PayPal offers two types of accounts. The first is the “Personal Account” and the second is the “Premier/Business Account”. With both types of accounts you can do certain things for free. These free activities are open an account, send money, withdraw funds to U.S. Banks, and add funds.
With both types there are fees for withdrawing funds for non U.S. banks and rate conversion fees.
The big difference is with receiving funds. PayPal charges Premier and Business accounts to receive payments. Personal accounts are free, but may not receive credit card payments.
The business account fees to receive funds can be as high as 2.9% of the transaction plus an additional $.30 per transactions. This can be very expensive, especially on smaller amounts.
The main reason you would set up a business account is so that you can accept credit cards. You are probably only accepting credit cards if you are running some type of business.
However, with a business account you are charged fees when you receive money, even when it is just a transfer from another U.S. PayPal account. This type of transfer would be free in a personal account.
If you run a business you have little choice but to have a business account. However, there is nothing to prevent you from also having a personal account.
If you run a business and also belong to a program where you will be receiving commissions then you should open two PayPal accounts. Open a business account for your business. Open a free personal account for all of the affiliate and network marketing programs that you are in.
If you do not run your own business then you should only open a free personal account.
If you use your business account for your affiliate and network marketing programs then you will be charged fees on the commissions that you receive. By running these programs through your free personal account you are not charged the fees. Over a period of time this could save you a lot of money.
Business Accounts
There are two rate structures for business accounts, the “Standard Rate” and the “Merchant Rate”. For U.S. accounts, the standard rate is 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction. For U.S. accounts the merchant rate is 2.2% plus $.30 per transaction. To receive the merchant rate you need to be a PayPal member in good standing for 90 days and have received ,000 in PayPal payments over the previous 90 days (an average of
,000/month). Or you could prove that you have received a competitive offer from an institution like First Data Merchant Services or Metavante Services. Or you could have a proven high volume record as an eBay seller. They will downgrade you to the standard rate if you stop meeting their criteria.
PayPal Preferred Sellers can earn 1.5% cash back on debit card purchases made with the PayPal ATM/Debit Card. That\'s like cutting your fees in half! For additional information on this see your PayPal web site.
PayPal VISA
PayPal also offers a VISA card. It has the standard features of no annual fee and no liability for unauthorized transactions. They will also credit you with .00 the first time you use the card.