How to Set Up a PayPal Account

PayPal in its simplest form is a system that allows you to send and receive money over the Internet without having a bank account. It acts as a third party between where your money comes from and where it goes. PayPal developed out of the need for a secure way to deal with online transactions without giving out your bank, debit or credit card information. However, PayPal can be linked to your bank account or credit card to offer a backup system, to transfer funds to and from and to verify your account.

PayPal offers three types of accounts from the start: Personal, premier and business. Personal accounts are what you sign up for from the beginning, and then you can upgrade to a premiere or business account. Depending on what you want to do with your PayPal account, premier or business accounts might be necessary. The biggest difference between personal accounts and the premier and business ones is that the latter can accept debit or credit card payments for users not signed up for PayPal.

All three PayPal accounts can:

• Send and receive money
• Request and send invoices for payments
• Utilize auction tools and web site-based payment tools
• Are part of the money market interest program
• Use a virtual debit card number to secure online purchase
• Are insured byPayPal for extra protection for unauthorized purchases and payments

Head to www.paypal.com. Click on the Sign Up link at the top of the page and begin to fill in the fields. Click on personal account to start with. You can always change your account type later if you need more function from PayPal. When you choose a username and password, make sure your password is strong. Since your PayPal account will be dealing with money, you want to make sure nobody can crack your password and gain access to that. Take the time to develop a secure password before you continue filling in the required fields. Once the form is filled out, click register and wait for the e-mail confirmation. When it arrives, click on the activation link and your PayPal account is yours for the using.