CC Payment Gateways vs Online Merchant Accounts
Credit card payment gateways (or cc payment gateways) are both crucial to accepting credit cards online. A merchant account is a special kind of bank account that enables businesses to accept deposits from customers’ credit card accounts. A payment gateway is a portal that communicates between the Internet and the traditional banking network, sending the details of the transaction to the banking network, and then immediately returning the results of transaction to the buyer and seller through the Internet.
Define cc payment gateway
A cc payment gateway is a service that facilitates card transactions between a business and a customer online. The “gateway” is the portal connecting the Internet to the traditional banking network. The cardholder’s financial information, along with information about the individual transaction, is sent through the cc payment gateway to the traditional banking network that has always been used to conduct credit card transactions, even in the days before the Web existed.
The cc payment gateway then attempts to proceed with the transaction. If the cardholder’s information is correct and the transaction does not exceed the cardholder’s credit limit, and there are no other indications of fraud or error, then the transaction will normally be completed successfully. Otherwise, the transaction will be declined. The cc payment gateway then instantly returns the result of the transaction back through the Internet, informing both parties in real time what occurred.
Online merchant accounts, by contrast, provide a repository where the funds can be deposited after being transferred from the cardholder’s credit card account. They also typically offer diverse services for businesses, such as software, equipment, and the ability to accept other forms of online payment besides credit cards and debit cards, such as ACH transfers or eChecks, for example.
How online merchant accounts differ
Online merchant account providers may specialize in everything a business needs to process credit, debit, echeck, and other forms of eCommerce that businesses would want to offer customers in the 21st century. Failing to offer major payment methods can affect a business’s viability not only online, but also face-to-face.
For instance, restaurants that rely on in-person payments or electricians that get paid at the customer’s location cannot use a cc payment gateway to bring their business into the 21st century. A gateway is one ingredient necessary to satisfy the needs of a website, but an online merchant account provider can also physical credit card swipe machines, and other services.
The Takeaway
Processing eCommerce payments is a necessity for virtually any business to succeed in the modern world. A cc payment gateway and an online merchant account offer complementary services for businesses to conduct credit card transactions over the web.
These services became absolutely essential for businesses to be able to survive during the COVID-19 lockdown, and financial experts generally agree that they will remain an essential requirement, as customers’ expectations have now permanently shifted to expect these payment options from any business. Businesses that want to start accepting credit cards from their customers will have to get a merchant account in order to obtain the services, software, and hardware they require.
Visit Charge.com or call (888) 924-2743 to find account products and services that enable businesses to process eCommerce payments affordably and effectively.