So you've decided that you want to start earning money online. Now let's set up your PayPal account, before you change your mind.



The State of Non-Payment


Whether you're still new to freelancing or a seasoned side-income veteran, getting paid can become quite a challenge.
😰 Up to 40% of freelancers were having troubles getting payment "owed to them", according to Bit Rebels.
😰 PayPal's Global Freelancer Survey of 2018 unveiled that up to 58% of freelancers in Indonesia have had to face non-payment for their work.
😰 In the UK, almost 30% of freelancers surveyed in Dinghy's "freelancing in 2020" survey have also been stiffed. At least 40% of those were simply ghosted by the company who commissioned their work.
These are all payments that both the workers and the clients have somewhat agreed to at some point. So, you see, for many of us non-payment is not just a challenge. It's the challenge. A well-known, global test.
*sigh*
To prevent non-payment, what creators can do is try to make it easier for people to pay for our work. Anyone should be able to send us money quickly and easily. And one way to do this is to create an account with an online service that facilitates secure transactions on the internet.


How Does PayPal Help Any of Us Get Paid?


Let's focus on a normal wire transfer. If you wire some money to Indonesia, for example, it can take anywhere from 2 days to a few weeks for the transaction to complete.
In the days before digital payment, this process of moving money internationally from one bank to another is known to be tedious with various risks involved: inaccurate account number, delayed payment, human error during the manual processing, misspelled name. Literally many things can go wrong.
A digital payment system like PayPal (PP) shortens the overall time it takes to complete a transaction. A transfer takes no more than 30 minutes, and it literally costs zero to transfer money from one digital account to another. All the client needs from you is your email address. Easy-peasy.
Once your fund is in, you’re free to withdraw it to your local bank account, or use your hard-earned money to fund your online transactions. Bloggers will face be annual expenditures such as domain renewal, hosting costs, or other subscriptions that thankfully can now be paid automatically with PP.


Having a digital payment account will only make it easier for you to receive international payments. It will cut the wait time significantly, reducing the burden of costs related to bank transfer and currency exchange.
Ready to start earning more with your freelance business? For this tutorial, we’ll look at how we can sign up and prepare our account to receive international transfers.


Setting Up Your Free Account


Step 1: Sign up for a personal PayPal account.


Because most freelance platforms already use and trust PP, to start receiving money as an online creator, you just need to create a regular account. The free personal account.
Unless you’re planning on selling products on your own site with the PP checkout or on places like Shopify or Ebay, you don’t need a business account. A freelance content creator receive and send money with the regular, personal account.
There are two ways you can register for an account: through the website or from the mobile app. The example I give you below shows the creation process for an account in Indonesia.

[VIDEO TUTORIAL: Create a free PayPal account /id]

The registration process today should still be painless and instant, but you do need to prepare a few things to be able to use the platform:
⭐  your ID or driving license or passport (just one of the three will do)
⭐  your mobile phone
Input your identification number during signup to send a one-time password to your mobile phone number and complete the process. So be sure that your phone number is active and can receive a text message. Have both items near you while you’re registering.


Step 2: Fill out your personal information.


Once you’ve completed the steps I mentioned above and have received your one-time password, you’ll be asked to confirm your email address and log in with your password. Within your dashboard, your personal information can be found within Settings, which is the gear icon next to log out.
Your profile photo
The default photo is a plain avatar from PP, which you definitely should update with your most recent photo.
Your legal name
When you register, you need to make sure that your name is correct. It’s very important to use your legal name, as they appear on your bank account or credit card. You can change your name with proof of legal documents, such as a marriage or divorce certificate that clearly shows your face and ID number.
To change your name, click on Change name right below your current name and choose one of the three options: change your legal name, update your name, or make a minor correction (1 or 2 characters).
PayPal is very peculiar about this. In order to cash out locally, your bank needs to verify your identity. Normally, though, this entry wouldn’t really be an issue, unless you have a one-word name. (Many Indonesians do.)
Your address
When you link your credit card to your account, the address you have on file for the card will automatically be updated to your PP account. You’ll be able to add new addresses if you’re currently spending more time elsewhere.
Email addresses
In total, your account can connect 7 different email addresses, including one primary where you get your account related notifications sent to. Why so many? A separate email address really is handy when you’re registered with a lot of freelance platforms. Think of it as setting an email for each income funnel.
Mobile phone number
Recently PP has made it mandatory that you give them your mobile phone number when registering. So make sure that your number is up-to-date.


Step3: Set up your wallet to receive funds.


