I have used Paypal for a few years with great success. As an online merchant I have never had a problem with them in 1000s of transactions. The reason they ask for a checking account is simply to verify you are who you say you are, it for our own protection. In my experience, Paypal quickly and effectively mediates all problems should they arise. Also, please note that if you pay someone via paypal and you do not receive your order within 14 days, Paypal will then insist that the merchant provide a tracking number or issue an immediate refund. If neither of these are on done within 10 days and if the customer has not dropped the claim, the merchant will automatically be charged back and the customer is reimbursed right away even if the merchant does not agree. The bottom line is that paypal does protects buyers who use their services which I might mention is a completely free service to consumers/buyers. The great part about it is you can even email money to a relative out of state or country for example, and it's free, better than paying western union, that's for sure and it automatically converts dollar amounts for international orders at not additional charge, you can send money anyhere in world via paypal, free of charge. Another plus is that if you don't have a debit or credit card you can do an electronic check,just like writing a check. Also check into their 1.5 % cash back on all purchases made with paypal debit mastercard. I even got 1.5 % cash back on my Op consultation and meds, I pay all of my bills, utilities, groceries, you name it and get 1.5% cash back everytime I use it. And no, this is not a credit card, it is a debit mastercard that of course you use as a credit card but with no interest of course because you are not charging anything, just getting money back each time u use it.

Sorry again for being so long winded but I had to add my 2 cents about Paypal, they are awesome in my book. FYI, ebay recently bought out paypal and will take over in April of 2003, supposedly nothing will change so we will see. I personally, highly recommend paypal, I send my niece out of state 25 dollars each month, ten of which she is allowed to keep and 15 of which paypal transfers directly into a saving account for her college fund. It is so easy to use .

Angi