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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