Accepting payments through credit cards online is a huge plus factor for any online merchant. Customers and potential clients, first and foremost, look for convenience and credibility when browsing websites they want to buy products or get services from. To gauge these factors, potential clients and customers look at one of the most basic components any reliable online merchant should have – an efficient and secure payment system.

When people talk of payment systems, nothing is more reliable than a PayPal account. Online merchants like you can benefit from setting up a PayPal account in order to accept credit card payments directly online. Below are the steps in setting up and accepting credit cards directly to your PayPal account:

1. Sign up with PayPal.

Register for a PayPal Business Account to get started. Signing up is easy as PayPal will walk you through the registration process.

2. Verify sign up information details to activate your account.

You will need to verify your information by clicking the link sent to the email address you provided during registration. This is done to ensure the website's security.

3. Opt for the Website Payments Standard option.

This is the basic option for most online merchants. You can look up information on the other payment options to see which best suits your website's needs.

4. Choose your shopping carts and buttons.

PayPal offers custom-designed shopping carts that are free and a variety of HTML buttons you can put on your website to facilitate the payment process. You can choose from a variety of buttons for different functions like "Buy Now," "Add to Cart," "Subscribe," "Donate," and "Buy Gift Certificate."

5. Start accepting payments online.

PayPal accounts work this way: Customers browse your site and look for products they want to purchase. When they have added all the products they want in their shopping carts, they will proceed to the checkout counter where they will be directed to a secure and encrypted PayPal page designed to match the look and feel of your own website. The credit card payment transactions as well as those for PayPal are done here. After the transaction, the customer is directed back to your website.

One advantage of accepting credit card payments through your PayPal account is letting go of the things you do not really need to attend to: customer problems (they do not need a PayPal account to use your service), separate gateways, fees for setting up, application, or monthly rates, long-term contracts, and security of financial information. PayPal can solve and manage these tricky areas for you with additional benefits of efficient monthly sales reports.

You can use your PayPal account as it is or choose to work with a third-party internet marketing and affiliate network to better facilitate your online financial and payment transactions. This type of network is provides basic and extra business features online merchants like you may need. Aside from having facility in processing financial transactions without waiting for days and weeks, joining internet marketing and affiliate network like Click2Sell.EU can also boost your sales since you can benefit from its extensive network and stable of internet marketing tools.