From the top of your dashboard, if you click on Wallet, you’ll be able to add new international currency. It’s very important that you prepare this before actually receiving a foreign payment, because there might be additional costs related to receiving a currency you’re not ready for.
From Wallet, go to PayPal balance and choose + Add a currency. Your current default currency is set to receive USD, but you can add common currencies such as AUD, GBP, and EUR.
The following currencies are currently available: CAD, Swiss franc (CHF), Czech koruna (CZK), Danish krone (DKK), Hong Kong Dollar (HKD), Hungarian forint (HUF), Israeli new shekel (ILS), Japanese yen (JPY), Mexican peso (MXN), Norwegian krone (NOK), New Zealand dollar (NZD), Philippine peso (PHP), Polish zloty (PLN), Russian ruble (RUB), Swedish krona (SEK), Singapore dollar (SGD), Thai baht (THB), and New Taiwan dollar (TWD).
So what you do next is check your setup for reciving payments from the Seller Tools tab. Go to Seller Tools > Getting Paid > Payment receiving preferences, and update. You will see on the top the option to "Allow payments sent to me in a currency I do not hold:" and select "Ask me whether to accept or deny each individual payment."
This will avoid any additional charges from converting them to US Dollars, the current main currency. Once you get the setting right, you will need to manually approve payments made in a foreign currency that you did not set up.


Step 4: Link a bank account/credit card/both.


When later on you want to withdraw the funds you’ve collected into a local bank account, you’ll receive your money in a bank account that you’ve already linked to your PP account.
As long as the name you have on file and the name you used to register with PP is one and the same, this process will be very simple. There is another option to link a credit card account, which is optional. It’s a good idea to link both early on, but if you don’t have a card, just your bank account will be enough.
In addition, you’ll be able to link more than one bank and more than one credit card to your PP, and when you cash out, PP will be able to send your funds to both your bank and credit card issuer.


Step 5: Set up a paypal.me link (optional).


Other than to receive freelance payments and to pay for your online expenses, PayPal is an option you can use to crowd fund your project, raise donations, or directly support you. All you need to do is set up an easy to remember paypal.me that is uniquely you, and then share that link across your social media. Your supporters will recognize your link and if they decide to support your cause, they’ll easily send money your way.
To create your own link, visit PayPal.Me and click Create Your PayPal.Me Link.
Next, personalize your link. Use the name of your freelance business, your nickname, or your username that you use often on social media. Anything that will help people recognize that it’s your link.
Also be sure it’s something you like, because once you create your link, you won’t be able to edit it. And be sure to share your link everywhere to help make it easier for people to support you.


Step 6: Additional security settings.


From the Security tab, located to the right of Account, you can see additional settings to help keep your account secure. Although this is optional, it wouldn’t hurt to know what needs to be managed and how.
Password
Experts recommend that we update our passwords once every couple of months—at least every three months. Create a strong and unique password each time to help keep your account 'uncrackable'. Maintenance tip: to keep your account active on any service provider online, you need to log in at least once every two years.
2-step verification
Using a form of two-factor authentication helps keep your account safe, even if your password has been cracked. A combination of 2-step verification and machine generated password is usually enough to keep your accounts uncompromised. You can use an authenticator, such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator app, from your mobile or you can have PP text you the additional code each time you log in.
I suggest using an authenticator, because sometimes text messages get lost in space and it can be a hassle when you’re out with no reception.
Scan the QR code generated by PP, and then enter the 6-digit code you see in the authenticator app and click submit. Each time you log in, you’ll be asked to enter a one-time code from the authenticator.
Auto login
It’s a good idea to log out of devices that you no longer use or recognize. If you see that you’re logged in to devices other than the ones you are using, just turn it off.
Permissions you’ve given
Every couple of months, review and update the data and permissions you’ve given to apps and sites. A good rule of thumb is if you’re not using the apps or sites anymore, remove the permissions.
Security questions
Again, this is optional. You can set up 2 security questions that will be asked from you each time you need to make fundamental changes to your account, such as resetting your password. However, you really need to make sure that you remember the questions and their answers to the t. Keep a screenshot of the questions and their answers, or write them down on a secure piece of paper. And don’t lose them! If you’re not sure, then don’t turn this security feature on.
Customer service PIN
Finally, you can add a secure 6-digit customer service PIN to your account. Remember your combination, and never lose the PIN.


Step 7: Set up your preferred way to pay.


