PayPal UK has announced the availability of a new payment system for online retailers that promises to give them more control.

Website Payments Pro has been in use by US customers since the middle of 2005 and has been generally well-received. For the first time, etailers will be able to host the payment process on their own sites instead of customers being automatically redirected to a PayPal site.

It should also give businesses much quicker access to funds than the older system, where payments often took time to be cleared through the PayPal system.

There are three elements to the new system: Express Checkout, Direct Payment API and Virtual Terminal. Express Checkout allows customers to get from the shopping cart to their PayPal account and pay in just three clicks.

The Direct Payment API feature lets businesses accept credit or debit card payments on their site, just like other, rival online payment solutions. In addition, businesses will be able to brand those pages with their own marketing or information.

Lastly, Virtual Terminal is a new feature that will let businesses accept orders ‘offline’ via phone, fax and mail and enter the card details through an online interface to PayPal.

“Website Payments Pro was developed as a direct result of listening to our business customers who wanted the benefits of PayPal, combined with those of a merchant account and gateway,” explained Carl-Olav Scheible, general manager of merchant services at PayPal.

“With Website Payments Pro, our merchants can now offer direct credit card processing and PayPal Express Checkout, giving their customers both in the UK and beyond a full range of payment choices.”

Website Payments Pro costs £20 per month and a per-transaction rate of 1.4 to 3.4 per cent, plus 20p. There are no set-up charges or cancellation fees. PayPal is waiving the monthly fee until July 2007.