Paypal accounts: Personal vs. Premier vs. Business account

March 14, 2008

Stocks, Mutual Funds, Forex, Finance Philippines

Make Money Online, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Philippines

You’ve already signed up for a Paypal account but have still not decided which type to use. Read more to discover what type of Paypal account suits you best.

There are three types of Paypal accounts: Personal, Premier, and Business.

Personal accounts are, obviously, for the personal use of individuals. They can accept up to five (5) credit or debit card funded payments per year and are assessed a transaction fee. Other payments received are not charged a fee.

Premier accounts are for members who have a high transaction volume or would like to access Paypal’s Core and Premium features (explained below). Premier accounts may operate under an individual name. Unlike Personal Accounts, they can accept an unlimited number of credit or debit card payments. However, all payments received are charged a certain fee. (Paypal’s fee schedule here.)

Business accounts are for businesses, allowing them to operate under a company or group name and accept payment from customers without PayPal accounts. Like Premier accounts, they can accept an unlimited number of credit and debit card payments, although all payments they receive are charged a certain fee.

Here are the Core features of Paypal available to all types of accounts:

send money for FREE
request money from other Paypal members
access and use Auction Tools
incorporate Website Payments
download log of account’s transactions

The following, however, are Premium features available only to Premier or Business accounts:

all of the Core features above
ability to do business under a corporate or group name
accept unlimited credit or debit card payments
use and manage subscriptions and recurring payments
ability to make Mass Payments
give multi-user access to an account
customizable log of transactions

So which account type is best for you?

Well, it all depends on your purpose of using Paypal. If you don’t regularly receive payments from other users, a Personal Account would be best. This type of account allows you to receive up to 5 debit or credit card payments in a year and, in addition, the payments you receive are not charged a fee.

If, however, you are receiving regular payments from other people, especially those who use credit or debit card, a Business or Premier account may be best. An advantage would be the unlimited number of times you can receive debit or credit card payments but a big disadvantage is that all your receiving transactions are charged a fee. If you run a business and use Paypal to receive payments, a Business or Premier account is absolutely necessary.

Discuss more about Paypal in our Payment Processor/E-currency board.Â