Shop safely online How to pay

Credit cards

Paying by credit card is a safe option

If you use a credit card to pay for goods worth more than £100 (and up to £30,000) your card company is jointly liable with the company that you buy from for any problems.

Electronic cash

For smaller purchases an e-cash system, such as PayPal, is a common alternative. This system allows you to send or receive payments securely over the web without sharing your financial details or credit card number with anyone else.

To open an account go to the PayPal website and choose ‘sign up now’. Pay money into the account using your debit card. Once you've done this you are ready to start shopping.

The new Google Checkout system works in a similar way to PayPal.