| By Matthew Rogers Drag Your Bank Into 2011 With PayPal
This guide isn't about replacing your current bank account with PayPal (which you really can't do anyway, since PayPal doesn't have a routing number). Instead, it's specifically about how to add some really great features to your money management process without completely uprooting your financial life. Below, we'll highlight features you can get by incorporating PayPal into your banking—across your deposits, withdrawals, and payments—along with steps you'll need to follow to set it up. The Biggest Benefits PayPal Will Add to Your Current Bank AccountDepositsMost traditional bank accounts are limited in how you can get money into them—you deposit money into the account with cash or a check. Since money going into an account is usually a payment, that's what PayPal is geared for. Here's how you can take payments, and put money into your PayPal account:
Once the money's in your PayPal account, it's up to you whether you spend it straight from there, or if you want to transfer it back to your bank. Since PayPal accounts also come with debit cards, you can even pull it from an ATM as cash. Making Payments and WithdrawalsMaking purchases and sending money with PayPal is centered around the idea of being fast, easy, and secure.
Managing FundsPayPal's account management features are well-structured, and changing settings on the fly is extremely quick and easy.
Extra PerksThere are some additional perks to having a PayPal account that don't necessarily apply to normal use alongside a bank account, but are nice nonetheless should you choose to use them, including:
How to Link PayPal to Your Bank AccountPayPal's always existed on the internet, so they've done a pretty great job allowing users to get money both into and out of their bank accounts. So, along with all the methods available for taking payments, you can also transfer funds back and forth between your bank and PayPal at any time. You just need to add your bank account as a funding source, and verify it. The verification process is quick and easy:
For verification, PayPal wires two tiny payments of just a few cents each into your account, and asks you for the amounts. After that, your account is considered verified and linked to your bank. That's all there is to it. Moving money to PayPal: Click "Add funds from bank account" in the Add Funds menu at the top of your PayPal account center, then just enter how much you want to transfer. How to Use PayPal to Supplement Your BankingYour regular bank account is important because it gives you local checks and a routing number for things like Direct Deposit. The catch is that most banks want to charge for every little convenience, and they don't generally like to give any special perks just for using your debit card. So, use your PayPal account for making purchases. If you keep the bulk of your money in your regular bank account, and transfer some to your PayPal account to use for purchases (either online or out in the world), you can get some cash back on your normal purchases without even trying. PayPal's standard debit card is also a MasterCard, and it comes with 1% cash back when used as credit. That means every tank of gas you fill up, and every load of groceries you buy, can all be earning you back a little bit of money. You don't even have to sign up for a credit card to get it. You can also keep much better tabs on how your money's spent—purchases are reflected in PayPal's transaction history almost instantly. When you buy something using your PayPal account, it usually takes less than a minute to receive an email letting you know a purchase was just made. Plus, every purchase made through PayPal also has really strong anti-fraud protection—it doesn't matter if the purchase was made with a PayPal ID at an online store, or using the card. Combining the cash back with buyer protection, PayPal turns into a very solid tool for making purchases, while your regular bank can sit back and relax a bit, keeping your money safe, and earning you interest. Photo by Gravityx9. 
| June 17th, 2011 Top Stories |
Technology allows us to do tons of cool and convenient things with our money, but big banks are notoriously slow to add new features. If you're not ready to ditch your current bank for a more tech-savvy alternative, you can augment your existing bank account—and get great features-of-the-future like check-deposits-by-smartphone pics and easy payments between friends—with one of the oldest online money services, 
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