Getting Started with PayPal

If you have decided to open a PayPal account to use with Online Registration, follow the steps outlined below to create your account.  Please refer to the section on difference between payment processing options if you'd like to know more about PayPal vs. merchant accounts for payment processing.

Create your PayPal account

1.  Click on this link: https://www.paypal.com/us/mrb/pal=X4GQV4EXFG24C  or enter the link into a new browser window, then scroll part way down the page and click on the "Sign Up Today" link.

2. You will then be asked what kind of account you want.  Be sure to pick "Business Account".

3. You will then be asked a series of questions about your business, your address and so on.

4. You will then be asked for the email address to be associated with your account.  MAKE SURE THIS EMAIL ADDRESS IS ONE AT WHICH YOU KNOW YOU CAN RECEIVE EMAIL.  You will also be asked some security questions and you will need to sign off on some terms and conditions.

Activate your PayPal account

After your PayPal account is created, PayPal will send an "activation" email.  You will need to click on a link in the activation email in order to activate your account.

After activation, you will also need to provide bank account information to PayPal and PayPal will run some test transfers to validate your account.  This process can take several days.

Once your PayPal account has been activated and validated, you will be able to use it in conjunction with your MainStreetSites website in order to receive credit card payments from your customers.  We've done all the hard work for you.  All you need to do is give us the PayPal email address that is associated with the account that should receive the payments.  Once payments are received in your PayPal account, you can transfer them to your business bank account.

An important note about creating your account

We live in an age when internet fraud is rampant.  PayPal is very aggressive in fighting fraud.  Some might argue that PayPal is too aggressive.  When creating your PayPal account, please pay attention to accuracy and detail.  If PayPal asks you for a bank account number, make sure you enter the account number and all related information correctly.  If PayPal asks you for a credit card billing address, make sure you enter it correctly.  This can't be stressed enough.  If you enter information that later turns out to be incorrect, PayPal might put a temporary hold on your account while they investigate the possibility of fraud.