As I have been reading in a variety of blog posts, freelancers have an edge in a poor economy. As more and more companies are cutting corners and laying off workers, they have to outsource a lot more work. That’s where the freelancer comes in, and solves their problems cheaper than traditional labor.
As a freelance writer and blogger, I have always accepted Paypal. It’s a quick, reliable way to process payments for online work. Lately, however, I have been considering credit card processing as well.
Why would an online freelancer want to accept credit cards? Doesn’t Paypal work well? As common as Paypal is, there are still many clients who do not use it. Yet most businesses do have at least one credit card.
Since using credit card machines to process online work is clearly out of the question, freelancers would be wise to accept credit cards. Although credit cards can be used to pay via Paypal, many clients simply feel more comfortable using their trusty credit cards exclusively. Otherwise, you might have to wait a week or more for the client to send you a check through the mail, or else turn the client away. Turning down work or waiting an extended period of time for payment is not viable in these turbulent economic times.
Have any of you experienced a client paying with a credit card? Was the experience smooth for you, or did problems arise? Leave me a comment, and share your stories here.
December 14, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Paypal is a great service but the basic service does not include a virtual terminal feature that most internet merchant accounts provide. The virtual terminal allows you to manually process phone and face to face orders by keying in the transaction data yourself. If you upgrade to Paypal’s virtual terminal it’s $30 a month. At that point you might as well get your own internet merchant account vs. using Paypal.
December 14, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Thanks for the info! Everyone should make the best decisions about payment after studying all the options.
Glad to have you stop by!
Kimberlee