By Gabriel J. Adams
Whether you are a huge company, or just a fledgling start-up, accepting credit card payments is very important. Many people will not make any purchases on your web site if you do not accept credit card payments. Some people do not think that your business is reputable enough if you do not accept credit cards. Other people want to make an impulse buy, but if they can not buy it right now, then they might leave your web site and never return. Accepting credit card payments is not very hard to setup, but there are some distinct steps that need to be taken to allow you to do so.
First you will need to contact your bank or a third party company to setup a merchant account. A merchant account allows you to accept and hold credit card payments. The next step you will need to take is to create a form on your web site where the credit card information can be obtained. There is a variety of different scripts that can be used to accomplish this task. The code needed is not very complex and it can be written by almost any programmer. If you do not want to write code from scratch, then many are available to accept credit card payments, so you could also just purchase one of those.
After that you will need to purchase a service that will process credit card payments. Many services are available online, and some of these services will also allow you to setup a merchant account with them, so you can accomplish many steps working with 1 company.
Now that you have the steps needed to accept, process and store credit card payments, you need to make sure that your web site is secure, so that people’s credit card information can not be stolen. To do this you need to setup your web site on SSL or Secure Sockets Layer. Your ISP can set this up for you, and then you can get an SSL certificate to let the world know that your site is secure. These are the basic steps needed to accept credit card payments on your web site. Use this information to help build your business today.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Why Online Payment Processing is Important
By Fred Andrews
There are numerous merchant processing services to choose from affording business owners the luxury of being able to accept credit card payments for the products or services they have on offer. And the good news is that research has shown it is not only profits that increase when payment is made in this way - there are many other benefits to be reaped too. Here are details of just a few of them.
Your business will reach a whole new dimension as far as its audience is concerned when you accept payment by credit card. These days, many people have taken to using credit cards as their chosen method of payment due to several reasons. It may be that they are collecting reward points or simply that they have overspent this month and need to rely on purchasing with credit as opposed to cash. Whatever the reason, it means your customer base will grow.
The size of an order placed using a credit card tends to be bigger than a cash or check spend and this is because the customer doesn't see the cash disappearing from their pocket or bank balance which encourages them to be more indulgent.
It is estimated that as far as Internet purchases go, over 90% are settled by credit card. This in effect means you could literally lose 90% of your business due to not accepting credit cards as a means of payment.
It's Convenient, Competitive and Impulsive
Allowing your customers to use a credit card is very convenient for them and they have become to almost expect this option as a way to pay for their shopping instead of carrying cash or checks around with them.
Do your competitors and rivals in business accept credit cards? If so, you need to keep up with the Joneses and offer your customers a service equal to what is available to them elsewhere.
When your customers pay by cash or check they immediately see the money leave their pockets or banks, yet by using a credit card, they are more likely to spend more on impulse buying because they know they can settle the total over a few months instead of having to pay straight away. After all, their impulse buying adds to your profits!
Merchant Accounts - Easily Accessible and Not Too Expensive
It's becoming more and more straightforward and easy to open a credit card processing account. All you have to do is approach your financial establishment or even a private party and you will find all manner of options open to you, one or more of which is sure to meet your business needs.
If you are just starting out in business, private parties and on line company account suppliers are ideal as they don't perform credit checks and there are no volume requirements set as part of the deal. You are also given the option of choosing a fee structure best suited to your particular business.
Merchant accounts opened through banks or some of the other financial establishments will carry out credit checks and may insist that you have a banking account with them. Nonetheless, the fees incurred when using such financial establishments may be negotiable and more often than not tend to be lower than the fees associated with private party and on line companies.
From the points made above it is evident that the acceptance of credit card payments has many advantages, so if you own a business it will be well worth your while to open a credit card processing account and watch the profits come rolling in.
There are numerous merchant processing services to choose from affording business owners the luxury of being able to accept credit card payments for the products or services they have on offer. And the good news is that research has shown it is not only profits that increase when payment is made in this way - there are many other benefits to be reaped too. Here are details of just a few of them.
Your business will reach a whole new dimension as far as its audience is concerned when you accept payment by credit card. These days, many people have taken to using credit cards as their chosen method of payment due to several reasons. It may be that they are collecting reward points or simply that they have overspent this month and need to rely on purchasing with credit as opposed to cash. Whatever the reason, it means your customer base will grow.
The size of an order placed using a credit card tends to be bigger than a cash or check spend and this is because the customer doesn't see the cash disappearing from their pocket or bank balance which encourages them to be more indulgent.
