As a merchant you are aware that sometimes there is a delay between the time that someone orders something and the time you get paid.  You also realize that banks may want to take a flat fee or percentage in order to facilitate the transaction; and you are OK with this; as long as the fees are not too punishing since this can quickly make your profit margin disappear.

When using these payment clearing services instead of money being withdrawn from your customers traditional bank account, they transfer funds that have already been deposited with the clearing agent to complete the transaction.

When a transaction is completed the only people who are aware are you and the agent; no personal financial details have been released and the bank is not involved.  Every time a transaction is made on your account you get an email; so you are alerted if there is any unauthorized transactions.  Also, once the money has cleared the system there is no possibility of chargeback.  You can send the merchandise with confidence.

PayPal has developed an entire suite of tools so that you can easily integrate a shopping cart or simple “buy now” button on your website.  They are a trusted name, and people doing business online typically have an account and will accept any sort of payment in any event.

If you are a regular PayPal customer you can get a debit card that you can use worldwide.  Instead of having to wait days before money is transferred from your PayPal account to your traditional bank account you can access your funds at any ATM worldwide the moment the payment has cleared.  Once again, the money is good…and the service charges are in the 1-3% range. Not bad considering the alternative:  $10K bond, risk of chargebacks, administering a system yourself, the list goes on and on….