Stupid question, don't laugh!

[Nuclear Krusader]

Not even snicker! LOL

My question: What is Paypal and how does it work?

TIA

[XpXJ19]

paypal is now owned by ebay and is a method of sending money from a credit or debit card to anyone over the internet

anyone with an e-mail address can receive paypal funds

it is convenient for online auctions

It is free to send money, but paypal charges a certain percentage of the total for the recipient to get their check

[Fastfly]

Is there a online account place where you can place money and use it as a credit card for websites?

So when you give out your numbers the account only has say 500 dollars for tyhe taking.

[XpXJ19]

You can put money in an online paypal account and transfer it to someone that accepts paypal,

but I don't think that you can use paypal at online stores or anything like that.

[james8547]

PayPal is something like a cross between a credit card and a checking account. When you pay someone with PayPal, you can get the funds from your credit card (which you provide when you sign up) or your bank account (which you can link with your PayPal account). In a way, it's like an online wallet.

Paypal is a must have if you buy/sell in ebay.

If you don't already have one, I suggest getting one. I use my account to pay for most of my online purchases (since PayPal provides some buyer protection similar to credit cards). All the online stores that I've configured accept Paypal.

I never had any bad experience with it so far. I've opened numerous accounts for the businesses I've worked with and for friends.

[Nuclear Krusader]

I was thinking on gettin' a Paypal account. I was just unsure if it would work with debit cards, since I don't have a credit one.

[Needtoknow]

Works with debit or credit to set it up, then you can confirm and it will draw straight from checking like an on-line "check".
It is becoming very mainstream and used by lots of ebusiness and even major comapnies are using it as part of their receivables function.
There are horror stories out there (like anything else) I have used it for a couple of years for Ebay and other online purchases, but google it or paypalsucks and read about stuff to watch out for.