The quick answer is, yes, you do. As a general facet of customer service, you as a merchant need to provide your customers with as many conveniences as possible, and that means providing them with several different ways to pay. Having a standard credit card merchant account is a start, but that in itself isn’t enough. There will be plenty of clients that don’t have a credit card, or prefer not to use one, and look to options like PayPal as an alternative. Of course, you should also allow for old-fashioned mail-in payments with paper checks or money orders as well–there is still a surprising number of potential customers who prefer not to send any financial information online at all.
Not offering a PayPal option will lead to lost sales, plain and simple. Many buyers prefer it, because of the “buyer’s protection” option it affords. It’s not that hard to set up an account and include the option in the checkout page on your web site.
That said, there is an element of caution. You should realize that PayPal is not a bank, and was never meant to be a bank. As such, you should not treat it as one. You will have a PayPal account of course, and there will be money in it as your customers pay you, but this should be approached as a convenience only–not as a place to save your money. It is advisable to regularly take funds out of your account so they do not accumulate, and transfer the funds to your regular bank account.
There are some complaints around about PayPal–although to be fair, any financial institution of any type, anywhere, will have complaints against it. Because it is not a bank, first of all it is not subject to the same regulations as a bank. If there is a dispute, the customer making the claim is assumed up front to be correct, and the funds will be taken from your account while the case is reviewed. The review process can take several months.
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