Accept Credit Cards Online Without a Merchant Account

There are two major ways to accept credit cards on your website. The first and most expensive is to have your own merchant account. Not only is this option expensive, it also requires extensive credit checks, lots of paperwork, and usually takes days or weeks before you get approved. Fortunately, there is an alternative.

Third party payment processors who will accept credit card payments on your behalf exist in growing numbers. These third party processors will take a percentage of your sale for their troubles, then pass on the rest to you. Rates vary greatly from one payment provider to another so doing your homework is important in order to get the right fit for you. Some payment providers will accept all kinds of goods and services while others specialize in only digital products, or hard goods, or services.

General Purpose Payment Providers include:

Paypal ? Owned by Ebay, Paypal offers one of the lowest rates of any third party payment processor. At the time of this writing, their standard rates were 2.9% plus $0.30 US per transaction. Paypal offers excellent support and great documentation to get you up and running in no time at all. www.paypal.com

2checkout.com ? Has a $49 US one time setup fee. Their rates at the time of this writing were $0.45 US plus 5.5% transaction fee. Discount rates are middle of the pack, service is very good and through them, you can accept most major credit cards. www.2checkout.com

Digital Information Payment Providers include:

Clickbank ? You pay a one time $49.95 US activation fee. They then pay you the retail price of your product minus $1 and a 7.5% fee. Clickbank also has an easy to use affiliate program so that you can make money when others sell your product. www.clickbank.com

Digibuy ? An electronic commerce solution for publishers of software, shareware, electronic art, information, and data. They charge a rate of 13.9% per transaction with a $3 US minimum order. They provide you with many features including brandable order forms, invoicing and test orders. www.digibuy.com

All but Clickbank give you the ability to have brandable shopping carts. This allows you to customize your order forms so that the customer doesn't feel like they are leaving your site thereby building trust. All of the third party payment processors above provide you with help to get started.

Accepting credit cards online doesn't have to cost you a lot of money. Most times it doesn't even have to include a credit check. Most of these services will even make regular deposits directly into your bank account for ultimate convenience.

When you need to accept credit cards quickly and inexpensively, one of the payment providers mentioned above just might fit the bill.

This article was written by Joe Duchesne, president of http://www.yowling.com/, a web hosting b2b company that offers a free ecommerce shopping cart. Copyright 2004 Yowling. Reprint Freely as long as you provide a clickable link back to my website from this resource box.

---

Choosing An Internet Merchant Account

Surf to Google and perform a search on "Internet Merchant... Read More

Content Ever be Profitable?

THE CURRENT WORRIES1. Content SuppliersThe Ethos of Free ContentContent Suppliers... Read More

Online Merchant Account - Costs and Alternatives

Merchant Account BasicsA Merchant Account is a commercial bank account... Read More

Managing Project Risks and Issues

Inherent (or Business) RiskInherent Risk is the risk that exists... Read More

Retirement Signature Frames ? The Perfect Retirement Gift!

When most people think of a retirement gift, they think... Read More

Dont give up on your business!

Summer must be when many work at home Mom start... Read More

eCommerce, How Much Does It cost?

Making profits with your existing website design or creating a... Read More

Electronic Commerce Tax Jurisdiction and Principles of Permanent Establishment

The principle of "permanent establishment" is very important for avoidance... Read More

Do You Need A Merchant Account?

Deciding when to get your own merchant account for internet... Read More

The Art of Being Human

This isn't the first time I have written about the... Read More

Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built ? Now What?

When I first got my web site built, I thought... Read More

Web advertising e-Marketing Places!

Overview:What is web advertising?Internet Advertising is popularly known as web... Read More

10 Tips To Build, Manage And Profit From An E-Commerce Website

Just because you've built your e-commerce website doesn't mean the... Read More

What Are The Barriers of Implementing E-Commerce Solutions

What is electronic commerce?"Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically.... Read More

Accepting Credit Card Payments Online

Being able to accept credit cards and other online payments... Read More

Shopping from Your Cell Phone with Froogle Wireless

Many surfers already know about Froogle, Google's shopping portal that... Read More

Website Marketing: 10 Resourceful Things You Can Do With A Product That Doesnt Sell

Do you have any product that has not been moving... Read More

How E-commerce Web Site Design Differs From Normal Web Design

When it comes to e-commerce everything is a little bit... Read More

What You Must Know About Selling Online to Europe

The European market is a multi-billion $ sector which you... Read More

Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you... Read More

How to Gain Your Visitors Trust

If you are serious about selling on the world wide... Read More

How To Stay Cutting Edge In Online Business

Let's face it, there's just way too much information out... Read More

Implications Of E-Commerce For Tax Legislation

As e-commerce develops ambiguities in the current tax code in... Read More

How to Write a Landing Page

Is there a difference between writing a landing page and... Read More

Getting Started: Creating a Business Plan

You're excited. You have a great idea for a profitable... Read More

10 Reasons To Survey Your Visitors, Subscribers And Customers

1. To find out what type of content visitors want... Read More

Credit Card Processing - 7 Things You Need to Know Before Opening an Online Merchant Account

When considering opening an online merchant account to accept credit... Read More

Using Credit Cards Securely Online

Nowadays, shopping online is a very common thing. Making your... Read More

The House Of Print.Com

Publishing has always been a difficult business to promote successfully,... Read More

The Check is in the E-mail

Have you ever had someone who owed your business money... Read More

Accept Credit Cards Online Without a Merchant Account

There are two major ways to accept credit cards on... Read More

Online Shopping: Legal Challenges for Taxing Authorities

E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in... Read More

A Beginners Guide To Setting Up A Successful Online Store

A beginner's guide to setting up a successful online store... Read More