If you’re going to be using your account for online purchases, just make sure that you set up a preferred way to pay from the Payments tab. You’d be prompted to make a choice, usually between your PP balance and your credit card.
This really depends on how comfortable you are with using your cards online. I always set up my preferred way to be balance first. If there isn’t enough funds in my balance, but this is rather rare, PP will usually ask to pick a different payment method (the card) as the need arises.


You’ve Nailed the Fundamentals


You’ve completed all the steps and has a better understanding of your account. We're all set!
Basically, once you’ve got the fundamentals right, you can start receiving money for your work. That PayPal.me link you created, that could serve as a tipping jar.
Did I mention that one maintenance tip about logging into your account at least once every couple of months just to keep it active? (Just double-checking to make sure we’re good.)
Also, some people may wonder whether or not it’s okay to leave their balance empty. And the answer is yes, of course.
What you should remember is this. PayPal isn’t a bank. It’s a middleman service catering digital transactions, charging fees for these monetary services.
We won’t be punished for not having any money in our wallets, but we won’t generate any interest either from whatever amount we keep in our balace. Generally, what you want to do once you get paid is transfer that money to a verified bank account. Maybe leave some amount in there for things like domain renewal, online subscriptions, etc.
These should make it easier for people to support us.
Now, what about you? Are you being paid through PayPal?

[Illustration by Icons 8 from Icons8]

Carpe diem. Sieze the day. Here's a list of resources and useful links to get started straight away.





Looking back to when I started taking  my freelancing online, I realized that there were a number of things that if I had known sooner would probably have been beneficial for my mental health. Some technical things, like how the internet ≠ the web, are important to know,  but this knowledge alone won't make the transition to going digital any easier. Some things we only learn by doing. 
Disclosure: This post may or may not contain affiliate links, from which I get a commission if you choose to make a purchase from these links, at no cost to you. Read my Disclaimer Page for relevant details.


1. You don't need to be homeless, dying, or broken to be asking for money.


If you're not used to asking for things in real life, due to confidence issues, ego, cultural/language barriers, like me, then you need to start accepting this as a fact of life. 
The web is not all black market, hacking, pornography, or phishing. 
It's still all that, but it's also a realm of people supporting other people, people looking to advance their causes, groups of people looking to network, forums, and people looking to help other people. 
We don't need to be homeless, dying, living below the poverty line, or be locked up abroad first to get people to financially support us. 
Using platforms like Patreon, Ko-fi, and Buy Me a Coffee, creators are offering their fans, friends, family friends, even strangers, something of value for their support. 
I find this crowdfunding concept super hard to grasp. 
Growing up middle class, I was under the impression that asking for money from friends would automatically terminate the relationship. (I'll get into that in a separate post soon.)


2. Great posts are no substitute for being social.


Being social in real life is no substitute for being social online. There is no substitute for being social. 
A person likes your post, shared it, watched your video, became a subscriber, but you're not engaging back with said person. If you're not returning the likes or at least following back, then you're not being social. 
It's called leeching. That's one term for you. 
Leeching is where you profit off of an unbalanced (or selfish) relationship, where a party gives and gives and gives while the other party does not reciprocate. 
Today's postmodern society have brought their children up thinking such constructs are normal. We learn to tolerate them. 
Celebrities and large corporations do it to us all the time. They exploit our attention, time, and money while we're in the position of having to consume everything they have to offer. 
Multi-level marketing schemes exploit the economically vulnerable into "relationships" where they are used and financially abused. 
We're made to believe that these multi-level marketing relationships are the relationships we should be having and the ones we should be keeping.
It's normal to be busy and overwhelmed by life and all of its problems, but it's not normal to be completely and utterly ignored in a relationship. 
We just have to take the time to be social with our followers, other social media influencers, members of our social media groups, and don't expect any super great, super fantastic posts (e.g. religious posts, wedding photos, selfies, etc.) to make up for any essential social engagement. 


3. Invest in a professional email account. 


I can't believe I didn't figure this out sooner. 
For cold-pitching, job search, negotiating influencer deals with foreign brands, or blogger outreach, it's a good idea to use a professional-looking email account. 
No need to go big on the first day, but maybe stay away from the XXXDragonBallerZ@gmail.com type of email. 
Get an email forwarding for your domain and have a separate email address for each business process. Maybe start with something like hello@yourbrand.com for public relations, and then branch out to course@yourbrand.com for email courses, etc. 


4. The best way to find the right answer is NOT to ask the right question...


The internet is the place to go for shared knowledge and information. But it's also a huge and lawless place. We'll never find anything if we don't know where to look. So what do we do?
An orange cat and its book
How doth one asketh a question?

