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If you want to be involve in home based Internet business, having a PayPal account is pretty much essential. Yes, there are other systems you can use, but the name of PayPal is well known and trusted by online customers. All you really need to open up a PayPal account are your standard name and address details, plus telephone and either a bank or credit card information.

The first choice to make is which kind of PayPal account you would like. Even this is not critical, as it is very easy to change from one type of account to another. A personal account is the simplest to understand, but it is very restrictive. You cannot accept credit cards from anyone who does not have a PayPal account.

For business purposes, a personal account is really not good enough, so you have to decide between a premier and a business account. You can, in fact, have one of each, as PayPal allows you to have a personal or premier account, and a business account as well. That is it, though. Even if you are a serial entrepreneur running several businesses, you will still be limited to one PayPal account, and need to route all of your funds through it. A business account allows you to pick a name other than your own for the account, which can be useful if you are going to be selling as a company using something other than your own name.

The forms to fill in are simple enough. You will need to fill in your first and last name, your full address including zip code, your home telephone number, and then your email address and password. This is one of the most important pieces of advice you will ever be given. Make your PayPal password as tough as possible, and make it unique. Anyone discovering your password will not only have access to your PayPal funds, they will also have access to your entire bank account once you have set one up. Make sure your security is as tight as it can be.