It is estimated that as far as Internet purchases go, over 90% are settled by credit card. This in effect means you could literally lose 90% of your business due to not accepting credit cards as a means of payment.
It's Convenient, Competitive and Impulsive
Allowing your customers to use a credit card is very convenient for them and they have become to almost expect this option as a way to pay for their shopping instead of carrying cash or checks around with them.
Do your competitors and rivals in business accept credit cards? If so, you need to keep up with the Joneses and offer your customers a service equal to what is available to them elsewhere.
When your customers pay by cash or check they immediately see the money leave their pockets or banks, yet by using a credit card, they are more likely to spend more on impulse buying because they know they can settle the total over a few months instead of having to pay straight away. After all, their impulse buying adds to your profits!
Merchant Accounts - Easily Accessible and Not Too Expensive
It's becoming more and more straightforward and easy to open a credit card processing account. All you have to do is approach your financial establishment or even a private party and you will find all manner of options open to you, one or more of which is sure to meet your business needs.
If you are just starting out in business, private parties and on line company account suppliers are ideal as they don't perform credit checks and there are no volume requirements set as part of the deal. You are also given the option of choosing a fee structure best suited to your particular business.
Merchant accounts opened through banks or some of the other financial establishments will carry out credit checks and may insist that you have a banking account with them. Nonetheless, the fees incurred when using such financial establishments may be negotiable and more often than not tend to be lower than the fees associated with private party and on line companies.
From the points made above it is evident that the acceptance of credit card payments has many advantages, so if you own a business it will be well worth your while to open a credit card processing account and watch the profits come rolling in.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Are You Accepting Mobile Payments Yet?
By Kely Short
Gartner predicts the number of mobile payment users worldwide will hit 73.4 million by 2009 and 190 million by 2012. This represents a tremendous percentage of total cell phone users (Gartner estimates upwards of 3% of the total user base) and companies must consider this technology as a potential payment channel comparable with checks, cash and electronic funds transfers.
Retailers First Adopters of Mobile Payments
The benefits of mobile payment solutions for retailers are obvious. The ability to accept credit card payments or mobile payments on a wireless device such as a smartphone enables retailers to create a host of new, innovative and engaging retail platforms. "Pop-Up Retail," a term coined by Trendwatching.com, is a temporary retail space designed to quickly draw in crowds in high traffic areas then disappear once buzz wanes. Think fairs, concerts and other outdoor venues with massive crowd attendance. Because these events have limited time durations the expense of creating a permanent retail space (and the infrastructure to support it like phone and internet lines) is prohibitive.
But don't write-off those sales just yet - mobile payment systems bridge the gap. With the swipe of a credit card down the side of a payment-enabled iPhone or Blackberry gives you instant access to the same payment processors you already use - returning an instant payment authorization and integrating with accounting systems afterward to keep track of it all.
Future uses of mobile payments will extend beyond point of sale activity at events to providing useful payment tools for in-field staff such as carpet cleaners, repairmen, plumbers, etc. hoping to decrease the time between invoice and receipt of funds. Companies making house calls to discuss a customer's outstanding invoices will be able to capture a payment instantly - offering the customer an option to avoid immediate disconnection of services.
Business-to-Business Companies Early to Late Majority
It's true that many industries have adopted mobile data solutions for business-to-business customers, but most have focused on account and inventory information retrieval, logistics and routing solutions, and signature capture for goods delivered. In the future, businesses will move away from invoicing customers then waiting 30+ days for payment and will instead opt for mobile payment systems the customer uses at time of service or delivery to make payment. B2B companies will represent the Early to Late Majority adopters of this technology but its impact will be significant. The cost of managing receivables can be dramatically lowered leveraging mobile payment solutions.
In Summary - Brainstorm on how Mobile Payments can Impact Your Company
The multitude of killer applications available today on our web-enabled cell phones, smartphones and other similar devices would have been unheard of just four years ago - therefore, brainstorm for the future. You and your executive leadership should engage subject matter experts, both inside and outside the company, to determine how mobile payments are likely to affect your business model in the short and long term. Map out the impacts and begin developing a strategy to ensure you are proactively capturing the value mobile payment systems provide instead of reactively trying to catch up with your competition.
Gartner predicts the number of mobile payment users worldwide will hit 73.4 million by 2009 and 190 million by 2012. This represents a tremendous percentage of total cell phone users (Gartner estimates upwards of 3% of the total user base) and companies must consider this technology as a potential payment channel comparable with checks, cash and electronic funds transfers.
