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The New Business Owners Guide to Accepting Online Payments |
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by: Debbie Dragon
As more people decide to try and increase their income by starting online businesses, there is a greater number of individuals who require methods of accepting online payments. It's necessary that an online business appears professional, so potential consumers have the confidence to trust and buy from them, and it's equally necessary that the credit cards can be accepted over a secure connection.
Online business owners have a number of options for accepting online payments, from PayPal to ProPay to a standard merchant account. While it may be easier initially to go with a third party payment processor like PayPal or ProPay, you may find the long term benefits of having a merchant account worth the additional effort to get one set up right from the start of your online business venture.
Benefits of having a merchant account with your new online business include:
- Ability to accept the major credit cards that most everyone has in their wallets: Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Not only can you accept the credit card versions of these cards, but you'll also be able to accept debit card payments from the millions of American's with debit cards containing the Visa or MasterCard logo, since they are treated just like credit cards.
- Ability to obtain payments from your customers right from your website over a secure connection, instantly. Online businesses that attempt to accept payment by mailed check or money order will never achieve the same level of success as a website that can accept payments instantly online with credit cards. Customers will simply close your site and find a website offering the same product or service that WILL take credit card as payment – shopping online means customers want to pay online and not wait for the mail to deliver their payment before the transaction takes place.
- Customers recognize businesses that accept credit cards as having a higher level of professionalism and credibility.
- Ability to receive your online payments transferred to your own bank account by automatic wire transfer – quickly, securely, and with the same level of security that your customers experience during the purchasing process.
- Ease of bookkeeping management thanks to reports and statements of transactions made through your online merchant account and payment processing system. May even reduce the need for a bookkeeper on staff.
- Ability to use software that is included with your merchant account for online businesses to quickly and easily set up price lists for products and shopping carts on your website. This makes maintaining your site a breeze for you, and the shopping experience intuitive to your website shoppers.
- If you should take your online business off the web at any point – to a flea market or vendor event, for example, you can often rent a terminal to accept credit card payments in person, manually. Some merchant accounts include terminals as part of your monthly fee, and if you feel your online business will have many vendor events, it may be in your best interest to look for that service as part of your merchant account to save money.
- Reasonable processing fees. Merchant accounts have lower fees than services like PayPal – which means you have a better profit margin. Some merchant accounts have monthly fees with very low per-transaction fees, and include a large variety of value added services that are simply not offered as part of third party payment processing systems, like PayPal.
- Online businesses often operate globally. Your merchant account will help you accept payments in a number of different currencies in order to extend your reach to a greater number of potential customers.
- Chargeback fraud is an increasing concern for online retailers, where people buy something online with credit and then report the purchase as fraud. As the retailer, your account will get deducted the amount of that purchase and the product has still been delivered and you're out that money! Merchant accounts can help you avoid chargebacks with their fraud screening services, which is included in your monthly fee.
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Credit Card Articles > Working with Banks > The New Business Owners Guide to Accepting Online Payments
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