I have had my fair share of payment programs to use but I am just looking for one that seems simple enough to use, has most all features I need (that I think are pretty common) at a good price. What is everyone here using?

I use Paypal for my incoming payments and my business bank accounts for the outgoing. I do it this way so I can better control what is in my account at all times. I have a certain dollar amount/interest rate structure that I need to keep on top of, and I am enrolled in an incentive program through my bank that rewards me for credit card purchases. Those rewards more then pay for any Paypal transaction fee's I may incur.

I am just another PayPal user. I have a premier and personal account. I use my premier account mostly to receive payments for online jobs I do and make a few online purchases. I never practically used my personal account. I consider to delete it.

I did a lot of research before opening my business and this is what I found when comparing PayPal (PP); Google Checkout (GC) and Amazon Payments (AP).

In terms of cost there is no real difference. All three operate volume based pricing discounts of course, but there is no financial advantage when choosing one over the others. It is thought that GC and AP set their costs in alignment with PayPal as they have additional advantages which will be attractive to the consumer market for their services. I will look at these claims in more detail in the next post.

All three leading payment providers are 3rd party processing systems and as such lack the direct business relationship a seller would have with a credit card company offering the same service.

The major issue here is that each service has its own way of dealing with fraud screening, customer disputes and so on. This may not be advantageous to you as a seller in a situation where say a fraud is not noticed immediately - leaving you with little compensation for transactions undertaken in this gray period.

Amazon Payments has an advantage here as many of their customers have a prior relationship with the company.

All 3rd party processors give buyers two opportunities, (through the 3PP and their personal credit card provider), to dispute purchases and/or raise a chargeback, a situation which is obviously more risky in terms of potential fraud.

Paypal offers some seller protection but be aware that the manual changes a seller can make to the payment parameters can leave you vulnerable to loss. Some of the changes possible can lead you to accidentally opt out of the requirements PayPal insist must be met.

Both PayPal and Amazon Payments have criteria for seller protection which are often difficult to meet. A good example would be 'proof of shipping', which technically requires that the same person places the order and signs the delivery receipt. In practice this rarely happens. Overall AP is the better bet of the two simply because they have so many long standing (and validated) customers. (On the flip side - these same customers have enjoyed a very flexible return-refund policy with the company and may expect a similar service from you).

Google Checkout offers a very fair and flexible deal, It is much more seller orientated and lenient re chargebacks being passed on to you.

This is not a major priority for many online merchants but it is a key issue for web designers. If you are building your own site or want a say in how someone else does it then you need to be aware of some differences between the three major providers. This is only a basic overview, but there is lots more information available out there if you need it.

PayPal is in many ways the easiest of the three to integrate into your site and has the benefit of being forward thinking in this area, with many new innovations promised in the near future. From simple 'buy now' buttons through to the express checkout, (which is said to be the easiest for Joe or Jane Average to navigate), it's got a lot to offer.

Google Checkout and Amazon Payments are both a little more complex to deal with, other than for the most basic features. Once set up GC takes the customer through to checkout in two clicks, which is a plus for repeated sales. Amazon Payments has some negative feedback in terms of customer support for the seller. Both may be worth a look if you are hiring a web designer but do some more research first. I am debating between the two and am following developments closely.

Considering all of the pros and cons of each of the main players the very best option is to have a direct credit card option, along with PayPal and/or one more. Credit cards and PayPal offer the greatest audience of potential buyers, but the other two options are likely to gain ground soon enough.

** Be sure to check out the global availability of each of the 'big three'. None are 100% available worldwide for all features and services.