Alternative Online Payment Options to Paypal

If you think about paying for goods online, often your first thought of who to use for payment goes to companies like Paypal. For years Paypal have had the monopoly, but now it seems this company is nobodies pal. With hundreds of accounts being closed daily some online traders are being forced out of business, some people can’t buy from their previous suppliers. So what alternatives are available to those that cant use or don’t want to fund Paypal’s pockets.


Image via CrunchBase

If you are buying online by far the safest option is to use a credit card. All credit card companies adopt a scheme (unless of course you have a Paypal credit card) that allows insurance on any online transactions. So if your details get stolen, all you need to do is contact your card issuer and they will initiate a chargeback. Of course we cant all get credit card which does leave some people a little in the cold.

The next suggestion is one of my favorites Google Checkout, it’s a secure third party payment option, that has a double level of security. In a time where some companies have closed, and not taken their websites down, Google Checkout has a security feature that keeps things a little safer. So if your shopping with a company you have never used before Google Checkout users (the companies, not the payers) have to manually charge the payment option. This does not mean they have access to your details, just access to charge the amount you agreed to pay. This gives a little legal security to the situation. And of course if you are charged and do not receive your order, you can contact Google Checkout who will do a chargeback on your behalf. Google Shopping has the lowest fees of any other online payment operator, which is a nice incentive too. And if you’re a seller, buy accepting Google Checkout means that you end up in the Google shopping section of Google, giving you a higher audience.



Image by Ivan Walsh via Flickr

PPPay, MoneyBookers and Nochex are also good alternatives, all have variable fees, and some of them have incredibly high security procedures to keep both you, and your account safe.

Another option, and this is the least secure is to find out about Bank Transfers, this offers no protection, unless it’s a continued pattern of fraud that is reported. But for legitimate sellers, it’s a quicker, cheaper option for processing transactions and an all-round more personal service.

Bizcovering