According to the father of Wiki, Ward Cunningham, the best way to get the right answer on the internet is "to post the wrong answer."
People publish collectively on a Wiki to an audience who directly can edit and manage the pages from their web browsers. A Wiki is living proof of how the theory works. 
Hopefully, by demonstrating that you have the wrong information, someone somewhere will stay up late to correct you online.
People will go above and beyond in the forums and in topic groups to show how wrong they are in order to find the right answer. It can get really obvious too that no one is obligated to correct you if you are indeed wrong, so be active. 
Scour through places like Discord, Reddit, Quora, Stack Overflow or other question and answer sites to see if someone out there already has a percentage of the answer you need. 



When it comes to going digital, we all need to be looking at everything from the first-time beginner's perspective, because even the most advanced internet whiz was a noob at some point. 
Governments and their organizations will tell you to be careful but will rarely elaborate on what they really mean by "being careful online". We are mostly at the mercy of security experts in order to stay safe online.
You've got to do your own homework:
⭐ Read up on tips and how-tos from the blog of leading security companies, like the ones whose products you might use: McAfee or Kaspersky.
⭐ Take online courses from reputable providers on Udemy, Lynda (now LinkedIn Learning), or BitDegree.
If nothing else, the recent coronavirus disease pandemic has shown us that colleges and universities are really no experts at being careful online. They were canceling classes, pushing deadlines away, exposing students' personal email addresses, as they moved their classrooms online to make the shift. 
It's been a few decades since I was a teenager, and I haven't been a teenager for a long time now, but I think the best way for us to learn about privacy is to think like a teenager. Their main concern is not the NSA, but they are experts in hiding information in plain sight—from parents, teachers, school principles. 
Be extra careful, like teenagers.
Another thing that we should do is consult the website of other countries' government organizations to learn more about internet safety rules and online safety measures. 
Read up on their public-facing blog posts and check out their social media handles for FAQs and best practices. If you're a parent, learn from Common Sense Media or organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation. 


6. Whatever you do, learn excel. 


It doesn't matter what your profession is, learn excel. Want to succeed as a digital marketer? Learn excel. Want to someday be a published author? Learn excel. Want to be a world-class chef and maybe open your own restaurant? Learn excel. 
Bored out of your mind with nothing to do? Learn excel. Tired of your daily routines and looking for some adventure? Learn excel. 
Bottom line is, the future is yours...if you learn Excel. 

@miss.excel

FACE OFF: VLOOKUP vs. XLOOKUP 🤜💥 Comment below - which team are you on?! ##howto ##skillbuilding ##fyp ##excel ##exceltips ##edutok

♬ Timber - Pitbull/Ke$ha
[Please follow me on TikTok. I'm new 👉 @lovellifuad]


7. We really do need to state the obvious. 


Believe it or not, when you go online, you need to be willing to state the obvious. Not to be rude, but because people need to be told the obvious. Because obviously we're not mind readers and because it is obviously one way to avoid legal problems. 

Close up of Ginger the cat
Meoweth

We're practically among other foreign tourists when we are online. These are people with different languages and experiences that don't know many of the things that you know, unless you share them. What's obvious to a group of people might not be so obvious to others. 


8. People don't just ask questions because they want to know the answer.


If they did, they’d just go straight to the FAQ page, wouldn’t they? Wanting to know the answer is just one of the many reasons people go online and ask questions.
On the internet you can Google anything at any hour of the day. It’s therefore pretty reasonable to expect a person to have done a bit of an internet search before asking a particular question in the forums or on a community page.
Our wild guess is that that the person asking the question already has some idea of what the answer is. Maybe she just needed to confirm something?
There’s also the following common possibilities:
⭐ To make a statement. Questions are a way of expressing concerns over an issue that you're following. People can ask a question as a way to direct attention on a matter that needs consideration. For example, timing. "Why now?"
⭐ To sell something. Business people direct attention to themselves and their products by asking questions about issues related to what their products can solve. It could be that the questions are to build up a hype prior to a product campaign. 
⭐ To get you off their back. When a person asks a lot of questions about a topic, demanding a lot of data, and making you do a lot more "library work" for them, it's very likely that they are just trying to get you off their back. 
Can you think of other reasons to ask a question that do not involve looking for answers? 