Retailers First Adopters of Mobile Payments
The benefits of mobile payment solutions for retailers are obvious. The ability to accept credit card payments or mobile payments on a wireless device such as a smartphone enables retailers to create a host of new, innovative and engaging retail platforms. "Pop-Up Retail," a term coined by Trendwatching.com, is a temporary retail space designed to quickly draw in crowds in high traffic areas then disappear once buzz wanes. Think fairs, concerts and other outdoor venues with massive crowd attendance. Because these events have limited time durations the expense of creating a permanent retail space (and the infrastructure to support it like phone and internet lines) is prohibitive.
But don't write-off those sales just yet - mobile payment systems bridge the gap. With the swipe of a credit card down the side of a payment-enabled iPhone or Blackberry gives you instant access to the same payment processors you already use - returning an instant payment authorization and integrating with accounting systems afterward to keep track of it all.
Future uses of mobile payments will extend beyond point of sale activity at events to providing useful payment tools for in-field staff such as carpet cleaners, repairmen, plumbers, etc. hoping to decrease the time between invoice and receipt of funds. Companies making house calls to discuss a customer's outstanding invoices will be able to capture a payment instantly - offering the customer an option to avoid immediate disconnection of services.
Business-to-Business Companies Early to Late Majority
It's true that many industries have adopted mobile data solutions for business-to-business customers, but most have focused on account and inventory information retrieval, logistics and routing solutions, and signature capture for goods delivered. In the future, businesses will move away from invoicing customers then waiting 30+ days for payment and will instead opt for mobile payment systems the customer uses at time of service or delivery to make payment. B2B companies will represent the Early to Late Majority adopters of this technology but its impact will be significant. The cost of managing receivables can be dramatically lowered leveraging mobile payment solutions.
In Summary - Brainstorm on how Mobile Payments can Impact Your Company
The multitude of killer applications available today on our web-enabled cell phones, smartphones and other similar devices would have been unheard of just four years ago - therefore, brainstorm for the future. You and your executive leadership should engage subject matter experts, both inside and outside the company, to determine how mobile payments are likely to affect your business model in the short and long term. Map out the impacts and begin developing a strategy to ensure you are proactively capturing the value mobile payment systems provide instead of reactively trying to catch up with your competition.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Accepting a Credit Card Payment Online With PayPal
By Darcie Connell
Accepting Credit Card Payments Online With PayPal Is A Breeze
Accepting payments online is the final step to business automation. Online Payments are when a user makes a payment for a product or service online rather than in person or through the mail. It's fast, easy, hassle free, and not to mention secure. One of the best ways to build a visitor's trust is to use a secure payment processor such as PayPal.
I typically work with PayPal because they are one of the most widely used online payment providers, and well regarded for their security. You can accept payments and make payments with them with a click of a button.
In order to set up this process, all you have to do is:
• Create a business account with PayPal.
• Connect the PayPal account to your business checking account so you can deposit the money you accept online.
• Create a "Buy Now" button code-simply enter the product name and amount and the code will be generated.
• Put the "Buy Now" button code on your webpage.
When a user visits your websites, they:
• Click the "Buy Now" button that you put on your website and are directed to a PayPal page where they see the product name and amount.
• Enter their PayPal account or credit card information to purchase.
• Are given a summary of their purchase, and receive an email confirmation from PayPal.
You will also be sent an email notification that you've made a sale. Honestly, seeing these notifications in my Inbox is a constant reminder that my systems are a success.
Another great feature about PayPal is that you are only charged a percentage of the overall sales amount plus a small transaction fee. This means you're not out any money until someone buys. Also, if for some reason a buyer wanted to return a product, issuing a refund is as simple as logging into your account, finding the transaction, and clicking a button. They also offer a variety of reporting tools to help you track overall sales figures for monthly totals and taxes.
Payment Processors
• PayPal
• ClickBank
• Google Checkout: They don't charge a transaction fee if you use AdWords.
I suggest offering multiple payment processors on your website in case a visitor doesn't feel comfortable with one.
Deliver Digital Products
The easiest method for delivering digital products is E-junkie. For a measly five dollars a month, they will process and deliver all your digital products and is compatible with PayPal, ClickBank, 2CheckOut, and Google Checkout. All you have to do is upload your product to their website, link e-Junkie with your payment processor account information (e.g. PayPal) and they'll do the rest. They even manage an affiliate program for you as well, for no added cost. They have excellent customer service and an easy to use interface. Can you tell I like these guys or what?
After a user purchases your product through PayPal, they will automatically be redirected to a page on e-junkie (which you can customize) with a link to download your product. As a back up, they also send the user an email with the download link in case they didn't get redirected. It's a completely automated process and is simple to use.
