We've had people ask why we don't take Paypal. Simple question, with a somewhat complicated answer. I know it's a hassle to have to transfer money from your Paypal account to your debit card, (especially when your wife doesn't know what's in your Paypal account.) Here's the gist of it:
First, after evaluating (and building test sites) on more service platforms than I can remember, we selected Shopify. One draw of Shopify was their credit card processing services and their web security (you can see all the fancy security logos at the bottom of each page.)
For example, they provide a free SSL certificate (that's the 's' in https.) Other sites require you to purchase your own. They're not that expensive but it's a big hassle to brew your own. There were lots of other features we like but that's another blog post...
Now, every card service will charge a "processing fee" for handling the credit card. This is usually under 3% and can not be avoided. Anywhere. Period. And Shopify's rates are as competitive as any and we never have to handle the actual credit card information. Ever. Less headaches for us; more security for you.
Here's where it gets complicated: most eCommerce hosting companies also charge a "transaction fee" on every sale. Shopify doesn't. Well, they don't if you let them process the credit cards! These fees add up fast.
Enter Paypal. If we accept Paypal, we'd have to pay the transaction fees and the Paypal fees. We'd also have to have a commercial Paypal account linked to the web store.
Granted, there are other issues but those are the high points. We'll continue to evaluate Paypal as we move forward.
But for now, rest assured that Shopify is as secure as any service on the net. Now if you really need to use Paypal (for example, buying your wife a box of film for her birthday), send us an email and we'll see what we can work out.