On the internet, the currency of choice is credit cards. If you plan to buy, you pretty much need a credit card. And if you plan to sell, you have to be able to accept credit card payments.

If you can't pay by credit card, or can't accept payments by credit card, you are left out of the game.

For larger businesses, the best way to accept credit card payments is to get a credit card merchant account. Unfortunately, depending on where you live and what kind of business you run, getting a merchant account might be difficult or next to impossible.

But even if you can't get a merchant account, you can still accept credit card payments by using the PayPal payment system. While it is not the best solution for most merchants, Paypal offers the smaller merchant a way to quickly begin accepting credit card payments.

No matter where you are in the world you can send and receive money through PayPal. You can even add a PayPal shopping cart to your web site (see my review of a great $25 PayPal shopping cart).

Yes, it would be better if you got a 'real' merchant account. But until you do, consider the PayPal system.

PayPal is easy to set up, customer friendly, and allows you to immediately begin accepting credit card payments for items you sell. (And even if you do have a 'real' merchant account, it makes sense to have a PayPal account as a backup - just in case.)