To begin to send and receive online payments the fast, easy and safe way, you will need to sign up for a PayPal Account.

To begin this process - go to https://www.paypal.com/ie and click Sign Up Now.

Step 1: Account Sign-Up

Select the type of account you want. Unless you are a business or want to start selling on eBay straight away, opt to set up a Personal account. Select Ireland (the country in which you live) and click Continue.

A. Next complete your personal details as they are listed on your credit card. Also provide your home telephone number. This is important if PayPal need to contact you with a question relating to your PayPal account. PayPal never shares your telephone number or uses it for telemarketing.

B. Now you must provide a valid email address and password. It is important as you will use this email address and password to send and receive payments. Your password should have at least 8 characters. Please try to make your password unique and if possible don't use the same password on PayPal as you do on other internet sites. Next, complete the security questions; PayPal uses the answers you provide to verify your identity should you forget your password.

C. After this you need to read and agree to PayPal's User Agreement and Privacy Policy, which are designed to protect and inform you of your rights and obligations within the PayPal service. In addition, you are asked to make sure you understand your rights regarding the arbitration of claims.

D. To complete the security section of the registration form you will be shown some letters and numbers in a yellow box, and asked to copy them. By asking you to do this, PayPal prevents automated registrations and increases the security of the PayPal network.

E. Click on Sign Up. You will be taken to a page where you are asked to Add a Credit Card or Debit Card. Since Laser cards are not currently supported by PayPal, Irish users are only able to add credit cards. You can choose to add a credit card now, or later on. If you don't wish to add a credit card until later, click on Cancel and go to step 2. If you do want to add a credit card, go to F.

F. To add a credit card, simply enter your details as requested. One you have entered this information correctly, click on Add Card. This credit card will now be your primary card for making payments with PayPal. If you ever want to change this, you can do so by logging in to your account and going to your Account Profile.

At this point you will be asked if you want to enrol in PayPal's Expanded Use Programme. This is a further step in the process that lifts sending and withdrawing limits, so is a good idea if you think you will be using PayPal quite often, and worth doing now as it can take a few weeks to complete the process.

PayPal will charge $1.95 to your card (which will be refunded to your PayPal account after you complete enrolment). When you get your next credit card statement, you will see a 4 digit code next to the PayPal charge. All you have to do is log on to your PayPal account and enter this number - then your sending and receiving limits will be lifted.

If you would like to enrol in PayPal's Expanded Use Programme and have your sending and withdrawing limits lifted, simply click on Get Number and then wait for your next credit card statement to arrive. Click on Continue, and then all you need to do to complete registration is confirm your email address (Step 2).

Step 2: Confirm your Email Address

To confirm your registration, PayPal will send an email to the email address you provided in Step 1 with the subject line: Activate your PayPal Account. Click the link in the email and you will be taken automatically to a page that prompts you to enter your PayPal password to confirm that you are the owner of the email.

Once you have done this, your email address is confirmed. Your PayPal account is now open and you're ready to start sending and receiving online payments with PayPal. Remember, in order to start paying for items using your PayPal account you need to register your credit card details as a means of funding your transactions. If you have not already registered your credit card information, you can do this by logging in to your PayPal account. Select the 'Profile' sub-tab from the 'My Account' tab and click on 'Credit Cards.' Click on the Add button and you will be prompted to add your credit card details. Once you have done this, click on the Add Credit Card button. You will then be asked if you would like to enrol in PayPal's Expanded Use Programme (see below).

Step 3: Enrol in PayPal's Expanded Use Programme

In order to safeguard the security of everyone using the PayPal system all new PayPal account holders have a spending limit of up to €750 EUR. If you are a seller and want to receive payments into your PayPal account, there is no limit to what you can receive in your PayPal balance. However, there is a withdrawal limit of €750 EUR per month for a period of 3 months.

Once you reach these limits, you will be prompted by PayPal to enrol in PayPal's Expanded Use Programme. Once you have done this, your spending limits will be lifted, as long as you have the funds available from your credit card. An increase in withdrawal limits may be subject to further checks by PayPal.

If you would like to enrol in PayPal's Expanded Use Programme and have your sending and receiving limits lifted, simply log on to your account click 'Get Number' and then wait for your next credit card statement to arrive. You can continue to use PayPal in the meantime, so long as you do not exceed your spending limit.

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