Setting up a home based business can be the key to a freer and more personally rewarding professional life. You set your own hours, so worrying about saving vacation time or having enough sick days is a thing of the past. Irritating bosses and coworkers are no longer there to bring your Monday down. You can even enjoy that morning cup of coffee while slowly easing in to your work day. There is one aspect that can be confusing to someone just starting up a home based business though: how to get paid. How do you get money online? If you are buying services, how can you pay online? Can standard online banking handle a money transfer? The answer to all these questions really just comes down to personal preference. There are several options out there when it comes to online banking and receiving and sending money online.
PayPal
PayPal is one of the most well-known ways to deal with money online. Its services allow you to pay online or receive payments, and then make a money transfer directly to your online banking account. PayPal is linked directly to your primary e-mail address, so you will need to have a valid e-mail account to sign up. Once signed up, you can also link your PayPal account to your online banking account. This allows PayPal to make a money transfer right to your account. You may also request a physical check to be sent to you, but an electronic money transfer is generally quicker and easier. PayPal is also a good choice if you ever need to pay online for any of your home based business needs, since its widespread recognition means that many sites and service providers have PayPal already integrated into their website.
PayPal does have a number of different levels of service, as well as a number of fees to be aware of. If you are going to send money or pay online, there are generally no fees. If you are going to get money online, you could be hit with a fee between 1.9 percent and 2.9 percent plus an additional 30 cents per transaction. PayPal also has limits on the amount of money you are able to transfer to your bank account every month. Initially this limit is 500 dollars, but it can be lifted by verifying your bank account and your social security number or by signing up for a PayPal debit or credit card.
Moneybookers
Moneybookers is an online money transfer service much like PayPal. The two operate in a fairly similar manner, both allowing you to pay online and receive money online. Moneybookers requires you to verify the address of your home based business, but can also transfer directly to your online banking account. Like PayPal, Moneybookers is also a widely accepted form of payment for popular Web commerce sites such as eBay, though PayPal is still the leader in recognition. The biggest difference between PayPal and Moneybookers is that Moneybookers allows transactions with a much larger number of countries while PayPal has limited international presence. For this reason, if your home based business is outside the United States or will regularly be doing business outside of the United States, Moneybookers may be a better option for you.
Of course, Moneybookers also has fees to be aware of. Another big difference between PayPal and Moneybookers is that Moneybookers charges a one percent fee to send money. Moneybookers also charges $2.50 to withdraw funds from your Moneybookers account, while PayPal’s electronic money transfer is free. Moneybookers users should also be aware that they will be charged a $1.50 monthly fee if they do not at least log in every 18 months.
Wire Transfer
A wire transfer is simply a direct money transfer between another bank account and yours. It is generally considered the most secure way to send and receive money, and can generally be done directly through your online banking account. There are certain companies that can facilitate the wire transfer like Western Union, but your bank should have a wire transfer system in place as well. All wire transfers are regulated by the government and are better protected against fraud and data theft than your other options for transferring money online. The ease of also using your existing online banking account is also an advantage to using wire transfer to pay online or receive money, as there is no extra verification or account setup to go through.
The big downside to wire transfer, however, is the cost. For smaller transactions, wire transfer is by far the most expensive way to make a money transfer online. The rates vary from bank to bank, but as an example Bank of America charges a flat $25 fee to the sender and $12 to the receiver for a domestic transfer. For international transactions it is $35 in U.S. currency or the equivalent of $45 in foreign currency. For this reason, wire transfers are really only recommended when dealing with large amounts of money. However, with such large transactions, a wire transfer is the safest way to go.
Setting up a home based business can be quite an adventure. By choosing the right method of online payment, you will ensure that how you get paid will not be one of your worries.