9. Our intellectual property rights need to change ASAP.


John Naughton, a professor at the Open University, recently explained in an article published by The Guardian why the current intellectual property (IP) right does not fit the purpose when it comes to the digital world. According to the author of “From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: What You Really Need to Know About the Internet,” our present copyright laws would only fit a world where copying is difficult and imperfect. 
Well, flash news: such a world doesn't exist anymore!
Computers have to make copies of an entire web page to be able to load on a device. It’s basically the way it works. The act of copying to computers is what breathing is to a living being.
Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, everywhere you look you’ll find some type of copyright infringement. Our current lifestyle and acceptable use of technology will continue to make IP laws irrelevant. To exist online people are essentially becoming digital publishers.


10. There are more things to do than music. 

Ginger perching on top of a computer monitor with her his headset on
Kitty anthem ♭
Maybe back when The Sex Pistols just launched "God Save the Queen" the only cool thing to do was music. But today there are hundreds of things we can do together on the internet that does not involve giving your soul away:
  • watch TV
  • watch live stream of sports events
  • take online courses
  • look at/learn/make/sell/discuss arts
  • play online games
  • live stream your own gaming show
  • attend online gyms & sports camps
  • take online tours of world's prisons (or museums)
  • attend Broadway shows and encore theatre shows...
You can even do various other things online that you weren't able to do on campus. For example, you can take online courses and learn at your own pace. Or, you can mentor others online. 



Search results for a similar keyword can be completely different not just because of where you are in the globe, but because of what you have searched before. If in the past couple of months you’ve Googled for things like symptoms of your illness, your name, or anything criminal, the results of what you’re searching for today might look completely different than if you have only been using the web to look at cat videos. Even if the keywords are the same.


12. Failure is to be expected, but only if we can learn from it. 

Failure is the easy bit. Failure is good for success. Failure is expected and accepted.
In order to learn from failures, however, we need data. We need to be consciously documenting every step of our action plan, so that we have some type of data to look at. This is where excel skills are put to use.
When you actually break down, don't get caught in an emotional turmoil. Instead of playing with your emotions, you need to devise an action plan. It’s okay to take a deep breath every once in a while, because when things are moving too fast, our vision can become blurred.
Have your project planning sheets ready and make notes of what you did and the results of your actions. Experts suggest using various productivity models that require you to have conversations with yourself:
⭐ The SSK or Stop, Start, Keep. Note what you should stop doing, what you need to start doing, and what you should keep doing. 
⭐ If you're not already using productivity tracking tools, take the time to learn one. There's plenty of ready-made spreadsheet templates to download and use in excel or in Google Docs. Use them to help you work smarter. 


13. We're inside "filter bubbles."


We used to think that people around the world were missing out educationally and socially because they didn’t have internet access. Well, now we have internet access and people are still missing out on opportunities.
We’re not more open-minded. The social media does not make us more open to other’s opinions. We’re still not accepting of changes, things that are different or new. And instead of interacting with people who are different from us, we’re still judging them. So what gives?
It turns out that the way the internet works is that it edits out things that aren’t “relevant” to us. The algorithms are designed to make sure that we’re only shown the Facebook posts, the articles, the Twitter ads, the stories that are similar to the ones we interact with on a daily basis.
It only feels like the internet is keeping us connected together, but that’s not what’s really going on. What’s happening is we’re not being exposed to a healthy flow of information. The internet is “self-censoring” that we are only shown things that are comfortable, non-threatening, and “important” to us.
So if we keep liking things that we like, without reading other point of views, we’re just spiralling backward and backward. According to Eli Pariser in his Ted Talk on the subject of “filter bubbles”, which he also elaborated in his book  📚 The Filter Bubble (2011), it was already the 1915 all over again.
So you know what we need to do, right? We need to burst our bubbles.
⭐ Talk to people who hold different views.
⭐ Use databases that are not influenced by our previous web searches, such as government libraries and websites.
⭐ React, correct, and object to things that we do not agree with, but also...
⭐ Seek credible information from both sides of the issue. 
⭐ Challenge ourselves with new ideas. 

A map of Ginger's home

And with that, we've reached the end of this post. Those were my list of 13 things I wish I had known before going the digital route. 
How about you?
What things would you like to know more about before going online? Let me know in the comments...

[Illustration by Icons 8 from Icons8]


There are only two types of online payment options: credit cards and everything else. There really is nothing else. 
Many people cringe at the thought of using their credit cards on the internet, for fear of hacks or security breaches. But for every purchase you make, even in person, there is always a risk, however small, that someone may access your payment information. 
So when it comes to data breaches, it's just a matter of when (and where), not if. 

