For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, Paypal garnered itself a nice, heavy dose of bad press last year. Apparently, their fingers got just a little too sticky with a non-profit organization, and as a result, they used meaningless bureaucracy to completely steam-roll over Regretsy, basically stealing from them a considerable chunk of donations- to say nothing of the manner in which they tend to handle customer disputes.

While I myself have stuck with them for several years without any problem, it’s understandable that a lot of consumers might want to seek greener pastures. To that end, there’s plenty of choices out there – here’s just a few online payment alternatives for those of you who’ve had enough of paying your way with Paypal.

Amazon Payments: Amazon’s got its own free answer to Paypal, which allows you to pay via text messages as well as on the ‘net. In addition, you can link it to your bank account- just like Paypal- without having to worry about any service fees. The catch, of course, is that only amounts under $10 are free. Still, it’s a pretty good deal, and worth taking a look at.

ING Direct Person2Person: Person2Person seems more like an actual banking service rather than an online payment system, and equips its customers right out the door with a checking account and allows for free, secure money transfers. Unfortunately, the final product requires the payment of a subscription fee- but you can take the demo for a spin free of charge.

Dwolla: Equipped with an array of mobile applications and set up to work with online stores as well as person-to-person payments, the only fee you’ll ever need to pay to Dwolla is a $0.25 cent deposit in the event that you’re receiving money- it costs nothing to withdraw, and nothing to send. Not a bad deal, and this makes it an excellent choice if you’re looking to drop Paypal as a service.

PayDivvy: What Paydivvy brings to the table is the ability to easily receive and manage group payments, and to use the money collected from the service to pay your bills directly. Again, like the other options on the list, the service is completely free, and includes a plethora of additional tools to help you manage your finances in the event that you sign up for an account. A pretty sweet deal, no?

Serve: Serve allows you to send and receive money via email, and essentially functions as your own personal, mobile bank account. When you sign up, you’ll receive an American Express Card that functions as your Serve balance; one which can be used to purchase items from brick and mortar stores as well as online retailers. The service probably bears the most similarities to Paypal- and might well be the most compelling alternative.

Bonus: Personal Banking: Most online payment systems actually accept credit cards now, and a great many banks are actually setting themselves up to allow online payment through your debit account- if you want to cut out the middleman, it might be worth looking at this alternative, which is one of the simplest possible options.

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