Accepting payments online, explained
Everything you need to know about taking payments on your website, from how money moves to fees, security, and common processors like Stripe and PayPal.
Getting paid online can feel mysterious. There are processors, gateways, fees, payouts, and acronyms, and it all has to work before a single sale lands in your bank account.
This section breaks it all down in plain language. Whether you are setting up Stripe for the first time, trying to understand why PayPal charges what it does, or wondering what a chargeback is, you will find a clear answer here.
If you only read three things
- How online payments work: the journey from click to bank account.
- Payment fees explained: what you'll actually pay and why.
- Chargebacks & disputes explained: what to do when one lands.
The path through this section
Understand the journey. How online payments work follows a single payment from the customer's click to your bank account.
See who does what. Payment processors explained covers the difference between a processor, a gateway, and a merchant account, and why you probably only need to think about one of them.
Choose and set up your processor. What we need to set up Stripe and PayPal basics for business owners are the two most common routes. Undecided? Read PayPal vs Stripe first.
Know your security responsibilities. Payment security & PCI compliance explains what is handled for you and the short list that is genuinely yours.
Setting up needs access. Here's how to give it
We never need your banking login. To connect a processor to your site we ask for a role-based invitation: Give us access to your Stripe account or Give us access to your PayPal account. You stay the account owner, and you can remove our access at any time.
Start here: how the money actually moves
How online payments work
Follow a payment from click to bank account in plain English.
Payment processors explained
What a payment processor does and why you need one.
Payment fees explained
Every fee type decoded: transaction, monthly, interchange, and more.
Choose a processor
Stripe basics for business owners
What Stripe is, what it does, and whether it is right for you.
PayPal basics for business owners
What PayPal offers, how accounts work, and what to expect.
PayPal vs Stripe
Side-by-side comparison to help you choose, or use both.
Get set up & get paid out
What we need to set up Stripe
Everything Chykalophia needs from you to connect Stripe to your site.
Payouts & bank transfers
How and when money moves from your processor to your bank.
Handle the day-to-day
Refunds: best practices
How to issue refunds correctly and keep customers happy.
Chargebacks & disputes explained
What a chargeback is, why it happens, and how to respond.
Recurring payments & subscriptions
How subscription billing works and what you need to set it up.
Stay secure & on the right side of the rules
Payment security & PCI compliance
What PCI compliance means for your business and how to stay safe.
Sales tax basics for online sellers
A plain-English overview of sales tax, when it applies and how to handle it.
Look things up
Related sections
- PCI compliance for online stores: the compliance-side companion to payment security
- WooCommerce and Shopify: the store platforms these processors plug into
- Payments aren't working on my store: start here when a customer can't check out
- E-commerce tracking explained: connecting sales data to your analytics
- Writing a pricing page that works: the page customers read before they ever reach checkout
- Subscription business websites: if recurring billing is your main model
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Go deeper on chykalophia.com
- Our full guideWhere checkout revenue leaks outThe checkout fixes that bring back abandoned carts.
- Our approachE-commerceStorefronts built to grow with the catalog without buckling.
- Free checklistThe subscription readiness checklistPressure-test billing, retention and operations before you go recurring.
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