Since founded in 1998, this online payment service has become a leader in online safety and consumer protection. Compared to plain bank-issued credit cards, PayPal is still your safer online payment option. 
It's a more secure way to pay for your digital purchases, but it doesn’t eliminate all the possible risks related to the misuse of sensitive information. 
If you’ve never used it before, you must be wondering what it is about this payment service that makes it the go-to choice for global web-based payments. 
Take a look at the following benefits of using PayPal to see more clearly why you should start using it for your transactions.

1. Up-to-date encryption of your sensitive data


PayPal keeps your data and transaction safe with the most recent "end-to-end encryption" which means that only the users involved get to see each other's messages. 
In their own words, the company's blog states that it employes a team of security and compliance experts to make sure everything is up to industry standards. 
It appears to be so secure that it would even compensate hackers hefty amounts of money if they can find vulnerabilities in its system through a bug bounty program at Hacker One. 
View their security reporting guidelines here. 

2. You'll still use your credit cards, but with a layer of protection.


Instead of handing over your credit card information to a stranger on the web, we get an extra layer of protection. 
A transaction with PayPal only requires your email address. Your credit card information and banking information are stored in one safe place. 
If something out of the ordinary happens, you won’t need to have your card issuer send you a new card, which would’ve probably taken weeks or months to arrive, or issue chargebacks, which freezes your account during the resolution process.

3. Painless dispute resolutions


With its buyer protection program, we'll be reimbursed if the transaction fails.
The company has a customer-focused resolution center that connects sellers with dissatisfied customers who are free to dispute any transactions following the platform's guidelines.
It offers protection for both buyers and sellers, as well as freelancers. 
So if you're getting paid for your freelance works through this online payment service, you might be eligible to receive rebates in over 200 markets and most popular freelance marketplaces that use PayPal.

4. A freelancer's friend


PayPal is a pioneer. It's been around the longest and is accepted by major freelance marketplaces.
If a marketplace is on the web, chances are it pays through PayPal. UpWork, 99designs, Fiverr, Guru, Creative Market, online writing platforms,  Patreon, you name it. 
It also offers a number of tools that freelancers should take advantage of: payment requests, email involve, personalized PayPal.Me link, and the PayPal app. 
With its payment request feature, you ask for payment with just your client's email address. 
With the personalized link, you'd be able to link with text messages, social media posts, even email. 
Finally, you're free to manage transactions and payments on the go with their app. 

5. Free to join


We now know that to securely make a request for payment to anybody in the world we only need to know their email address. So what happens after that? 
Once the recipient gets your payment request email, they can choose to open an account with PayPal, which is completely free, or if they've already got one, they can transfer your money. 
As a middleman service, PayPal does charge a number of fees for the monetary transaction it caters, such as when people send money using their cards, conversion fees for transactions to accounts in non-US countries, or for withdrawing to bank accounts in your local currencies. 
However, we need to keep in mind that:
  • Currently PayPal caters to 203 countries, and 25 currencies, but not equally. Services may be limited depending on where we are in the world. 
  • PayPal is unavailable in some countries. 

6. Multiple sources of funding


Instead of relying on a single credit card to fund all your online purchases, you can set up more than one source of funding with PayPal.
Below is a video tutorial I've created to show you how to connect your bank account and your credit card to a PayPal account.

[VIDEO TUTORIAL: Connect your bank & credit card to PayPal]

In some countries, you can also connect a debit card. 
The payment gateway works with major credit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. If one card fails, PayPal will automatically look for funds from your other sources. 
In addition  to online shopping, these bank accounts can also be set to receive freelance payments when you withdraw from your PayPal. You'd be able to skip the lines at the bank by cashing in on your hard-earned money as soon as it is received. 

7. Faster checkouts


Again, all our financial information is kept safe in one place, so there won't be any need to retype the credit card numbers and CVV codes every time we make a purchase. 
You'll only need to enter your details once when you create an account. 
This hassle-free payment processing is now starting to be used in brick-and-mortar stores that accept PayPal as a form of in-store payment. 

So there you have it. 
Aside from its ease of use and transparent fees structure, you'll also be able to find everything you need to know from its website. 
Keep in mind that while it is a safer option, PayPal certainly isn't free. 
Fees are quite high for international payments, but their pricing fees are fairly transparent, which certainly beats the additional costs banks charge for international wire transfers. 
Stay wary of suspicious links in emails, and take active measures to make certain that your sensitive financial information is safe before, during, and after the transactions. 

[Illustration by Icons 8 from Icons8]