How to Pay for an Online Purchase With PayPal

PayPal is an easy and secure way to pay for your online purchases. With a PayPal account you can pay with your checking account or credit card and never have to give out your credit card information to an online store.

Getting a PayPal account is easy and free. All you need is a checking account and/or a credit card. You will be asked for your basic information—name, address, phone number and e-mail address. In order to have an unlimited account with PayPal, you need to add a credit card, but it is not necessary to have a credit card to use PayPal. PayPal can also be attached directly to your bank account, and you can transfer funds to and from your bank account or credit card quickly and easily. Sometimes there is a small charge for processing these transactions.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet access
• PayPal account

1. Finish up your shopping by adding items to your online cart.

2. When you are finished, click on Check Out.

3. Make sure that the online store you are using accepts PayPal. There should be a PayPal symbol as an option for payment.

4. Click on the PayPal option for payment. You will be redirected to the PayPal site.

5. Log in to your PayPal account and click OK to verify the payment being made to the online store.

6. You can print out the receipt for the payment at PayPal. Click “Return to Vendor” to return to the store and finish up your order. You may need an account (most of them are free) with the online store in order to process a purchase transaction. Make sure you input the proper information in the fields for your personal information so that your purchase is sent to the right place.

Tips & Warnings

• In many cases, the e-mail address that you use at the online store must match the e-mail address you used for your PayPal account.
• PayPal payments are made and verified instantly. There is no wait for processing the information and payment, so you can have your items shipped right away.
• Make sure that there is enough money in your PayPal account to cover the purchase, or that your PayPal account is attached to a credit card or checking account to draw funds from.
• Not all online stores accept PayPal as a method of payment. Make sure the store you want to shop at accepts PayPal—usually there will be a PayPal symbol at the bottom of the page, next to the Visa, MasterCard, American Express or other symbols as methods of payment. If you are unsure, check the site’s FAQ to see what methods of payment they accept.