If you do not run your own business then you should only open a free personal account.

If you use your business account for your affiliate and network marketing programs then you will be charged fees on commissions that you receive. By running these programs through your free personal account you are not charged fees. Over a period of time this could save you a lot of money.

Business Accounts

There are two rate structures for business accounts, “Standard Rate” and “Merchant Rate”. For U.S. accounts, standard rate is 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction. For U.S. accounts merchant rate is 2.2% plus $.30 per transaction. To receive merchant rate you need to be a PayPal member in good standing for 90 days and have received $3,000 in PayPal payments over previous 90 days (an average of $1,000/month). Or you could prove that you have received a competitive offer from an institution like First Data Merchant Services or Metavante Services. Or you could have a proven high volume record as an eBay seller. They will downgrade you to standard rate if you stop meeting their criteria.

PayPal Preferred Sellers can earn 1.5% cash back on debit card purchases made with PayPal ATM/Debit Card. That's like cutting your fees in half! For additional information on this see your PayPal web site.

PayPal VISA

PayPal also offers a VISA card. It has standard features of no annual fee and no liability for unauthorized transactions. They will also credit you with $5.00 first time you use card.

Phone Call Lottery Scam

One fine morning you may receive a call from a person, claiming to be a lawyer from a prestigious law farm, and will tell you that you have won a foreign lottery; that a processing fee is due before prize money can be released to you. The seniors are most likely to be victims of these telemarketers. If you are located in USA, most likely, person will introduce himself as a Canadian lawyer and will inform you as if you have won a Canadian Provincial Lottery.

Lottery Scam by SMS

You may even receive a SMS message advising that you have won a foreign lottery. You will be instructed to log onto a website and enter a login and password, which would be provided to you in message. The site will have same look and feel of a legitimate lottery site, but in fact, it is a copy site created by scammers. The URL address will have a very minor, virtually, unnoticeable difference. Once you log in and see for yourself that you have really own lottery, you will be asked to forward a gaming tax of US $100 to US $500 before you claim your prize.

How to identify these scams and avoid being conned?

The number one motto that you should follow is – if it is too good to be true, then probably, it is indeed too good to be true! There is no way you can win a lottery, in what you have never participated!

The followings are signs of probable scam offers, you will be better off if you avoid them scrupulously: Any offer, where you have to send cash upfront to redeem you prize. Any offer of a substantial percentage of a large sum of money to be transferred into your account, in return for your "discretion" or "confidentiality"; Requests for signed and stamped, blank letterhead or invoices, or for bank account information; Requests for payment in advance of transfer taxes or other fees; Statements that your name was provided to soliciting party either by someone you do not know or by "a very reliable contact;" Unsolicited calls asking if you would like to be in a "Lottery pool"; Mail notifying you that you have already won a substantial sum of money.