Accept Credit Card Payments Online

Shoppers are becoming more confident about  making online credit card transactions. In turn, the number of merchants who accept credit card payments online has grown greatly over the past few years. And for every new merchant who accepts credit cards online, there are scores of customers purchasing items and making payments.

Studies have shown that one of the best ways to increase sales for any business, online or offline, is to offer your customers the convenience of paying by credit card. As an online merchant, you have several options available for accepting online credit card payments, and here are a few:

Merchant Accounts

 A merchant account allows you to accept credit card payments safely and securely online and your money is instantly available to you. You must apply for a this type of account by completing an application process and signing a fee agreement.  

The three main fees you need to look for are the set-up fees, the percentage you will pay for each transaction, and the monthly fees.  Consider all of these fees carefully.  One company may advertise low set up fees, but they may take a higher percentage of the sale or the monthly fees may be considerably higher. So study all options to determine what works best for you.

There are two types of merchant accounts:

• your own personal merchant account which your bank opens for you. This type of merchant account usually has higher initial costs, but lower transactions fees. Also, this type of online acceptance of credit cards account can be more difficult for certain small businesss owners to obtain.
• or a third party merchant account

Third Party Merchant Accounts

ClickBank offers a one-time setup fee along with a small transaction fee  plus 7.5% of the sale price.  No monthly fee is required. They will also handle tracking and paying your affiliates automatically. ClickBank only accepts merchants selling digital goods.

PayPal has no setup fee and a very reasonable sliding transaction fee based on sales volume. PayPal accepts merchants selling both physical and digital goods. They also offer various methods for you to integrate their interface with your site, and the convenience of accepting subscriptions and one-time payments.

These are just a few of the options you have available if you want your business to accept credit card payments online. There are many different companies out there --all offering their own deal. It is up to you to read the fine print and decide which company is best for you.

For more information about accepting credit card payments online and related info, see:

Credit Card Merchant Account - Business Necessity
Business Identity Theft - Is Your Business At Risk
Accepting Credit Card Payment Online - An Informational Site