With over 50 million accounts worldwide, paypal has really established itself as a viable online payment service.

While many sites online offer only payment options through their merchant account, some sites are having success by offering paypal options as well.

As I demonstrate in this article, it is easy to get up and running with Paypal payment options.

By offering paypal as an additional payment option, they report increasing their sales by an additional 5% every month.

Why Do People Choose Paypal?

There are several likely reasons why someone may choose paypal instead of paying with their credit card.

• they may not have a credit card, but do have a paypal account
• they don't have to pull out their credit card, they simply log in to paypal and make the payment
• some people consider paypal almost the equivelant of "play money". That is they may have earned the money in their paypal account from ebay auctions or other sources and it seems a bit more disposable

The thing to keep in mind is that for some people, they may find it easier and more spontaneous paying with paypal then going through the efforts of pulling out their credit card.

Bottom Line

While Paypal is a great way to get started taking payments online, it should not be your only option if you can help it. The credit card still rules for payment acceptance. You are likely to find a very large percentage coming in the "traditional" route with credit card payments.

Giving the additional option of adding payment paypal may provide a modest boost to sales. It may certainly be worth trying out and tracking the results.