Accepting Credit Cards For Your Online Business

Did you know that one of the best ways to increase sales for any online or offline business is to offer your customers the convenience of paying by credit card? As a merchant, you have several options available when it comes to becoming part of the credit card acceptance and processing chain. Here's a quick guide to get you thinking.

Merchant Accounts

If you want your online business to be capable of accepting credit card payments, you must have some type of merchant account. A merchant account allows you to take credit cards as forms of payment in a safe and secure manner.

You apply for a merchant account by filling out an application and signing a fee agreement. Unfortunately, navigating the merchant account maze can be difficult if you do not have financial experience. There are many different companies out there, and they all have a deal to offer. But before you sign up for anything, read the fine print.

The three main fees you need to look for are the set-up fees, the percentage you will pay for each transaction, and the monthly fees. All of these fees need to be taken into consideration. One company may advertise low set up fees, but they may take a higher percentage of the sale or the monthly fees may be considerably higher.

There are two types of merchant accounts, your own personal merchant account or a third party merchant account. A bank will open your own account and although they may have higher initial opening costs, these accounts generally have a lower transaction fee (what you pay them for each transaction).

Deciding which of these two types will work best for you is a personal decision, but if your business is established and thriving, the bank-based merchant account will probably work best.

Third Party Merchant Account Providers

There are a large number of providers out there, all offering what is sure to be the best deal ever. Let's evaluate some of the top providers and see what it is they really offer.

2CheckOut (2CO) offers instant acceptance for new merchants and has a $49 setup fee, no monthly fees, and an average transaction fee. The account offers a built-in shopping cart and accepts one-time or recurring payments. They accept both physical and digital goods merchants.

ClickBank offers a one-time setup fee along with a transaction fee of $1.00 plus 7.5% of the sale price. There is no monthly fee. They will also handle tracking and paying your affiliates automatically. They only accept merchants selling digital goods.

PayPal has no setup fee and a sliding transaction fee, all of them very low, based upon sales volume. They accept both physical and digital goods merchants and have various methods for you to tightly integrate their interface with your site. Subscriptions and one-time payments can be processed.

This is just a general overview of some of your payment options. Before you decide, do some in depth research and find the account that will work best with your company's needs.

Copyright 2005 Gibble LLC

For more information and resources on credit cards, please visit: http://www.consumer-news.net

---

Selling Online for Newbies

If you are interested in selling online, it is quite... Read More

Dont give up on your business!

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

The Rise of Multinational Virtual Corporations

The virtual corporation is the emerging organisational form, which best... Read More

Cyber Banking

The use of electronic cash as a means of transacting... Read More

Starting An E-Commerce Business

The development and expansion of the Internet has made business... Read More

Shopping Online: What You Should Know

For some people, shopping online is as normal as driving... Read More

Something new in e-commerce: the Echo System Build

How four partners build and manage an exclusive art posters... Read More

How To Start An Internet Business ? Content, Content, Content

When it comes to e-commerce, the time-tested cliché is, "Content... Read More

Excuse Me, Are You Wasting Traffic?

The largest cost and concern of an internet business is... Read More

Getting Started in ECommerce - Part One

In 2004, Enquiro.com conducted a study of the search behaviors... Read More

Creating Legal Framework for E-commerce Taxation; non-tax statutes

We have to make amendments in existing substantive and procedural... Read More

Ten Reasons Why Online Surveys Are The Future of Marketing

Customers are tough cookies. They're extremely media aware and increasingly... Read More

The Internet Challenge

In spite of the increasing attention on how the Internet... Read More

Web advertising e-Marketing Places!

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

Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And Its Company

1. Balance - You want to find a directory rich... Read More

Do Your Online Brokerage Business With Zero Down

If you have little or no capital but you want... 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

Do You Need A Merchant Account?

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

12 Easy and Effective Ways To Create Reports

1. Combine a few of your articles into a free... Read More

Intranet Portals ? Collaboration through Team Rooms

Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More

Creating The Perfect Ecommerce Website

If you're thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and going... Read More

Get Out of The Way

Get out of the way and make it easy for... Read More

The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned

I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days... Read More

Selling Globally Through a B2B Exchange

Participation in B2B Exchanges is increasingly becoming one of the... Read More

E-marketplaces from Sellers Perspective

What is an E-marketplace anyway?E-marketplace is a business to business... Read More

Coupons & Rebates

Yes, it's true, coupons are not just for newspapers anymore.... Read More

Grow your Business with Emarketplace - Part III

Increase Company ProductivityAfter years of hard work, finally your business... Read More

Your Site is all Direct Marketing

This may not be a popular view, but I think... Read More

Keep Your Customers Happy by Organizing Your Payment Options

Anyone using a slow, or an awkward payment processor had... Read More

How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part Three

The first article of this series discussed page views per... Read More

Using Drop Shipping for E-commerce

Thanks to the ubiquity of the internet, online virtual businesses... Read More

How To Sell Websites Fast !

This article will explain in depth the steps needed to... Read More

Increasing E-Commerce Website Sales: A Guide for the Online Newbie

Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are... Read More