Accepting Credit Cards with PayPal
PayPal allows you to accept credit card payments from customers who do not have a PayPal account. To do so, you need to have a Premier or Business PayPal account that is verified. This guide covers the steps of signing up for a Premier account (or upgrading from a Personal account), verifying your PayPal account using a bank account, and checking your profile settings to ensure you can accept credit card payments.
Step 1: Getting your PayPal Premier Account
To accept payments and receive money from buyers, you need to have either a PayPal Premier or PayPal Business Account. If you don't already have a PayPal account you can sign up for one by going to www.paypal.com and clicking the "Sign Up" link at the top of the page.
Select the Premier account option by clicking the "Get Started" button:
Enter your information on the following page and click "Agree and Create Account" at the bottom of the page when finished:
After you click the Create Account button PayPal prompts you to choose a payment option ("Payment Option" in this case only refers to how you would pay if you purchased something from a seller who takes PayPal). If you choose to pay with a bank account, it may take longer to have your account fully set up. Choosing a credit card as a payment option will allow you to set up your account and be able to make purchases in minutes.
Step 2: Verifying Your PayPal Account
In order to accept credit card payments, you need to verify your PayPal Account. If you have not already verified your account, you will see a link when looking at your account overview that says Get verified:
Click the Get verified link. PayPal has two options for verifying your account. You can link your account to an existing bank account or sign up for a PayPal Plus Credit Card. This guide only explains the steps for verifying your PayPal account by linking a bank account. If you want more information on a PayPal Plus Credit Card, please visit PayPal.com. If you are linking a bank account, choose the Link Bank Account option from the two choices:
To link a bank account you need to know both your banks routing number and your account number. If you are linking a checking account, both of these numbers can be found at the bottom of your blank checks. If you are unsure about your account information, call or visit your local branch for more information.
Once you've entered your information, click Continue. Next, PayPal needs to confirm that you are the owner of the bank account. There are two options: You can provide PayPal your login information for your online banking, or, PayPal will deposit two small amounts of money into your bank account within 2-3 business days and you will need enter those amounts in you PayPal account as part of this verification process. Either method will verify your account, for this guide I chose to link my account instantly. Depending on who you bank with, the option to confirm instantly may or may not be available.
Step 3: Accepting Payments from Non-PayPal Users
PayPal allows you to accept credit cards from users who do not have or do not want PayPal accounts. The option to accept Non-PayPal users should already be set; however, if you are having trouble accepting credit card payments or want to make sure your account is set up properly you can follow these steps.
In your PayPal Account click the Profile link under the My Account tab:
Make sure you click "Profile," as the options that appear on the mouse over menu are not what you're looking for. On the Profile Summary Page, under Selling Preferences click the Website Payment Preferences link:
On the Website Payment Preferences page, scroll down until you see the Payment Account Optional section. This is the section where you can set whether or not your buyers need to have a PayPal account. If you want to be able to receive payment from as many people as possible, make sure you have the "PayPal Account Optional" setting turned "On":
Conclusion
The process allows you to accept credit card payments via PayPal from buyers who do not have PayPal accounts. If a buyer who has a PayPal account tries to check out using the process for non-PayPal account holders, they may be prompted to log in as a security check.
For more information please visit www.paypal.com
