Why is PayPal Express necessary?

Can someone please help me understand why showing PayPal Express is a must when using PayPal Website Payments Pro? I thought the big advantage of Pro was that it appears to customers as a merchant account, and that PayPal aren't involved at all. But being forced to offer the Express module surely defeats that purpose. Is it just me that finds that strange?

Apparently it's important to PayPal ... since they make more money from PayPal transactions than from Credit Card transactions.
Also, PayPal's research indicates that customers prefer to shop at stores who have Express Checkout enabled, and that stores who use it have 40% greater conversion rates. At least, that's what their marketing materials say that the research indicates.

In short, it's PayPal's rules.

Besides, if you don't offer the option to check out via PayPal, you really are shutting out a market of people who would prefer to pay using PayPal funds instead of their credit card.
So, it's not entirely bad.

I don't find it strange, just annoying, and it's the main reason I don't use Website Payments Pro.

I think PayPal does it because they can and they think it brings them more business. The may be right, but I wonder if they factor in the number of people who don't do business with them because of that kind of thing.

Ok thanks. I can now see the supposed pros, as well as the cons. It seems to me that PayPal would do better to give merchants the option. I would email them about it except I know it wouldn't make any difference.

Stevesh, just out of interest, what do you use instead?

We're using a First Data account through Sam's Club. Pretty good pricing.

Before that, Verisign Payflow Pro (which became part of PayPal). You can run, but you can't hide.

stevesh:

We're using a First Data account through Sam's Club. Pretty good pricing.

Before that, Verisign Payflow Pro (which became part of PayPal). You can run, but you can't hide.

stevesh where did you get the payment module for First Data?, I found there web site had two different ones

We use linkpoint module for first data

Merlinpa1969:

We use linkpoint module for first data

Yes, it's Linkpoint. I'm not sure what the difference between the two is.