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Ask HN: How to accept payments?

7 points by danest ↗ HN
I want to start doing some freelance work on the side. What are the some of the ways to accept online payments from clients?

I currently have a google checkout account, would this work well or is their something that is a lot better?

5 comments

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jeggers5
If you're in the US, you can use Square: http://squareup.com/

For online payments, Google Checkout should work fine unless you have any particular gripes with it.

bluesix
If you're just doing freelance work, I find direct deposit works best. Many clients don't use credit card for large amounts because of fees, which you'll also incur for most online payment systems
LeBlanc
For freelance billing of clients the best tool is probably WePay.

You can send a bill (including recurring bills) to clients, and have a full list of all invoices and whether they've been paid or not. They can pay with a credit card or bank account, and then you can either direct deposit the money into your bank account, or send yourself a check for the money.

richardofyork
PayPal is the most convenient for most clients, since it is reputable and used ubiquitously. The downside is that if the invoice is large > than $3000, you will lose a good chunk in PayPal fees.

Checks are great because you get to keep all the money...well, except for taxes later,

Wire Transfer (Bank) is a great option if the invoice is huge (more than $3000), to avoid costly fees.

The other options suggested above are good alternatives, too.

revti
I think best online payment is via "Paypal" and lot of free lancer site pay via paypal.