As you can see, accepting a credit card payment online is not only easy to set up, but also allows you to automate this aspect of your business.
Want to Make Money While Traveling The World? Get Your Copy of Business In A BackPack - A Step-By-Step Guide to Running A Profitable Business While Traveling The World.
Tired of Working On Your Website? We'll Build Your Business For You In 7 Days Or Your Money Back!
Do you get frustrated with setting up your online business? You can have your very own customized, professionally designed website for you, complete with:
* tracking code,
* demographics data,
* payment processing,
* digital delivery,
* autoresponder opt-in form,
* privacy policy,
* business email address,
* sitemap submission,
* eBook cover creation
Accepting Credit Card Payments Online With PayPal Is A Breeze
Accepting payments online is the final step to business automation. Online Payments are when a user makes a payment for a product or service online rather than in person or through the mail. It's fast, easy, hassle free, and not to mention secure. One of the best ways to build a visitor's trust is to use a secure payment processor such as PayPal.
I typically work with PayPal because they are one of the most widely used online payment providers, and well regarded for their security. You can accept payments and make payments with them with a click of a button.
In order to set up this process, all you have to do is:
• Create a business account with PayPal.
• Connect the PayPal account to your business checking account so you can deposit the money you accept online.
• Create a "Buy Now" button code-simply enter the product name and amount and the code will be generated.
• Put the "Buy Now" button code on your webpage.
When a user visits your websites, they:
• Click the "Buy Now" button that you put on your website and are directed to a PayPal page where they see the product name and amount.
• Enter their PayPal account or credit card information to purchase.
• Are given a summary of their purchase, and receive an email confirmation from PayPal.
You will also be sent an email notification that you've made a sale. Honestly, seeing these notifications in my Inbox is a constant reminder that my systems are a success.
Another great feature about PayPal is that you are only charged a percentage of the overall sales amount plus a small transaction fee. This means you're not out any money until someone buys. Also, if for some reason a buyer wanted to return a product, issuing a refund is as simple as logging into your account, finding the transaction, and clicking a button. They also offer a variety of reporting tools to help you track overall sales figures for monthly totals and taxes.
Payment Processors
• PayPal
• ClickBank
• Google Checkout: They don't charge a transaction fee if you use AdWords.
I suggest offering multiple payment processors on your website in case a visitor doesn't feel comfortable with one.
Deliver Digital Products
The easiest method for delivering digital products is E-junkie. For a measly five dollars a month, they will process and deliver all your digital products and is compatible with PayPal, ClickBank, 2CheckOut, and Google Checkout. All you have to do is upload your product to their website, link e-Junkie with your payment processor account information (e.g. PayPal) and they'll do the rest. They even manage an affiliate program for you as well, for no added cost. They have excellent customer service and an easy to use interface. Can you tell I like these guys or what?
After a user purchases your product through PayPal, they will automatically be redirected to a page on e-junkie (which you can customize) with a link to download your product. As a back up, they also send the user an email with the download link in case they didn't get redirected. It's a completely automated process and is simple to use.
As you can see, accepting a credit card payment online is not only easy to set up, but also allows you to automate this aspect of your business.
Want to Make Money While Traveling The World? Get Your Copy of Business In A BackPack - A Step-By-Step Guide to Running A Profitable Business While Traveling The World.
Tired of Working On Your Website? We'll Build Your Business For You In 7 Days Or Your Money Back!
Do you get frustrated with setting up your online business? You can have your very own customized, professionally designed website for you, complete with:
* tracking code,
* demographics data,
* payment processing,
* digital delivery,
* autoresponder opt-in form,
* privacy policy,
* business email address,
* sitemap submission,
* eBook cover creation
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Are a Lot of Payment Options Necessary For Your Online Site?
By James Hussher
Is it possible for your website shopping cart to get by offering only Paypal as a payment method, or should you offer the full suite of credit cards individually? This question comes up a lot from small businesses with an online store. The answer is actually simple.
Is your main method of getting sales through your online store? If it is, then it is worthwhile to invest in your own Internet merchant account and offer payment via Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express (and JCB if you are in Europe).
Many online shoppers do not have a Paypal account and do not realize that it is not actually necessary to sign up for a Paypal account to make a payment through Paypal. So if they see Paypal as your only payment option, you are going to lose sales if the customer does not feel inclined to sign up with Paypal.
Additionally, your customer has to leave your site to go to the Paypal payment page, so there goes your visitor retention. (Although if you configure your Paypal account properly, you can have the customer returned to your site's "Thank You" page after they submit their credit card information and the sale is processed.)
