PayPal

With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have and use it. - Aristotle

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away. - Ronald Reagan

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INTRODUCTION

The Internet has opened up a new form of economics. While Internet adds up a lot of value adds to the normal user, it has opened up “a can of worms” in the form of con-artistes. They are everywhere. These con-artistes are there to seize every type of information they can, to make themselves richer and you poorer. The thing that interests them the most is the credit cards you have. Welcome to the world of online frauds. Since the advent of ecommerce and ebusiness, it has flourished. There are many types of frauds followed by these conmen. Be it “Phising” or anything else, these scamsters are around. One company that is focusing especially on online transactions enables safe payments for its customers. The company is none other than PayPal.com . I have used Paypal for many purposes over the years and am impressed. Let’s see what it offers.

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Paypal.com – An Analysis

PayPal.com was started in 1998 and it became so popular that it was acquired by one of the major names in e-commerce, eBay. PayPal is an approved way of online transaction for ebayers. What started as a broker for buyers and sellers has fast become the de-facto standards for auctioning sites. Many buyers and sellers look forward to have PayPal as a means of business transactions.

The modus operandi is very simple.

1. A Prospective Buyer/Seller opens an account at PayPal.com

2. Then he/she enters various the Credit Card information and your banking information (if you choose to) to do direct debit. You can choose to pay as and when you want, as an alternative

3. You can buy and sell items in any auction site.

4. When you get approval note on winning a bid/selling a bid go to Paypal

5. Click on the payment details

6. The buyer gets the amount deducted from his/her Paypal account. If you use direct debit option (via a verified bank account) also.

7. The seller gets the amount credited in their PayPal account.

8. There seems to be a monthly fee for sellers (I haven’t sold anything hence I don’t know).

9. Both the parties have completed transaction

By this means, the auctioning and selling of items takes place in Ebay and other major auctioning sites. While it is only a tool for a financial transaction, it does not prevent defrauding by the seller, as it happens after the financial transaction.

I have bought quite a few items in ebay over the years and have felt PayPal was excellent. I was never defrauded nor my credit card information was stolen in the past. It is very effortless and smooth at the click of buttons. It is far easier than buying things in a long line in a store. (Talk about the advantages of Internet!)

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Features of PayPal.Com

1. Easy login and rudimentary feature with the utmost security

2. Plug-in to your bank accounts and credit cards. (It uses a technology similar to many banks use, like Cashedge, which uses financial web-services to give you a consolidated finance statement in a single screen. I have used it and it is excellent)

3. Complex and verification mechanism

4. Highly robust security

5. A large user base and is a well trusted name

6. Interfaces with large financial corporations

7. ATM/Debit Card feature provided by PayPal

8. User friendly website with no fancy graphics and unwanted load time.

9. Usage is as easy as counting 1-2-3

10. You can manage your profile and it lets you delete your credit card info, if you wish to (i.e you can delete the information after the buying or selling is complete)

CONS

1. If you are a seller, you may have to pay some commission if you use it as a business account (https://paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-fees)

2. Unwanted mails, if you forget to unclick the marketing option when registering

3. Someone else is watching your financial information which can make you feel a little uncomfortable

4. Becomes a necessity if you want to be an ebayer

5. One of the most widely attacked site for Phising and other scams

Awards

It has won some 20 great technical awards in e-business suite you can see them at the following link https://shareholder.com/paypal/awards.cfm. To tell some of the great awards it has won,

1. The Oscar of Internet, Webby Awards for 2003 It was a Winner! Of Best Finance Site & Winner!: People’s Voice Award. This is quite an achievement of sorts

2. It even got a nomination in MIT Sloan schools top e-business tool

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CONCLUSION

PayPal.com is at the pinnacle of online transaction. If you want to ebay, you are more or less becomes a member of PayPal.com. It is fast, reliable, and secure and assures you. A world-renowned company runs it. It lets you buy and sell in Dollars, Euros and Pounds. I have used PayPal.com to my full satisfaction. I haven’t heard any nightmarish story about it. So far, I am a happy customer. I do what a happy customer does. TWO THUMBS UP for PayPal.com.

I Hope you liked my review. Do comment as time permits.

KALIL

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If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude. - Colin Powell