Paypal Alternatives?

[Jill]

Some of us haven't really looked into any.
I've been using Paypal as my preferred method of sending and receiving money over the internet for years. My clients use it, I use it; it works out. It's obviously the most widely used online payment method.

I spoke to a friend of mine recently about sending me some money after I'd received my paypal debit card for testing purposes. This was my first paypal debit card. I was surprised to hear that he couldn't do it. It wasnt that he didn't want to, didn't have the funds or just didn't send money online, this was one of the few who didn't use paypal at all.

After having recovered from my shock and dismay i had to ask why. He went into this whole thing about Paypal being owned by eBay and animal cruelty.... Shocked again.

The conversation prompted me to start this thread.
Do you use a Paypal alternative?
Do you accept direct payments either by credit card or other?
What's your preferred method of online funds exchange?

[reviewer]

There are PayPal alternatives. I don't use them. Customers don't want them and PayPal is quick and easy (though I'm aware of their bad track record). I guess I haven't been burned so far so I use it.

[aima123]

In our country paypal doesn't serve. That's why we used the xoom to receive payments via online.

[reviewer]

That's a good point, aima123. You have to consider your userbase. I deal with mostly US customers, so that's where my experience lies.

[shinningstar]

Paypal is really not available in other place. I'm using Western Union in sending and receiving money because it's avalable here. The disadvantage is the charge. It's a little bit expensive compared to Xoom.

[crassus]

I am constantly using paypal. I always hope that when I buy something, that they will take paypal or an alternative gift certificate.

[Brighteyes]

Paypal is my preferred method of payment, both outgoing and incoming.
That said, there are, as stated above, many countries that don't use paypal. Therefore, I also use Xoom, and World Pay as alternatives. I've not gone the Western Union route, much too expensive.

[Xhris07]

So what is the feedback on this XOOM company? Are they any good? Is it like Paypal and FREE to use except for % fees. I have allot of out of country clients but they always pay with credit card through paypal so can't say I have ever needed to look for someone else. But I am interested to find new things. :D

[Brighteyes]

Xoom is very good imo... their transactions are fairly fast. I use them when dealing with 2 customers I have in India. Xoom and Worldpay are the only two that do transactions to/from India, I believe

[Xhris07]

cool guess I will have to check them out. thanks for the info on them.

[chameleon]

I've been using paypal for years with never a problem. There are a few other alternatives that I know of, largely because Paypal bans any money transfers from adult sites/for adult content. A few years back, they froze any accounts that were involved in purchasing or selling adult services/content, and a group of adult webmasters pulled together a list of alternatives. They include:

moneybookers.com - and money moves
Instant Payment Solution: GreenZap - The Future of Money.
WorldPay - Internet Payment Solutions for Credit and Debit Card Processing By the World's Leading Payment Service Provider.
StormPay.com, Accept Online Payments

I have a greenzap account but have never used it, and I can't vouch at all for the others, but there's a few you can investigate.