Internet provides a number of avenues through which you can make money online. Blogging and other internet related services are global in nature. All you need is a laptop and an internet connection; and you can work from anywhere. Your clients don’t need to meet you as all the communication can take place through email, phone and Skype etc. In such a scenario, your clientele can very well be internationally located. My clients, for example, are located in USA, South Africa, Spain, India and other countries. PayPal is a service that allows national and international money transactions through internet. The whole system of PayPal is based on email ID. So, technically, one email ID pays money to another email ID. It is as simple as that. Now let’s go into details. Here I am going to describe functioning of PayPal in a concise way to give you an overall idea of this excellent service.
First of all: Register yourself
To be able to use PayPal, you need to have a valid email ID and a credit card or bank account (for ease of writing, I am going to say just “bank account” from now on). You would register with PayPal using your email address as your user ID. You’ll be identified with your email address. At the time of registration, you will need IFSC and branch code of your bank’s branch. You can find IFSC codes and other branch related information here. After registration is done, you’ll need enter your bank or credit card details in your profile.
Verify your bank account
To verify that you have entered the correct bank account details, PayPal will transfer one or two very small amounts of money into your account. Once you receive these amounts in your bank account -you would need to go back to your PayPal profile and enter the amounts you’ve received. For example, if you’ve received $0.1 and $0.25 from PayPal -you would need to enter these numbers. If you enter correct values, your bank/credit car account would be considered verified. Your PayPal account is now ready and you can send/receive monies through it.
Receive payment through PayPal
When you need to receive payment from someone -just tell that person your email ID which is registered with PayPal. It does not matter where the payer is located. All you need to tell her is your registered email ID. When your payer has transferred money to your PayPal account -you will get an email informing that you have received this much amount from so-and-so person. Now, either you can keep your money in your PayPal account or you can transfer it in your bank/credit card account. However, some countries, like India, do not allow you to keep money in your PayPal account. So, money will automatically be transferred to your bank/credit account soon after the payer makes payment. Before transferring money to your bank/credit car account, PayPal will cut its commission (transaction fee). At present PayPal takes 3.4% of total transaction money. So, for each dollar, you’ll get only 96.6 cents in your bank account.
Make Payment via PayPal
You can use your PayPal account to send money as well. You can transfer money to anyone who has a verified PayPal account. Just ask for the PayPal email ID of the person whom you want to pay. Then go to your PayPal account and send the required amount to that email ID. PayPal will withdraw that amount from your bank account (or charge it to your credit card). Then PayPal will cut its fee and transfer rest of the money to the payee. Payer and payee should negotiate in advance as to who will pay the transaction fee of PayPal. If payee is supposed to pay this fee then for a payment of $100 you can send $100 (and the payee will get $96.6). But if you’re supposed to pay the fee then you should transfer the payment amount + PayPal fee. Is PayPal a Bank? No, PayPal is not a bank. It is a service that acts as a middleman in transactions of money among banks. Is PayPal Safe and Secure? Yes. Some people say that it is even more safe and secure than online credit card transactions. PayPal uses HTTPS throughout their website. Is PayPal a free service? Yes and no; it depends which side you’re on. PayPal charges a transaction fee -either payer or payee has to bear this cost. The other party does not need to pay anything. How does PayPal earns profit? Well, although PayPal also earns by charging a transaction fee but I guess their major income source is the interest on funds they hold. As I mentioned earlier, you can keep money in your PayPal account. PayPal earns interest on this money. What are the benefit of using PayPal for business? You can very well setup your business and use PayPal for online sale-purchase. This method of monetary transaction is hassle-free if compared with online credit card transactions. For accepting payment through credit card, you would need to setup a payment gateway, acquire and renew SSL certificate etc. But for PayPal, all you need is an email ID. Can money be transferred for personal reasons? Yes, you can do personal transactions also. Let’s say you’ve borrowed money from a friend and now you’re in a different country -you can use PayPal to return money to your friend. Can I donate through PayPal? Yes, a large number of charities accept donations via PayPal. They often display “Donate via PayPal” logo on their websites. Can I close my PayPal account? Yes, you can close your account anytime you want. Can I open more than one PayPal account? Yes, you can have multiple PayPal accounts. Are there any restrictions on doing transactions? As different countries have different laws and policies, PayPal imposes certain restrictions on its standard way of operation. For example, as I mentioned above, India’s policy does not allow you to keep money in your PayPal account. The money has to be immediately transferred to Indian owner’s bank account. You should check PayPal website for more details on restrictions. How much time does it take for transfer? Transfer is instant from one PayPal account to another. How much time does it take for money to get transferred in my bank account? Transfer of money from PayPal to your bank account typically takes 5-7 working days depending on processing speed of the bank involved. Does money come via email? No! many new users get an impression that the money comes “attached” with an email. This is absolutely incorrect and not possible. Email IDs are used as identities in PayPal accounts. That is why it is sometimes said that money is going from one email ID to another email ID. Who pays the transaction fee? It is important that the transacting parties decide beforehand about who will pay the transaction fee. If the sender has to pay -then the sent amount should include the PayPal fee. Disclaimer: Please note that I have written this article as a general guide for new users to make them aware of how PayPal works. I advise and recommend that PayPal’s website is used for the latest information. Friends, this is how you can make use of PayPal in sending and receiving money for your products/services. For bloggers, content writers etc. PayPal is very convenient. Do let me know if you have any questions. Also point to any error in this articles because over a period of time policies keep on changing. I would be thankful. Enjoy surfing TechWelkin further!
