Paypal questions

Hi
I have a few questions about Paypal. I have never used it so I don't know much about it.
How does it work exactly? Is it safe? Do you like it? Is there anything I should know before I sign up?

Thanks in advance!

My husband and I use it for E-bay and have been very happy with it. Paypal is very secure and the people that actually receive the money have no idea what you banking info is. It is like the go between. You can even get a paypal debit card where if you have money in paypal, you can get it out of ATM's like you would from your bank account. I highly recommend it if you are going to be buying a lot online.

I've also used Paypal for eBay and other online transactions for years. I've never had any problems with them. I feel much safer using Paypal than giving my credit card info to sites online.

I use it from time to time.

One important thing you should know is to NEVER EVER click a link for paypal that you get in your mailbox! When Paypal contacts you by email it will always have your full name on the email and never just "paypal member" and they will never ever ask you to verify your information by clicking on a link. When you have to go to paypal always either manually type in the website to the address bar or use your bookmarked link.

That being said...

Paypal is not a bank. Any money you transfer there will not earn interest. You can tie your bank card or your credit card to the paypal account so that when you use paypal, the payment is made to the person via paypal, but the funds are either charged to your credit card or taken from your bank account. The person you are paying doesn't get that information.

It's safe enough. However some people have had their accounts hacked because they have clicked on links sent to them by email asking for verification of their paypal information. That's why I mentioned straight off to never click on an email link for paypal.

It's pretty easy to set up. Just go to their website. Sending money is as easy as entering in the person's email address.

One thing about adding a credit card to the paypal account. Paypal will charge your credit card an amount under $1.00 as verification that the card is active. When it charges it it will also generate a code with that charge. Before you can activate that credit card for the paypal account, you will have to look at your credit card statement for the code and enter it into your paypal account to complete the verification process. The amount that they charged you will be credited to you upon your next use of paypal.

You are charged a small fee for certain transactions, such as transferring money from paypal to your bank, or if you have a website where people can make donations to you for whatever reason.

Originally Posted by Abacat

How does it work exactly?Thanks in advance!

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It's a system to transfer money to other people, such as for buying a product and more.
It also serves as "Online Bank" and you can transfer funds from your bank to your PayPal account or opposite...
Also, if you're running a website you can set-up a PayPal Business account and use it for your own business, and there are many other features there.

Originally Posted by Abacat

Is it safe?

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Basically it is safe but a lot of bad people send "fake emails" and if you click on the link in those emails you might not notice you're going into a fake-website where you actually provide your own details to a hacker!

You should be aware of that thing and always type PayPal.com in your browser, do not click on links unless you're 100% sure they came from the appropriate source.

Also, do not disclose your password to anyone and make sure your computer is safe so no one can log-in into your PayPal account.

Originally Posted by Abacat

Do you like it?

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Well, it's okay, sometimes PayPal might ask to provide documents to prove you're the one who's doing the transactions in your account, which is a bit annoying but besides that they're okay.

Originally Posted by Abacat

Is there anything I should know before I sign up?

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Just read my recommendations regarding securing your account. Besides of that, don't keep all your money there, and I suggest if you link your PayPal account to your bank, do not link it to the bank which holds most of your money. Instead, open a 2nd bank account and put some money there and link your PayPal account to this account, this isn't a mandatory but only a good recommendation to keep your money in safe place.

Hope that helps and I be glad to help more if needed

One of the companies I transcribe for pays me via PayPal and it's GREAT. I then withdraw the money and electronically transfer it to my bank account. It is safe, believe me.

Thank you all for the info! I feel much better about signing up for it now.

I will be VERY careful about my account. I was the victim of an ATM skimming operation a few years ago so I am very paranoid about my personal info.

I unfortunately had a rather bad experience.....someone hacked into my account and bought stuff. I found it in time to not be negatively impacted...but I had to close out my account and will not be getting another one.

Katie

I'm still new to PayPal. I got my first job a couple of months ago, and when I got my first paycheque, I decided to put $25 in a PayPal account, just to try it out. I don't have a credit card, but PayPal lets you put money in from your bank account, so that's what I did. The only bummer I find about it is that it takes up to 10 days for the money to go from your bank account to your PayPal account. But when the money finally arrives, I go to town with it, lol. I bought some childhood movie favorites from ebay and had good experiences, so I added a little more money to my PayPal account next time. I'm trying to refrain from adding money now, though, because I'm going just a wee bit crazy on ebay. My last purchase was $73, for goodness sakes, lol (all Disney movies, and half of the price was for shipping and handling). So I'm punishing myself. No more movies!