how does paypal make money?

No, Paypal isn't a part of EBay. They are an independent, online banking system. EBay use them a lot, but so do a lot of other online stores and computer users. I've used Paypal for a few years now and I've never had any problems with security. They have a good security system, and they even refunded me money when I paid it twice by mistake. I believe they make their money by charging the stores and people like EBay for transferring payments, and maybe a little by charging a percentage for currency conversion, but they've been going a good while, and personally, I think they're the best online banking system. Brightest Blessings.

Actually paypal IS part of ebay, when paypal first started up it was an independant internet banking company but then ebay saw it as a great cash machine for themselves and they bought paypal for themselves. Paypal makes it's money in the same way that ebay does by charging you for using their service and you are charged a percentage of whatever your transaction is, the percentage you pay is dependant on how much the transaction is for and also for what kind of account you hold. I hope that has answered your question well enough for you. regards redfang