Accept Credit Cards Online

E-commerce has become much easier in recent years, as web site operators have gained ready access to online credit card payment processing services. Sites that can accept credit cards online certainly attract much higher levels of business. There are two broad options to consider if you want to sell goods or services from your site:

• Use a third party services company to handle all billing matters from their web site
• Use your own merchant account to process credit card payments from your own web site

The first option is the easiest to implement, especially for companies just starting into ecommerce. The initial costs are much lower, and the technical issues are more straight forward to deal with. Once a merchant site enjoys higher volumes of business, the long-run cost savings often justify moving to in-house payment processing.

Online Order & Payment Processing

Accept credit cards without your own merchant account:

The simplest way to get launched in e-biz and handle payment processing is to sign up for a service that will process orders for your products or services for you. For example, if you sign up with XYZ Ltd to handle your transactions, your customers will go to a secure page at WYZ.com where the credit card order is processed; their credit card bills will show a charge to XYZ Ltd.  Once the credit card is charged and order process completed, the customer is returned to your site.

PayPal is the most widely used system to processing credit card payments without one's own merchant account - it had 153 million personal and business accounts in over 190 countries by mid-2008. There are no set up fees for their easy-to-use service, and the basic transaction costs are very low. US fees are $0.30 plus 1.9 to 2.9% per transaction (depending upon your sales volume). PayPal is the easiest system to use if you also sell through eBay. PayPal also recently started up a micro-payments policy for selling items under $2 for US-US & EU-EU transactions; the charge is 5% plus $0.05 per transaction. You can use their free shopping cart features or set up individual buttons to sell specific items from your web site. International merchants are welcome and multiple currencies supported. PayPal also allows for a "trial period" that delays the actual processing of the credit card - you can let your customers try out your services for a 30-day free trial, for example. Get started for free - no setup fees!

ProStores by Ebay includes payment processing as part of their Business Solution hosting package. Set yourself up easily with a web site, online web page and catalogue creator, shopping cart software and credit card payment processing through PayPal and World Pay. ProStores comprehensive ecommerce solution allows easy integration with shipping information from FedEx®, UPS®, USPS® & Canada Post. Share data on products and customers with QuickBooks.® ProStores Business Solution provides great value at $29.95 per month. One Month Free Trial! ProStores - an eBay Company

2CheckOut.com will sell your goods and services through your web site for a $49 setup fee and no monthly minimum charges. Their fees are $0.45 per transaction plus 5.5% of the transaction amount. There is no term contract and they will begin accepting orders for your goods and services within minutes. Technically, you engage 2checkout as an "authorized retailer" of your goods and services. This service is an excellent choice if you offer services, products, or charge membership fees - recurring billing is supported, too! International merchants and customers are welcome, with payment processing available in 12 currencies. Credit Card purchases accepted within minutes for a low one-time fee and instant set up, Click Here

Get your own merchant account to accept credit cards online:

As your business grows, you should consider getting your own merchant account for processing credit card payments, as the fees are generally a little lower. To process credit card payments through your own site, you will need to set up a static IP address for your web site, a Secure Socket Layers (SSL) certificate, and a payment gateway service along with your merchant account. Merchant account services include access to a payment gateway, but you will have to arrange for a static IP and SSL certificate.

Merchant Express provides a low cost merchant account credit card processing service and free shopping cart software. Their rates for internet transactions are: 2.33% + $0.24 per transaction for processing and verification. Their monthly fees include a statement fee of $9.95 plus an Authorize.net gateway fee of $19.95. Non-US merchanct accounts have higher charges

Electronic Transfer Inc. - free application and instant online set up for credit card processing. Their fees are very low priced: 2.25% plus $0.39 per transaction for processing & gateway fees, and a total of $19.95 in monthly fees. There is a $49 setup fee for the secure gateway. This service is for US citizens with a physical business address in the US.  Merchant Account with a Free Shopping Cart