PayPal has become one of the most well known forms of payment on the web today, basically taking the web market by storm. Simply put, PayPal is possibly the easiest way for sellers and buyers to come together. 88.6 million accounts strong, it's easy to see why it's a prime choice for many online entrepreneurs.

For sellers, no matter where you sell, on eBay or on your own website, PayPal is easy to integrate into your site. There is nothing to download and it literally takes minutes with their easy to use online store. That's right, they actually offer you a store for FREE! All you're required to do is sign up for a business or premier PayPal account. The only fees that are generally associated with PayPal are transaction fees, a percentage of the total amount each time a customer purchases anything from your website, using the PayPal system.

The way it works is your customer visits your site or eBay store, simply selects what they want, and clicks on the PayPal button during checkout. Your customer will use their credit card, debit card, bank account or already established PayPal account balance to pay for their purchases and then it's sent directly to your PayPal account. Once it's in your PayPal account, you then have the option of transferring the funds to your own bank account or keeping it within your PayPal account for use in other areas. Additionally, PayPal offers a debit card with a MasterCard logo that works much like the debit card from your bank. It even gives you the opportunity to get cash back!

With all the worries about fraud PayPal takes major steps to assure that you and your buyers don't have to worry about it. They utilize an extreme amount of fraud prevention. They have provisions in place that protect you and your buyer. So your buyers can purchase with confidence and you can sell with ease, knowing you're both safe in your transactions.

What's more, PayPal is global, allowing you to sell internationally, without worry. PayPal helps you and your buyers convert virtually any type of currency into your specified currency. Additionally, PayPal offers a shipping calculator and a tax calculator to help you take the guesswork out of both. Even if you already have a merchant account you can easily add PayPal as an option in checkout.

Another terrific PayPal feature is that your customers don't even have to have a PayPal account in order to use their checkout service on your site. PayPal allows you to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and E-Check, as well.

PayPal offers you a variety of solutions to fit your website and shopping cart needs. There are 4 different solutions that Paypal offers: Website Payments Standard, Website Payments Pro, Email Payments, and an additional payment option.

In comparing PayPal to tradition merchants, it's easy to see why PayPal is so popular worldwide. For instance, PayPal transactions fees are generally the same across the four solutions. Depending on volume, transaction fees range from 1.9% - 2.9%, plus an additional $0.30. Merchant accounts charge 1.9% – 3.5%, plus an additional $0.15 - $0.50.

PayPal charges no setup fees for any of their four solutions. Merchant accounts charge anywhere from $100 - $300 for set up. The only monthly fee PayPal may charge is for the Website Pro Solution, which will debuted 2/1/2006; otherwise there are no monthly fees with Paypal. Merchant accounts charge $50 - $90 per month.

PayPal also charges no gateway fees; with regular gateways you are charged $30 per month plus an additional $0.15 per transaction. PayPal accepts all major credit cards, plus bank transfers and PayPal balances, while merchants and gateways only allow you to accept certain credit cards and only after signing separate contracts with each credit card company.

PayPal also allows you to accept phone, fax and mail orders. Dependant upon the solution chosen it may cost you $20.00 per month using virtual terminal with the exception of Website Pro, which has no monthly charge for accepting these types of orders.

PayPal is also quite easy to integrate into your site, takes little time to apply, quick to set up and fast approval times; while merchants and gateway accounts can be difficult to integrate, and can take days and months to apply, set up and obtain approval.

There is absolutely no question that PayPal is a simple choice for accepting payments globally.