PayPal launches new all-in-one payments solution

PayPal UK has announced the launch of Website Payments Pro, a new product that helps UK businesses of any size to accept online payments conveniently, cost-effectively and securely. Website Payments Pro enables merchants to offer a more controlled and streamlined buyer experience as the payment flow can occur directly on the merchant’s website.

Website Payments Pro features three distinct functions: Express Checkout, Direct Payment API and Virtual Terminal. Together they let merchants offer shoppers more choice in how they pay for items – with their credit or debit cards through PayPal, directly on their websites, or by phone, fax or mail.

The Direct Payment API lets merchants accept credit or debit card payments just as they would with traditional merchant accounts. Buyers simply enter their card details directly on the merchant website. Payments are processed through PayPal.

Customers who choose to pay with PayPal Express Checkout can move from shopping cart to payment completion in just three clicks. There is no need for customers to go through the hassle of re-entering billing or delivery information with every purchase. The customer initiates and approves a PayPal payment earlier in the checkout process, after which billing and delivery information are sent immediately from PayPal to the merchant’s website. When using PayPal Express Checkout a buyer can use any major credit or debit card as well as bank funding or PayPal balance. Besides Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Switch, Solo, and Maestro, PayPal enables a merchant to accept payments from a wide range of locally preferred funding sources such as Discover or ACH in the US and Canada, or Giropay or ELV in Germany.

Website Payments Pro also includes Virtual Terminal, anew feature that allows merchants to accept orders ‘offline’ via phone, fax and mail. Merchants use an online interface to manually enter card details, which are then processed by PayPal.

Carl-Olav Scheible, General Manager of Merchant Services at PayPal comments:“Website Payments Pro provides a complete payment solution. Merchants can now give their customers the choice of paying by debit, credit and balance via PayPal or directly on their websites, while Virtual Terminal allows payment to be taken via phone, fax, and mail. Website Payments Pro gives a merchant all the payment tools required, through a single payment relationship.”

Website Payments Pro is PayPal’s first non-hosted payment suite, meeting a key demand from online businesses but particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Merchants have more control over the buyer experience. For example, merchants can include their own branding on every step of the checkout process and direct buyers back to their websites to continue shopping after payments are completed. Moreover, merchants can gain access to their funds immediately, without dealing with the lengthy holding of reserves that can tie cash up for weeks, thereby enabling them to manage their businesses more efficiently.

Carl-Olav Scheible adds:“Website Payments Pro was developed as a direct result of listening to our business customers who wanted the benefits of PayPal combined with those of a merchant account and gateway. With Website Payments Pro, our merchants can now offer direct credit card processing and PayPal Express Checkout, giving their customers both in the UK and beyond a full range of payment choices.“

Businesses can be approved and accepting payments with Website Payments Pro in just a few days. There are no set up or cancellation fees, reporting or gateway costs. Pricing for Website Payments Pro includes a low monthly fee of £20 and a per-transaction rate of 1.4 to 3.4 percent plus 20 pence. As an introductory offer, PayPal will waive the £20 monthly fee until July 2007.

Will Wynne, Managing Director of ArenaFlowers.com:“Having used Website Payments Pro for the past six months, we have been thrilled that through it we can offer our customers a full range of payment options in one robust package, at competitive pricing. It is entirely up to the customer whether to pay using their credit or debit cards through PayPal or to use them directly on our site – whatever suits them! Our regular PayPal customers appreciate the fact that PayPal Express Checkout makes the process much faster by eliminating repetitive data entry, while those without PayPal accounts have the freedom to pay with any major card.

“A key factor in our choice of Website Payments Pro was that customers are always returned to our website after completing checkout, affording us additional opportunities to sell and to generate customer loyalty by providing a seamless brand experience. An equally important factor was that PayPal’s is a very robust platform, powering countless online transactions every day; for peak periods like Valentine’s and Mother’s day, we need to be able to rely on our payment provider to really soak up the pressure. PayPal has been exceptional in this respect.

“Finally, on those rare occasions when we have had problems, support has been first rate, in particular because PayPal really ‘gets’ online retailing and its specific challenges, so can identify and solve problems more quickly. I see PayPal continuing to play a key role in supporting our success going forward.”