Paypal is not the cheapest way to accept credit cards, rates average up to 4% per transaction, compared to an average of 2.09% with your own merchant account configured properly for online sales.
Utilizing Paypal also conveys an "amateurish" image to potential customers. You may be a small business, even a home-based small business, but do you want your customers to sense that?
The fact is, 98% of those small businesses utilizing Paypal could probably qualify for their own merchant account. But they don't know that.
Paypal offers a utility to "build" payment buttons for your online inventory - "Buy Now", "Add To Shopping Cart", etc. The fact is, most merchant service providers offer that capability for customers who need to process sales online.
If you offer eBay merchandise, you will definitely want to include Paypal as a payment option. eBay now owns Paypal and it is the de facto payment method for eBay sales. Paypal offers outstanding buyer protection to customers who purchase items on eBay auctions or through eBay stores.
Another consideration will be whether you sell internationally, because Paypal has a long list of countries it will not permit purchases to be made from. If you want to make sales from customers in those Paypal-banned countries, you will have to offer the ability to pay by credit card with your own merchant account. For that matter, you will need a merchant account from a merchant services provider that permits you to accept transactions in all the countries you plan on selling in or to. Some merchant accounts only permit US-based customers, for example. Canada itself only recently began permitting Visa and Mastercard to provide PIN-based debit card transactions with Canadian borders.
It is obviously "key" for you to find and work with an experienced account representative of a merchant services provider experienced in ecommerce.
James Hussher is a national Account Executive for a major bankcard processor, a registered merchant services provider (MSP) for Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase banks. Contact James at http://creditcardmerchantnews.com, a site James maintains to inform his credit card merchant clients.
Wherever you are in the USA, I offer a free analysis of your current merchant account statement. I will provide a report showing you exactly how much you are paying to accept cards in each tier, plus monthly fees; I will also propose the rates we can give you, for a clear side-by-side comparison.
Is it possible for your website shopping cart to get by offering only Paypal as a payment method, or should you offer the full suite of credit cards individually? This question comes up a lot from small businesses with an online store. The answer is actually simple.
Is your main method of getting sales through your online store? If it is, then it is worthwhile to invest in your own Internet merchant account and offer payment via Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express (and JCB if you are in Europe).
Many online shoppers do not have a Paypal account and do not realize that it is not actually necessary to sign up for a Paypal account to make a payment through Paypal. So if they see Paypal as your only payment option, you are going to lose sales if the customer does not feel inclined to sign up with Paypal.
Additionally, your customer has to leave your site to go to the Paypal payment page, so there goes your visitor retention. (Although if you configure your Paypal account properly, you can have the customer returned to your site's "Thank You" page after they submit their credit card information and the sale is processed.)
Paypal is not the cheapest way to accept credit cards, rates average up to 4% per transaction, compared to an average of 2.09% with your own merchant account configured properly for online sales.
Utilizing Paypal also conveys an "amateurish" image to potential customers. You may be a small business, even a home-based small business, but do you want your customers to sense that?
The fact is, 98% of those small businesses utilizing Paypal could probably qualify for their own merchant account. But they don't know that.
Paypal offers a utility to "build" payment buttons for your online inventory - "Buy Now", "Add To Shopping Cart", etc. The fact is, most merchant service providers offer that capability for customers who need to process sales online.
If you offer eBay merchandise, you will definitely want to include Paypal as a payment option. eBay now owns Paypal and it is the de facto payment method for eBay sales. Paypal offers outstanding buyer protection to customers who purchase items on eBay auctions or through eBay stores.
Another consideration will be whether you sell internationally, because Paypal has a long list of countries it will not permit purchases to be made from. If you want to make sales from customers in those Paypal-banned countries, you will have to offer the ability to pay by credit card with your own merchant account. For that matter, you will need a merchant account from a merchant services provider that permits you to accept transactions in all the countries you plan on selling in or to. Some merchant accounts only permit US-based customers, for example. Canada itself only recently began permitting Visa and Mastercard to provide PIN-based debit card transactions with Canadian borders.
It is obviously "key" for you to find and work with an experienced account representative of a merchant services provider experienced in ecommerce.
James Hussher is a national Account Executive for a major bankcard processor, a registered merchant services provider (MSP) for Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase banks. Contact James at http://creditcardmerchantnews.com, a site James maintains to inform his credit card merchant clients.
Wherever you are in the USA, I offer a free analysis of your current merchant account statement. I will provide a report showing you exactly how much you are paying to accept cards in each tier, plus monthly fees; I will also propose the rates we can give you, for a clear side-by-side comparison.
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