As a PayPal user since its launch in 1999, I’ve become attached to this form of electronic payment. In fact, it was PayPal rather than any other form of electronic payment, that did away with my need to hold onto physical cash.
So what do I use my PayPal balance for these days?
When money comes in from web & graphics design projects, or from domain sales, I rarely – if ever – transfer the funds to a bank account. Odds are, that I use the funds within a day or two for electronic expenses.
Such outgoing payments include web hosting, domain acquisitions, purchase of tangible products and donations to charities. Many of my domain acquisitions occur on DNForum, where I’m the top-rated trader, or on Sedo; the latter still keeps me as a buyer, since I moved my domains out to Internet Traffic a while ago.
Overall, PayPal is a convenient method to leverage payments and maintain a cashless account that doesn’t need to be funded too often. It’s the way of the 21st century and something that younger entrepreneurs take for granted these days.
Isn’t it better to use your premium type credit cards for these services, ie/ travel, cash back points?
Hi Ron – Why charge credit cards, when PayPal balance is good as cash? Most credit cards have dropped cash back points and it’s not wise to incur more credit debt whenever possible.
I like PayPal, the only drawbacks are the high fees (IMO) when you receive a payment, and the threat of chargebacks (such as in domain sales). If you are sending/receiving money with trusted sources then it’s great.
With the rise of mobile commerce, it might be worth investing in eBay (the owner of paypal).