PayPal has changed the face of ecommerce today. This service has defined how people send and receive online payments, even without credit cards. In fact, PayPal is often online shoppers' choice when shopping online when they do not want to give out their credit card number. Sellers also benefit because they can accept payments from customers without having to qualify for a merchant account. PayPal also allows affiliate managers to pay their affiliates quickly and easy.

Using PayPal is fast too. In fact, you can use PayPal to make your online payment faster than you can write a check. When you send out multiple payments through PayPal for affiliate commissions, however, it can be a little time consuming. This makes Mass Pay through PayPal a necessity for affiliate managers.

What Is Mass Pay?

Mass Pay allows you to make multiple payments by creating a single file and uploading it to your PayPal account. PayPal then disburses the appropriate funds to the recipients' PayPal accounts that you specify. From there, they can transfer the funds to their checking, use them for online purchases or access them with a PayPal debit card. It is very easy and convenient for everyone involved.

Another benefit of Mass Pay, in addition to the ease and simplicity of paying affiliates, is that it carries a low fee. PayPal issues a 2% or $1 charge for each payment, whichever is lower.

How Do I Use Mass Pay?

There are only two things that are needed to send payments through Mass Pay, the payee's email address and the amount of the payment. There are extra options such as adding a recipient ID or a customized note, but those are not required to send the payment. You don't even have to have the affiliates' mailing addresses or even their names on hand when you are making payments.

When it is time to send out the payments, you need to create a tab delimited text file. You can do this using just about any spreadsheet program. All you have to do is create a three column spreadsheet. In the first column, include the payee's email address. In the second column, include the payment amount. The third column should contain the currency code. For example, in the first column you would put johndoe@email.com, $40 in the second column and USD (for U.S. Dollars) in the third column. If you opt for the recipient ID and notes, you would put them in fourth and fifth columns. When you have finished your spreadsheet, remember to choose the option to save the document as a tab delimited text file.

When your file is complete and ready to be submitted to PayPal, go to your PayPal account and click on the Mass Pay link at the bottom of any page. From there, select the option to make a Mass Payment. You will be prompted to locate and upload the file that you created. With just a few easy clicks of your mouse, your payments will all be processed at once.

How Does Mass Pay Affect My Affiliates?

Mass Pay allows affiliates to access their money instantly if they want to make an online payment or if they have a PayPal debit card. If they don't have a card or prefer to transfer the funds to their bank account, they can do that as well. Whichever option they choose, they get their payment in a method that is usually faster than waiting for a check in the mail. What's more, affiliates are not required to pay any transaction fees on the money that they receive through Mass Pay.

When you use PayPal's Mass Pay feature to pay your affiliates, everyone benefits. It saves you a lot of time and gives your affiliates convenient, quick access to their funds. Mass Pay is easy and inexpensive to use which makes it ideal for managers of affiliate programs, regardless of size or activity.