your business severe cash flow problems.

Verdict

In general the PayPal payments pro service is a real merchant account and will work well for most people.

You are so correct, and I am one that hates PayPal. I see they are making bigger adn bigger inroads to main stream retailers, but honestly I will never use them again. Two times hacked is enough for me.

Thanks for your comments! I agree that Paypal is getting a bit too big for its boots at the moment. If you ever have a problem with them they don't seem keen to solve the issue.

Also I sold a number of things on eBay with a normal PayPal account and got scammed because the seller said that they didn't receive the goods. PayPal only seems to accept tracking numbers and not a proof of postage. Reading on the internet it actually seems like a very common problem.

Andrew

I agree about the eBay/PayPal issue. I was selling live plants via eBay and the Customer was not home and had a tracking number and knew the day they were coming. The package remained outside all day long in freezing temps and the plant froze. They demanded a refund, which I refused. They escalated it to PayPal and PayPal immediately issued a refund. While they make it a freindly environment for the shopper, they make it a nightmare for the merchant.

Without merchants they would have no business. They refused to hear my side of the story and the refund stood as issued.

Originally Posted by envnet

Thanks for your comments! I agree that Paypal is getting a bit too big for its boots at the moment. If you ever have a problem with them they don't seem keen to solve the issue.

Also I sold a number of things on eBay with a normal PayPal account and got scammed because the seller said that they didn't receive the goods. PayPal only seems to accept tracking numbers and not a proof of postage. Reading on the internet it actually seems like a very common problem.

Andrew

Yeah that's what I don't understand. Both eBay and Paypal seem to value customers much more than merchants. it's always completely one sided. Also I don't like how long people can dispute the payments for. I completed some articles months ago and got paid for them on paypal. I had 2 or so which needed rewriting so instead of telling me he just disputed the payment and paypal instantly took the money from my account for security measures. Then every time you log in you are told that you should rectify your negative balance!

I always treat paypal with a lot of caution. I'd love to know how much interest they are making every day from the money they 'misplace'. Sometimes when I withdraw money to my bank account they tell me that they had to stop it due to a suspected fraudulent transaction (how when it's to my personal account is beyond me), although they don't tell you until when it should be in your bank account! They must make a fortune if they are doing this to everyone.

I've read lots of paypal horror stories in the past, in fact I think there's a website set up specifically for that somewhere!

Andrew

I currently use them and had no issues signing up and getting approved for something which is taking the banks MONTHS to decide.

Worldplay declined me due to the nature of the parent company.

Only thing is, I don't let users pay with regular paypal when I setup the website payments pro. Does anyone know what paypal will do if they pick up on this? I absolutely don't want to allow users to pay with regular paypal.