Accept Credit Cards Online

A woman trying to charge credit cards onlineDo you want to accept credit cards online?

If you have a website with a shopping cart, you will need a merchant account in order to take payments. Specifically, you will need an MID (Merchant Identification Number) to integrate your merchant account into your website’s shopping cart. Because customers will not be swiping their credit cards using a POS (point of sale) terminal, you will not need any hardware to accept credit cards online. A merchant account provides a system to securely take the customer’s credit or debit card information, check to see if the customer has the funds available to pay for the purchase, initiate the transaction, and debit the customer’s debit or credit card for the amount of the order. Once the payment is made, the credit card issuer will transfer funds to the merchant service provider who then credits the funds to your business checking account. This will allow you to start accepting credit cards online.

You may ask the reason 'why'? The answer is simple. In this age of speed and ease it is important for businesses to accept credit card payments. If your business still does not accept credit card payment, it can be left behind. Whether you have a small retail store, online business, home-based services and products, restaurant or any sort of transactional business there will be customers who would rather pay with card. By choosing the right ecommerce payment gateway-one that has low charges and accepts every kind of businesses you can increase your business revenue as well as customer satisfaction.

Why do people prefer credit cards over cash?

The rise of credit card debt is certainly a major issue with credit cards, still people prefer credit cards over cash and it is going to be that way from now on. Carrying cash around is not safe, neither is easy and the transactions are not automatically recorded with cash payments. Therefore, it is pretty clear that people prefer credit cards over cash due the convenience factor. Any business without credit card payment system can undergo major loss. If you have not still upgraded your business’ payment acceptance system then choose only the most trusted payment gateway to accept credit cards.

Is accepting credit cards a complex process?

Once optimized payment processing with a full-servicing merchant account linked to your bank is set up with the help an efficient and trusted payment processor, there is nothing much difficult about accepting credit cards physically. The credit card POS ( point of sale) which is an online credit card processor that credit cards interface with so electronic funds are transferred from your customer’s to your account does the job of accepting credit cards with a mere slip.

What is the ideal payment processing service to use?

The first important factor in a payment processing service is that it needs to be certified. Make sure you use only a certified payment processing service. Also, compare the charges. You want to work with one that charges the least to ensure more revenue for your business. If you don’t have a good credit card rating or you have suffered bankruptcy then you need to find a payment processor who will accept your business under those circumstances as well.

What are the benefits of accepting credit card payment as a business?

There are several benefits you can enjoy as a business that will accept payments online. Accepting cards makes your business legitimate, it does increase sales, improves your cash flow, makes your customers impulse shop, you don’t have to risk getting a bad check, and if you have an online business you need to be able to accept credit card payment-it is a pre-requisite to having an online business. Almost all business report increase sales when they start accepting credit cards. Accepting credit cards advocates the seriousness of your business; your business’ standard heightens hence the increase in sales. Also, the credit card acceptance system is inexpensive, even home-based small business can afford it. This means you get all the benefits by accepting credit cards without any significant expenses.

Merchant accounts are rather simple to obtain and setting one up can take less than 24 hours.

Here's what you'll need:

Website, Landing Page or Sales Page

Your customers need somewhere to go to find information about you and your products or services. A website, landing page or sales page can act as this source of information.

Shopping Cart

In order for customers to find your products and then purchase them, you will need a shopping cart. A shopping cart is software allowing you to offer a way to display product information, pictures, and sizes and so on and then obtain your customers credit card information using a secure system.

Merchant ID Number

After setting up a merchant account, you will receive an MID or Merchant Identification Number. This is a unique identifier linking your shopping cart with your merchant account. You will not be able to take orders without one even if you have a shopping cart.

Once you have done these three things, you are ready to start accepting credit and debit cards online

There are typically more steps involved for accepting ACH payments online. These steps can be addressed directly with your merchant service provider. A Charge.com account representative can help get your website ready to start accepting credit card orders from customers in less than 24 hours. Contact us today or fill out the form below!

In order to accept credit cards online, find a merchant service provider like Charge.com who can walk you through the process and help you set up your website, landing page or sales page to accept credit cards online. Finding a PCI compliant merchant service provider is vital to ensuring regulatory compliance and minimizing liability from fraud. Fill out the form to the right to start the application process with Charge.com.

Summary

Article: Name Accept Credit Cards Online
Author: Robert Thomas
Description: Accepting credit cards online doesn't have to be a difficult process, once you understand the basics, it's easy to set up and manage a merchant account in just a few days.