PayPal Lets Small Business Engae in eCommerce

 Washingtonpost.com

There’s more to e-commerce than assembling a flashy Web site. If a business wants to sell products or services online, it has to figure out how to accept electronic payments.

For small firms working on a tight budget, a customized e-payment system may be out of reach. Enter PayPal, the online payment service owned by auction giant eBay.

PayPal lets a company engaged in e-commerce accept payments from customers who are not already PayPal members but want to pay with American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa. For customers who are already PayPal users, the service offers an additional payment option — PayPal’s own virtual credit card system. Another attraction is that PayPal manages the entire transaction, so a business doesn’t have to handle or retain sensitive customer data like credit card numbers.