A review by Danny Wirken

About PayPal

There are various methods by which you can remit payment to online merchants. Some merchants accept payment through money order, others allow you to pay using your credit card. These methods of payment are widely accepted and are considered secure. However, more and more merchants no longer accept payments made through money order or credit cards primarily because there have been instances when money order or check payments are cancelled before these are cleared (and the item has already been shipped out). There have also been instances when complaints are lodged against credit card companies. To avoid these problems, merchants now prefer to be paid through online-payment service companies such as the widely popular Paypal.

Peter Thiel and Max Levchin are credited to have founded PayPal in December 1998. Initially, PayPal was designed to allow users to send money through their personal digital assistant or PDAs. Later on, the service became very popular among the online shoppers and merchants of eBay. The PayPal system lets anyone with email send money to each other. To receive the money however, a payPal account must be set up, and this is free of charge, and works seamlessly with a checking account or credit card.