PayPal is a very popular and easy to set up option when starting an eCommerce site. Compared to other payment gateways, it is fast to set up (takes minutes!) can be understood by any web-savvy user, and is out-of-the box usable by almost all eCommerce packages. It does charge a relatively high percentage when compared to many other gateways (Chase Paymentech, Authorize.net, etc.) and requires a trip to the PayPal site during the checkout process, so it is usually not a long-term choice for most retailers.
The events of today have led me to believe that PayPal accounts should remain open and viable, even if the retailer decides not to use them as their primary gateway, for the simple fact that it provides and good backup plan! It takes mere moments in a package like Magento eCommerce (Mad Science Department’s favorite eCommerce package, if you haven’t figured that out by now!) to switch PayPal on, thus allowing purchasing to continue!
If you are considering the choice between PayPal as a permanent solution and a true merchant account, there are a number of factors to consider.
In the early stages of launching an online store a decision needs to be made: how will customers’ payments be processed? This needs to be determined before the site is developed as different payment options may require radically different forms of implementation. But how do you choose? Is price the single most important factor? What are the other factors?
This article may help you sort through the pros and cons of each option, but I would still suggest keeping a PayPal account around, for those unforeseeable instances!
Tags: ecommerce