Why a merchant account is better than PayPal

One of the first questions anyone setting up an online store for the first time is: Should I just use PayPal or get a merchant account? While a lot of online shops accept payments online from PayPal or Google Wallet because they think it’s more convenient and easy, there are drawbacks that might sway the decision towards a proper payment processing solution:

Customer convenience

When using credit card processors to accept credit cards online, the checkout process is much easier and secure. When using a service like PayPal the user has to go off-site and then return. This extra step can be annoying for customers.

Reduced shopping cart abandonment

Just like the point above, it has been shown that there is reduced shopping cart abandonment when the checkout process is entirely on-site. In addition, some customers might not want to use PayPal or sign up for a PayPal account.

Faster payment processing

When using a merchant account, you will be able to receive the payments much faster.  This can be in as little as two days. The funds will be directly deposited in to your account. Other services can take as long three to four days. Which can be an issue if funds need to rolled for cash flow.

Support

Merchant account providers will have more personalized and faster support as you will be a paying customer. Other services like PayPal have various tiers of support and phone support can only be available for higher levels.