When looking at the options for your new ecommerce website, one of the questions that first comes to mind is that of payment. Which gateway, or gateways, should you offer your customers? There are a myriad of choices. All of them have their benefits, both financial and reputational. Most payment gateways are connected to banks. You need a particular merchant bank account to interface with a particular payment gateway. If you already have a merchant account, then the choice of payment gateway then becomes quite easy - whichever your merchant bank account partners with.
But what if you want a different option...
PayPal is a little different. It isn't partnered or affiliated with a specific bank, and neither do you need a business merhant account set up to accept payments through PayPal from your ecommerce website. PayPal's margin-per-sale is higher than most of it's competitors, however it doesn't require any subscription fees. Also, it doesn't require any ongoing fees associated with setting up and maintaining a business merchant account.
In short, PayPal offers all the flexibility that you require, and it's prices are more directly commensurate with your company's growth. So, in those early days when every penny counts, PayPal is an excellent option.
A customer once employed a third party marketing consultant. The consultant was adamant that using PayPal looked unprofessional and would harm the customer's conversion rates. While well meaning, this input was incorrect. A payment gateway is a payment gateway. Once a customer has decided to purchase something from you, they are likely to proceed. PayPal also has two critical advantages over it's competitors. Firstly, everyone knows what PayPal is and what it does. Therefore, people trust it more than a payment gateway that they are unfamiliar with. As mentioned in other insights, familiarity creates trust, and trust helps conversions on ecommerce websites. Secondly, if you have a PayPal account, you don't need to enter your card details in to the payment gateway. That added security, reassurance and ease-of-use again encourages customers to complete their purchases.
PayPal is an excellent choice of payment gateway for both merchants and customers alike.
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